Paul Patterson

Well. How’s everybody feeling? Let me begin by saying, derby day defeats are nothing new. They’ve happened before, they will happen again. On Sunday, there were no dodgy refereeing decisions, no gripes or complaints The defeat was all on us. After such results I’ve never been one for hiding both my opinions or my presence. I was in the pub after the game on Sunday and I will front it out again as this week goes on. Even in the likely presence of mackem dwellers. They will be there, you can bet on it.

We now enter the most crucial part of this Newcastle United season. The run in. Lads and lasses, it is crunch time. You’ll all have different memories of many past Newcastle United seasons. Great starts, middling middles and awful fades towards the end of campaigns. The notable one was when we came out the traps early in 1995, scaring the living daylights out of Alex Ferguson’s mob at Old Trafford.

A little perspective is required when looking at Newcastle United and Eddie Howe in our current situation. The focus, probably more than at any other time since he arrived, is now on the NUFC Head Coach. I find the criticism at times quite astonishing. Short-sighted, reactionary, totally lacking a view on the bigger picture, but above all, simply astonishing.