Rivals hoping for survival salvation
Apr 14 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
They did not get the win they desperately wanted at Stoke City, but Newcastle United have begun to suggest they are capable of survival. Chief sports writer Luke Edwards reports.
To haul themselves level in a game as important as that one took guts and determination, and United showed enough of those particular qualities. With one notable exception.
Obafemi Martins has dined out on the hero worship of United fans ever since he arrived as Shearer’s replacement in the number nine shirt from Inter Milan almost three years ago.
At times the Nigerian’s performances have warranted such adulation with some stunning goals and the odd all-action display which has made him a handful for even the best of Premier League defenders.
They have,though, increasingly been few and far between and Shearer struggled to hide his disdain for the striker’s decision to pull out of the squad with a groin strain just a little over six hours before kick-off last Saturday. The injury, we are told, was genuine, but that does not mean it was one which was bad enough to prevent him from playing, particularly in the eyes of a manager who saw pain as no barrier on a football pitch.
Martins has the ability to make a defining difference to Newcastle’s safety mission, but his attitude and application will be openly questioned by his new manager this week.
In terms of man-management, this is an early test Shearer could have done without, but it will be fascinating to see Martins’ reaction to the personal challenge he will be presented with.
The no-show from one of Newcastle’s supposed stars – and one of its highest earners – has been as much of a talking point over the Easter break as the result and performance at Stoke, but Shearer knows it was a step in the right direction, no matter how small. In a season where several senior players and respected observers have constantly talked about a club going backwards, the importance of any sort of forward momentum cannot be ignored.
The draw was the first green shoot of recovery, an encouraging sign of life renewed below the surface, but it still needs to be carefully nurtured this week ahead of the trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Shoots can be easily trampled underfoot, the hope of a recovery crushed before it ever has time to flourish into something tangible and Sunderland and Middlesbrough – the two sides directly above and below Newcastle in the table – both have winnable games 24 hours earlier.
Sunderland entertain an increasingly woeful looking Hull City, while Middlesbrough will look to secure back-to-back wins at home to Fulham on the same day, which could mean their local rivals slip to second from bottom before they even kick-off in north London.
Not since 1997 have two North East teams joined each other in relegation when Sunderland and Middlesbrough crashed out of the Premier League arm in arm, a fate the Teessiders had shared with Newcastle eight years earlier.
With three teams in the bottom four with just six games left to play, two could go again this year. It might just be a question of whether it is a historical first or just a case of history repeating itself.
