Newcastle sitting pretty after ugly wins

Dec 1 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

IT IS the kind of question that can only occupy the minds of supporters spoiled by early-season success – is it enough to win ugly?

Newcastle United fans have found themselves asking the question a few times over recent weeks, claiming victories at Preston and Sheffield United on the back of the kind of performances that are unlikely to make the club’s end of season highlights reel.

While they might not have been the stuff of animated pub conversations, those victories are made of the sort of stuff that pushes promotion contenders back into the Premier League. Birmingham and Wolves went up last season to a soundtrack of grumbles from supporters murmuring about the quality of football they were playing. Back in 2000-01, Gary Megson chiselled a team out of granite to ease West Brom past Black Country rivals Wolves on the back of a succession of 1-0 victories. It probably sticks in the throat of fans brought up on Kevin Keegan’s Entertainers, but promotion will not be won in the same swashbuckling fashion.

The current West Brom side are fingered as the answer to critics who argue there is another way to securing promotion from the Championship. But they are the exception to the rule, and there are a few key differences between Roberto Di Matteo’s Baggies and United.

West Brom, for a start, are seasoned Championship campaigners thanks to their unerring ability to yo-yo between the top flight and second tier – and the club were effectively planning for this season from the moment United administered a fatal blow to their survival hopes with that 2-1 victory in February. Being put out of their misery early gave the club the chance to scout for the right players and develop a system that would sweep through the Championship.

United, by contrast, are ad-libbing this Championship lark. Thanks to Mike Ashley’s folly they had no idea of the personnel available even as late as September. Thankfully, they have been able to rely on the character, grit and determination of their seasoned performers. Allied to that extra bit of Premier League pedigree they possess, it looks like Chris Hughton has chanced on a winning formula.

MARK DOUGLAS