Hull City 1, Newcastle United 1

Mar 16 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

IT IS all very well Newcastle United’s players saying they understand the perilous nature of their Premier League future.

It is apparently a completely different proposition when it comes to them doing anything about it, if the performance against Hull is anything to go by.

The best thing that could have happened to Newcastle on Saturday did not even occur in East Yorkshire, it came at football grounds across the country as none of the sides in and around the relegation free-for-all managed to win.

That was a massive relief after the final whistle but, if the Magpies were happy to move up one place because of this point, it is worth pointing out the supporters of Blackburn, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Stoke would have been equally relieved to see they had failed to claim all three.

To emphasise the point, if Newcastle are going to stay out of the bottom three before they travel to Stoke City on April 11, you suspect they are going to have to take at least one point – and quite possibly three – from their next two home games against Arsenal and Chelsea.

That puts the result against Hull into perspective. Yes, Newcastle looked the more likely side to win it in the second half but, just as it had been at Bolton in another game against fellow strugglers last month, it was a pretty turgid affair.

Newcastle have plenty of experience in their ranks and enough quality in their boots to get out of trouble, but the team looks unsure of how it is supposed to be playing and gripped by fear, the fear of mistakes and the fear of failure. Alarmingly, having been told this was their biggest game of the season by goalkeeper Steve Harper and striker Michael Owen last week, they lacked any sort of urgency early on.

Owen’s exclusive interview in The Journal on the eve of the trip to Hull was an evocative and passionate call to arms from the Newcastle captain on his return from an ankle injury. The England international did not discuss his new contract directly – such matters are strictly off limits, according to his advisors – but whether he stays or not beyond this season, there can be no doubting his affection for the club.

Indeed, reading between the lines, this could have been the first suggestion that, when contract talks resume in the summer, Owen could defy popular opinion and agree an extension.

He will not, however, sign for a club which is in the Championship, and Newcastle still have plenty to do to ensure that does not happen having failed to win another of their must-win games.