Give your fans a farewell display they’ll remember
I WANT Newcastle’s players to go out tomorrow and put on a farewell performance for the Magpie fans.
Because while those on the field have been rightly lauded for their successful fight against relegation, I reckon the unshakeable loyalty and devotion of United’s supporters ought to be recognised as well.
The Toon Army stuck by the club when they played in the Championship last season and have done so throughout this campaign - even in the dark days before Christmas when only one point was harvested from 27 available and relegation looked a real possibility.
Despite all, the fans kept turning up and urging the team on towards its goal.
Remember, not only have 50,000 Geordies turned up every home game but United’s away allocation of tickets has been regularly sold out all season.
Therefore they deserve the appreciation of the players because without them enough points would never have been gathered.
It would be nice if against Chelsea the Mags ended a run of four successive defeats to go out on a high. It can be done. The visitors are not as fearsome as a year ago and will be fully aware of the FA Cup final looming large on their horizon.
A brave and thoroughly deserving Huddersfield gained a point at Stamford Bridge in midweek, so why can’t United win here? What we learned across London at Wembley on the same night is that quality counts - because United missed a boatload of chances while a subdued Harry Kane had one and buried it. It was Kane’s 39th goal of the season while United centre-forward Dwight Gayle has five. That is the difference. I feel sorry for Gayle, who works so hard and has made goals for others but cannot buy one for himself. He can play in the PL but not as the lineleader, the No 1 striker. He never did that at Crystal Palace but as support for a 15 to 20-goal-a-season man it would be so different. What United must do against Chelsea is have more players in the box. I watched them in their last home match when a cross went in and there was only one blackand-white shirt in the penalty area and this was not a breakaway. They will never score enough goals if they don’t get support in where it matters. I reckon the minimum requirement is three players – one attacking the near post, one the far and one in there for knockdowns. It is no good just looking at Gayle or whoever and saying he is not good enough. This is a team game and any striker needs support around him. However, don’t get me wrong.
I reckon Rafa Benitez has to buy a £30m man this summer or history will repeat itself.
This has been a decent season and I am absolutely delighted all three promoted clubs – Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield – have stayed up. That is quite a hat-trick!
I should also, as this season draws to a close, like to say a fond farewell to Arsene Wenger at my old club Arsenal. I think we will never again see two giants in Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson dominate top-flight football for so long at one club. CHRIS Hughton believes Brighton can continue to resist interest in their key players as they prepare for a second season in the Premier League.
Albion justified rejecting bids for some of their star performers in the recent past by ending their 34-year exile from the top flight with promotion last May.
The Seagulls have already begun making plans after ensuring survival with two games to spare following last week’s win over Manchester United - and manager Hughton feels his main concern is keeping his squad together.
The former Newcastle boss said: “That has been the priority, certainly for the last two seasons, and we have had offers for some of our better players over that period of time and on each of those occasions our chairman and owner resisted them.
“I think that will be the same in the summer, it is very much about keeping hold of your best players.
“I would like to think the club is in a healthy position at this moment and what means more is making sure we enable ourselves to have a decent Premier League season next season.
“To do that you want to keep hold of your best players - we have resisted selling in the past and I am very sure we will work very, very hard to resist that again.”
Player of the year Pascal Gross, centre-back Lewis Dunk and Australia’s World Cup goalkeeper Mat Ryan have been among the stand-out performers at the Amex Stadium this season.
Veteran striker Glenn Murray, Brighton’s top scorer with 12 league goals, has also impressed, along with midfield duo Davy Propper and Dale Stephens and wingers Jose Izquierdo and Anthony Knockaert.
Hughton, whose side complete their campaign at Liverpool tomorrow does not expect a repeat of last summer’s flurry of new arrivals and feels another year of stability is the objective.
He added: “The next step is making sure we stay in the division again. It has to be that way, this is only our first season in this Premier League.
“We are learning still, trying to improve as much as we can.”