That MIGHTY Magpie...

apart from getting beat by who?

Well, looks to me you have your sums wrong.

Team worst than last year = The team is only worse than last years on paper. We've lost all of our so called 'stars' but now have a set of lads who want to play football & not come for a pay day, were not playing amazing football but play like they actually give a fuck, something we haven't had for years. The only players we lost last season which I truly believe we'll miss in the Premiership is Given, Bassong & Milner. Look at what the rest have done since leaving us? fuck all (minus maybe Duff of course with his new found goal scoring run), which spells to me for once in our history we made the right business decision.

Better opposition = Evidently. But as Spence quite correctly pointed out, your not playing ManU, Chelsea, Arsenal every weekend.

Unproven Manager = What more does Houghten have to do other than guide a team to promotion & maintain an unbeaten home record all season before classed as 'proven' ?

the slumkids of mumbia are dancing in the sewers again! all the happy faces

Remember that text you sent me last season... right back at ya x

i agree he has done a brilliant job for you lot, but the job was done in the championship! Look at Keane, first season as manager he wins the league but his PL experience was far less fruitful.

imo its all about the team, and this season is the best ive seen newcastle for a long time, our passing is good and we are all working as a team i think we have a good strong squad i do agree we need a few new players in for the prem like. i can see us just struggeling like but we have some great players that are premiership quality like.

at the time when you lot came up ure squad wasnt as strong as ours, i think sunderland as a squad are good

Super Mike is not going to trust the 2nd team coach with money to spend either, but saying that there might not be any

Proudy thinks you dont need it anyway *snigger*

Well done lads

Its totally deserved as you have dominated the championship all year long - albeit i dare say the league is weaker this year than it has been for a while imho.

The hard work starts now as staying in the premiership is a bigger achievement than getting there in the first place - just look at the number of clubs who dont last longer than 2 seasons after promotion, I think Sunderland and Stoke are the only exceptions over recent years to be relatively comfortable after 2+ seasons.

I think with 3 or 4 decent additions you could be okay next year as the backbone of the squad already has premiership experience, and you should look at 17th position being an achievement next year as the most important thing is staying up regardless of how that is achieved.

Once again the derby dates will be the first to be etched into the diary when the fixtures come out, and an 8am sharp start on the hoy for the home game will be booked in as soon as the date is known.

Good to have ya's back ya cunts

It's more competitive this year but alot weaker. The fact that we have won once in our last 9 and still haven't really had to worry about going down and sit in 15th this season shows just how poor the vast majority the league is. There's some sides vastly underachieving and some shocking teams in the league this year.

That said fair play to Newcastle they've pretty much led from the front all year and thop them going iney fully deserve to go up.

Hard work starts now though. Rumours of £15 million to spend and it will all need to be spent. I didn't get the wisdom in signing players like Leon Best in Jan when you were going for Promotion as you'd need to then replace te replacements in the summer.

Squad needs alot of work and it will be tough going to stay up next year for all 3 clubs that go up and like has been said 17th is a good finish as it's just about staying up and getting more tv money and building from there.

It will be interesting to see just how much money is made available after all the rumours of Ashley having to stick £10-15 million more into the club at xmas to stop them going in to administration and he stuck it in on the basis of getting it back from the money they earn for getting promotion.

It's all hear say though and we probably won't know until September 1st exactly how much was given to Hughton to spend...

Don't know what all of this debate's about really, we're blatantly gonna be in the champions league again in a couple of years, with Andy Carroll as Premier League top scorer

Yes were now in a tougher League where the benchmark is so much more higher without investment & solid management, but were hardly new to the Premiership? we spent 15 years in it & 9 months out of it. Were the same Club, same coaching staff, same fans & the most of the same players. These so called 'super stars' we lost in the mass exodus last season were either long term sick notes or terrible underachievers during their stay. They did nothing for us but bleed the Club dry.

We now know what it feels like to hurt & have tasted relegation, so doubt any player ever want's to go there again. However, the aim of the game all along was to get out of that League at what ever cost, keep your 'sexy football' & keep your comfortable wins, just so long as we kept getting those results. We weren't out to prove anything as we haven't been 'good' for well over a decade now so the expectations were that high in the beginning. But we done it & credit where it's due as it's been exciting watching them all season, we've topped Championship attendance records & look to be unbeaten at home all season whilst going up as Champions.

Cant grumble in the slightest.

I would say the team is better than last year it got cohesion now too fair standard wingers a very good left back, premiership class goal keeper. Newcastle have to hold on to harper and enrique as there first piroity.

Carroll is unproven at a higher level but is young and is improving his game all the time and will be a handfull for weaker teams. Shola ia an ok squad player, Nolen has rediscovered some kind of form and might be able to perform in the prem again against weaker teams.

Loverkrands maybe has an other season in him and does have ability and works well with carroll. Routledge ability to put in good crosses this helps this no end.

The squad needs a good holding midfield player and a foreward with pace and creativity.

Two Decent centre backs one with pace to cover colacini's lack of and one with authority to organise the backline.

Houghton for me has brought well when he has had money(Leon best aside), organised the team and stopped newcastle being a circus. I don't see a worse team than wolves,wigan or the bottom three in the prem

If he gets some money i am sure he could strengthen the team so it will be in a much stronger position that last season and avoid relagation.

I don't even support newcastle but can see they have the foundations of a decent midtable prem side if Houghtons given say 30 mill to spend.

The team now is better than the one that went down as they play for each other and have got rid of the dross you can't tell me that sunderland would not want enrique or a makam Carroll.

Enrique definately, Carroll absolutely not

why cant people spell hughton?

not a dig at anyone, just irritating lol

Seems a better player than Jones. Tbf

Not a patch on lee Chapman or Tony yeboah but for a lad his age he doing all right (on the pitch).

Holds the line well scores with head and feet,good knock downs and works hard for his team.

I am dyselxic so most of my post's are littered with spelling/grammer mistakes can not be arsed to spell check or research the managers name of a team i don't surport.

we'll see next season

never understood why jones is rated so highly

how many good seasons has he had?