The Week for Newcastle United 15
- mattlewis89
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
The most important part of today’s article is, I and I’m sure everyone who has a strong and emotional connection to Newcastle United wish nothing but the best for our former player and manager Kevin Keegan as he undergoes treatment for cancer.
King Kev is an absolute legend of Newcastle United and football in general and we wish him a full and speedy recovery as he battles the disease and undergoes the treatment.
“I would Love it if we won 4-3, Love it”
If there were ever a match and a score line to encapsulate and honour King Kev it was the game last night. It was a perfect advert for the premier league, end to end at times, and showed the heart and desire from our players that is always the bare minimum every fan expects.
Credit to Leeds they came and played their part in a classic and I don’t think they will be in any danger of going down this season and they gave us a stressful night going in front three times having me fearing if it would be another 2 steps forward 1 step back sort of month.
The referee had a shocker and if I’m honest I was adamant that a player was going to be sent off because at time the referee had no control over the game. I suppose that contributed to it being a premier league classic but still frustrating.
Fabian Schar went off with a nasty injury and with his contract being up at the end of the season we can only hope that it wasn’t his last game in the Black and White. Pound for Pound he has been one of the best Newcastle United signings in my lifetime playing over 250 games for the club and when I think back to the Boumsong and Bramble’s of years gone by having a defender of Schars quality and consistency has been a joy. I hope his injury isn’t as bad as it initially looks and we see him play for Newcastle again.
The other negative for me is that Thaiw had a shocking game which we haven’t said too many times this season. If it were to carry on I would be concerned but to put it into context we have had a lot of defensive injuries at different points this season and Thaiw has been the one constant throughout being involved with 27 out of our 30 competitive matches this season. Of course, he had an awful game yesterday, but he has showed a level of consistency that will hopefully continue through the second half of the season but also with players coming back from injury he may have that chance to get a mental and physical break for a game or two.
Lewis Miley had another fantastic game and ended up playing in 3 different positions during the game. Once again, he showed his versatility and even when he was at centre back and there could have been concerns, he made some decent tackles and showed his maturity and adaptability that has solidified him as one of our most important players especially over recent weeks.
Harvey Barnes is another player who when called upon this season has stepped and my word, did he ever with the winner yesterday. That’s 8 goals and 2 assists this season now for Barnes which is an impressive return but also point winning goals as well. I know Barnes can be frustrating when he has one of those head scratcher games, but when he is firing another player who has made a big difference in important moments.
Between the Man Utd and Burnley game I wrote an article called “Time to go or the dark before the dawn” and I am so pleased that it looks like the later. Here is a quote from the article.
“This is why I am putting so much importance on the Burnley game because if we beat Burnley, we can go into January with something more to build on, and our home form can only enhance what could be a successful month.”
Fast forward and we got that win at Burnley regardless of the performance and followed it up with 2 league wins that have fired us up to 6th. We have a working break from the league with another two home games in the cup but knowing that we are back within ½ points of the likely champions League qualifying positions has drastically changed the dynamic of where our season is.
The Transfer window could be an opportunity for us to strengthen our depth depending on player sales but also momentum is a buzz word I use a lot and with only 2/9 of the January games played my hope is that the Toon train keeps on rolling through January.
The Lasses are back
So, with the mammoth January for the first team maybe our other sides can have a less eventful one. What’s the Lasses fixtures looking like for January?
Birmingham at Home 2nd In WSL 2
WSL side West Ham at Home in the FA Cup
Unbeaten top of the League Charlton Away in WSL 2 who only lost twice in all competitions in 2025
So, a potentially season defining month for the lasses. We haven’t been beaten in the league since we played Charlton and Birmingham back in September but will be under no illusions the magnitude of those two fixtures. Failing to pick up points in one or both of the games will likely end our chances of automatic promotion and leave us with the uncertainty of a play off as our primary target.
That being said, the Tanya Oxtoby era has started off very well with three wins out of three in the league and FA Cup combined and with hopefully a big crowd at the GIS on Sunday with no fixture clash this weekend there is a chance for a big statement win to start 2026.
Under 18s
Nine massive games across 4 different competitions for the first team, the top 2 in the league plus a chance to upset a WSL side in the FA Cup for the lasses, what do the U18s have going on this month?
The U18s had a Brilliant first half of the season and sit in 3rd place a point behind 2nd with two games in hand. We kick off away at Blackburn on Saturday lunchtime before a home game with mid table Liverpool a week later. Then comes a big couple of weeks with a Last 32 FA Youth cup game at home to Palace before ending the month against top of the league Manchester City.
Could the Under 18s really go and reach the Premier League under 18s League Final?
Under 21s
The Under 21s are the poorest performers of the four Newcastle United sides mentioned with only four 90-minute wins from nineteen in all competitions (4 wins from 25 if you include the UFEA Youth League U19s fixtures) You would be forgiven for thinking that the U21s competitions are a bit of a write off this season but with the international cup finishing this month the focus will solely be on premier league 2.
At the conclusion of the of the league phase the top 32 enter a knockout tournament and with Newcastle Under 21’s playing 2 derby matches against Middlesbrough and Sunderland in the next 2 leagues who sit directly below us in Premier League 2 it gives the U21s the chance to start looking upwards.
Results 3rd January-8th January
Premier League - Newcastle United 2 Crystal Palace 0
PGA League Under 21 Division 2 – Newcastle United Women U21s 1 Tottenham Women Under 21s 3
Premier League – Newcastle United 4 Leeds United 3
Fixtures 9th January-15th January
Friday 9th January Newcastle Under 21s Vs Middlesbrough U21s Premier League 2
Saturday 10th January Blackburn Rovers U18s Vs Newcastle United U18s Premier League Under 18s
Saturday 10th January Newcastle United Vs Bournemouth FA Cup 3rd Round
Sunday 11th January Newcastle United Women Vs Birmingham City Women WSL2
Tuesday 13th January Newcastle United Under 21s Vs Benfica B Premier League International Cup
Tuesday 13th January Newcastle United Vs Manchester City League Cup Semi Final 1st Leg
Wednesday 14th January Newcastle United Women U21s Vs Southampton Women U21s PGA League Under 21 Division 2
Tables
