Whilst Liverpool’s pursuit of the quadruple, and thrilling battle with Manchester City for the 2021/22 title are grabbing most of the Premier League column inches, they are far from the only story in what has been another thrilling campaign.
And perhaps the biggest emerging news is taking place on the banks of the River Tyne in the north east of England. Derided as disillusioned by some, and a sleeping giant by others, it seems that Newcastle United may at long last be about to awake from their slumber – a sentence few would have believed prior to the 7th October 2021.
The Day When Everything Changed
Six digits destined to be etched into the memory banks of many Magpies supporters, the 07/10/21 was of course the date when the on again, off again, takeover saga drew to a successful conclusion, sparking scenes of jubilation outside St. James’ Park.
And the reason for such wild celebration was of course the replacement of dissatisfaction with genuine hope for the future. Signalling the end of the Mike Ashley era, marked by two relegations and a business model solely geared towards survival, the club could finally dare to dream once more – with the takeover by an Amanda Staveley led, Saudi Arabia backed consortium immediately positioning Newcastle United as the club with the richest owners in the whole of the global game. First things first though, Newcastle United had to maintain their Premier League status.
The Great Escape Complete
And they had to do so wildly against the odds. Rock bottom of the standings, without a win in their opening 14 fixtures, the Black and Whites sat fully 7 points adrift of safety. The stats were certainly against them too, as in the entire history of the Premier League, no side had EVER managed to survive having failed to win any of their first 14 fixtures. No doubt many customers consulting the odds available at the best new bookmakers online were keen to back the Black and Whites to be relegated.
