Newcastle United fans defined by their reaction to this

Newcastle United fans watched on as their team ended up with a 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

Two goals up at the break, it looked like the perfect early Christmas present.

However, Chelsea scoring twice in the second half and United unable to add to their first half goals.

Almost fifty thousand Newcastle United fans streaming away from St James’ Park, the early kick-off meaning they had even more hours in the pubs to debate what they had just seen.

Countless others having watched the match via TV, on Tyneside and around the globe, with thousands and thousands of them having their own post-match analysis.

Having had a bit of time to gauge what has been said, it feels like this particular match has defined exactly where Newcastle United fans are now at.

Glass half full

I came out of St James’ Park with mixed emotions.

Gutted that we hadn’t got the three points BUT my overriding feeling had me bouncing with anticipation.

This was a match where it opened up a vision of just what could now be possible this season.

How could anybody come away from this match not buzzing with that performance from United???

Chelsea a club where the current rules help allow their owners to spend more on new signings than any other club in the world, yet the Newcastle United team ripped them apart in that opening half.

In the media they have tried to pitch this game as the proverbial two halves , that somehow the 2-2 final scoreline reflected the overall performances of the two teams.

If it had been a boxing match, I reckon it would have been scored 10-0 in Newcastle’s favour the first 45, then maybe 8-7 in Chelsea’s favour the second 45.

If it had been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the contest long before the break, as Chelsea took a battering like they never have done before. The visitors did improve after the break but apart from their two goals that came from a long range free-kick that Ramsdale should have saved and a terrible bit of defending by the usually ultra reliable Thiaw, it was Newcastle who still had by far the best chances after the break.

As we all know, some appalling refereeing and a cowardly totally incompetent VAR, badly let Newcastle United down. Three clear penalties denied, the Fofana handball and assault on Gordon beyond belief, when a spot-kick wasn’t given. Whilst James took out Barnes in the box, never touching the ball. This all on top of two red cards that couldn’t have been more transparent, Garnacho should have gone when going over the top with his studs on Ramsey and then James pulling back Barnes just outside the penalty area late on, when the Chelsea player was last man.

The fact is though that the game overall when it came to the simple basic way we should evaluate all matches, is that creating clear chances compared to how many you allow the opposition, it is beyond belief that United didn’t win. Match after match (with a certain exception when neither side bothered the goal just down the road…) Eddie Howe’s team are creating so many great chances now. When they start finishing a decent proportion of them, scoring two per match will very quickly becomes three, four and five a game on a regular basis.

Bottom line is if Newcastle United can perform to the levels they did against Chelsea on Sunday and against Man City four weeks earlier, we are capable of beating anybody AND in most cases we will.

This was brilliant on Saturday and whilst of course the energy levels of the first half could never be fully sustained for the full match, that should never have mattered as only shocking match officials and a lot of great wasted chances prevented what should have been a heavy victory. Only those two poor bits of defending for the Chelsea goals allowing an unjust final scoreline, I bet after the match the visitors couldn’t believe their luck.

Glass half empty

Other Newcastle United fans apparently saw things differently on Saturday.

In this modern day environment of online and social media etc, it is very difficult to gauge exactly what the general mood is, the split amongst Newcastle United fans, as so many on YouTube or wherever, have a vested interest in going so extreme and so negative, to try and get attention.

In my experience it was very much a minority view inside St James’ Park and in the pubs afterwards, but these Newcastle United fans are out there. Declaring this 2-2 draw against Chelsea as more ‘proof’ of why Newcastle United are ‘failing’ and their glass isn’t even half full, more like totally drained of any positivity.

Even a lunatic fringe amongst these Newcastle United fans who after Saturday, think this is final ‘proof’ as to why Eddie Howe should be sacked!

What’s the balance?

It wasn’t Eddie Howe who failed to take chance after chance, it wasn’t Eddie Howe that volleyed past the post from close range when it was easier to score, as was the case with Woltemade and Barnes, amongst many other missed chances. It wasn’t Eddie Howe on VAR, somehow denying Newcastle United very clear decisions, one after the other.

I have already stated very clearly what grouping of Newcastle United fans I am in after Saturday.

Obviously there are no guarantees that Newcastle will reproduce the levels they showed on Saturday against Chelsea BUT no guarantees they won’t. I think after such a horrendous pre-season and delayed transfer activity, then compounded by so many injuries and suspensions, we are finally seeing things come together, the underlying indicators are all very good.

We are now seeing very clearly I think, just how massive a blow it was to see Wissa ruled out for pretty much the first half of the season. He was always the striker who was going to be the closest replacement for you know who, whilst Woltemade given time to gradually get used to his new team, league and country. With Wissa on the pitch, he alone will ensure that many more of these chances in the penalty area will finish in the back of the net, whilst I think his goalscoring will prove contagious, with teammates also starting to convert far more of the chances that come their way.

Last season, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United won the Carabao Cup in unbelievable circumstances, considering they had to do it against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal (twice) and Liverpool. United didn’t fluke it, they were easily the better team against all of these three and scored eight goals in the four games and only conceded the one, that jammy Liverpool one that denied a true reflection of just how dominant Eddie Howe’s team had been.

Having dispatched Spurs and Fulham, it now looks like as well as Man City over two legs, Newcastle will then face Arsenal or Chelsea (or Palace) to win it this time.

I think Newcastle United are now running into the kind of attacking form where they could well do this.

I also think winning against PSV and PSG isn’t impossible to ensure an automatic place in the Champions League last 16, or failing that, getting through the play-offs.

As for the Premier League, a strange old season with everybody beating everybody else, Newcastle United only six points off top four and with 21 games left. Eddie Howe has shown time and time again that he can get his team on winning runs of form and if doing so over the next half dozen games for example, things could look very different.

I can’t wait to see more of what I witnessed on Saturday and I think it is absolutely huge that now Eddie Howe has both strikers fit and available.

Judge Eddie Howe on what happens between now and the end of the season, not these opening months of the season when he has had to be constantly firefighting.