Goodbye Geordies

Looks like he'll be seeing more of QPR, Ipswich Town and Swansea City next season

With the champions of the Premier League settled last week, this last round of the matches will determine the fate of the survivals instead. Four contenders are placed on the chopping block. Middlesbrough at no.19, Newcastle at 18, Hull at 17 and Sunderland at 16. Man Utd do have a part to play in that they will be travelling to Hull for the last match. Since Man Utd job is done, there's a recurring concern that a repeat of a West Ham survival coup two seasons ago will materialise again by Hull this time. Fergie, however, reassures that his second string will still have the same desire of winning the last match and will give the match of their life to the Tigers.

And true did the manager stick to his word as the United youngsters proved a point in winning the game 1-0, courtesy of Darren Gibson's goal. Well, that could have been advantageous for the Geordies but noooo..they had a uphill task in dislodging Villa at their own backyard and they were in trouble the moment Damien's own goal went in. Nothing came out of it and they were condemned. Sunderland lost to Chelski but they were up since they had more points in the first place. Boro looked to be the most likely to fail in the bid to escape and the loss to West Ham just confirmed their ticket to Championship football next season.

Newcastle's disastrous season was already in the writing from the first half of the season. They showed lots of guts in holding Man Utd to a draw on the opening game. They had a win afterthat against Bolton. And that's about it as they went on without a victory for the next 7 matches. King Kev couldn't take the heat of being in the hot seat during his second coming and Joe Kinnear took over from him. Joe's first press conference was the stuff of legends as hurl a barrage of "not-so-pleasant' words on the national media. Fifty-two to be precise. It looked to be alright for a moment as Newcastle climbed out of the drop zone for a short while. But there the long spells o of defeats and draw with no victories continue. Victories were more of a ink blot on the wave of defeats they are in. Now, afterthat, Joe had some problems with his heart and he had to go for some hospital surgery. The Geordies were in a limbo, managerless..continue to lose and draw games and they were back at the bottom again. All time favourite Geordie Alan Shearer was roped in to try to rescue the sinking ship but even he can't perform the miracles that he used to do on the pitch.

It's hard to imagine St. James Park hosting 1st Division matches next season. Everyone will wonder what's next for people like Michael Owen and Damien Duff. It's almost reminiscent of the time when Leeds United went for the drop. It's been 16 years in the top flight before the Magpies bite the dust. Newcastle are one of the teams that make football fans smile and laugh whenever we see them. We'll all remember the time when Alan Shearer used to wave his hand up around St. James Park like a rockstar after scoring, the days of Kevin Keegan loving it when he beats Fergie, the disastrous management lessons from Graeme Souness, the 'divine' defending partnership of Jean Alain Boumsong and Titus Bramble and the good old times when Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer would hold fighting tournaments in front of their own fans. Thanks for the memories.