Championship has made Newcastle United much stronger

It’s fair to say that when Newcastle United were relegated from the Premier League last season that some fans were glad to see the back of the Magpies. Newcastle United are a big club no matter what some might say.

People

The reason they are a big club is because of the loyal support of the Toon Army. These loyal bands of fans are without doubt some of the best fans around. They love their team with a passion and the club represent the city.

Newcastle is a working class city and their football team is the hub of the community. Never has a football club been so important to a city. The results of the football club seem to gauge the mood of the city.

Awful

Last season’s awful campaign in the Premier League hurt the supporters of Newcastle United. The fact that the team seemed to surrender so easily didn’t help their cause either. What must have made it worst for the Toon Army was the fact that club legend Alan Shearer was the man at the helm when the club went down.

Overpaid

Newcastle United football club were an accident waiting to happen. They paid overrated players, ridiculous wages and were punished for their poor financial management. Those highly paid players struggled to put in decent performances and didn’t seem to have the heart for the relegation battle.

The Newcastle squad was full of international footballers and lots of people used the old cliché they were too good to go down. Unfortunately for Newcastle and their fans they weren’t. The mass exodus when their relegation was confirmed the true colours of some of their players, although lots of the players left due to financial matters.

Revival

The mass exodus last summer signalled the start of a fresh start for the club. Relegation was just the reality check that the club needed. The club was in massive debts from paying those silly wages. However last summer they slashed their wage bill dramatically and it’s seen a healthy change in fortunes for the club.

That summer clear out brought stability to the club that had been missing for a long time. The clear out left Newcastle with players such as Ryan Taylor, Steven Taylor and Kevin Nolan, all hard working 100 per cent players, unlike some of those who left the club.

The clear out also allowed young striker Andy Carroll centre stage for the Magpies. The youngster made occasional appearances for Newcastle last season.

However it wasn’t until this season that the England under-21 international has became a regular in the first team. And the 21 year-old has taken his opportunity with both hands. He’s scored 11 goals this season and if it wasn’t for relegation the youngster wouldn’t have got his chance.

His performances this season have lead to rather premature comparisons to Toon idol Alan Shearer. While the youngster may never score as many goals Shearer, he has the potential to be a top Premier League striker in the future.

His manager Chris Hughton has played down talk of comparisons with Shearer and called Carroll ‘Unique’. A key quality that Carroll also possesses apart from his footballing ability is the fact that he is a home grown star. There’s nothing the Geordie’s love more than a local boy turned good.

Return

Manager Chris Hughton has done an excellent job, after initially being appointed as caretaker boss. He is the epitome of the new Newcastle taking shape, hard-working honest guy, who gives his all for his team. The Newcastle of this season have proved far too good for the Championship. They look likely to make a quick return to the Premier League. The club has benefited from shedding its deadwood and will be stronger for it next season.