Although very slim, but we still have the chance to finish in 10th place this season, something that is hard to imagine regarding to our relegation battle couple months ago.

To achieve that, we must win the last two matches against Chelsea and Everton. If we can do that we will have 49 points in total, with assumption Spurs lost in their final match at White Hart Lane against Liverpool and West Ham also lost at home to Villa.

The best chance we can get is to finish above Tottenham, which I will celebrate it all night long. So let’s concentrate for today match and hope the Lads can give all the very best of them at St. James’s Park.

A win today will also means alot to those who are lucky enough to get into the fortress St. James to watch the game live. According to the official site, United will select a season ticket holder at random from their database and the lucky fan plus a guest will be able to enjoy the first home game of the 2008/09 season in style with a hospitality package in the Magpie Suite.

This special treat is to celebrate more than one million fans passing through the St. James’ Park turnstiles. From our 20 home games this season, including Carling Cup fixtures against Barnsley and FA Cup replay against Stoke City, an aggregate of 988,419 fans have been recorded and the million mark will break through again with a confirmed 52,000 tickets sell-out today.

Jorge Robledo single goal took United to be the first team in modern football to retain the FA Cup after Blackburn Rovers did 60 years before. Newcastle won the FA Cup two years in succession after a win against Arsenal in Wembley.

In the year that Arsenal had been one of the main runners in the Championship chase that season but only settle for third in the end. We had comparatively disappointing season and finished eighth despite scoring more than any other team with 98 goals.

Before the final match, both teams met at Highbury where a weakened Newcastle side satisfied with a 1-1 draw. Earlier in the season we had beaten them 2-0 at home.

United’s best performers in the final game were coming from our back line where Harvey, Cowell, Brennan and McMichael did well to create the wall to held the opposite players to come any near or creating chances.

On the other half the herculean efforts from Arsenal players also did well to guard United’s most feared strikeforce, Jackie Milburn, before Chilean-born Jorge Robledo score the only goal. United captain Joe Harvey receive the Cup from Winston Churchill.

Newcastle United road to Wembley 1951-1952
Round 3 vs Aston Villa 4-2
Round 4 vs Tottenham Hotspur 3-0
Round 5 vs Swansea Town 1-0
Quarter-Final vs Portsmouth 4-2
Semi-Final vs Blackburn Rovers 0-0, 2-1

Final Wembley, 3 May 1952
NEWCASTLE UNITED (0) 1 - ARSENAL (0) 0

Newcastle United :
Simpson - Cowell, McMichael, Harvey, Brennan, Eduardo Robledo, Walker, Foulkes, Milburn, Jorge Robledo, Mitchell.

Arsenal :
Swindin - Barnes, Smith, Forbes, Daniel, Mercer, Cox, Logie, Holton, Lishman, Roper.

Referee : A. Ellis.
Att: 100,000

Fortunate Newcastle United avoided the frist defeat in Keegan’s last seven matches at the hands of West Ham, in a day where we were once again the poor side for the first 40 minutes.

The home side had an early goal from Mark Noble before Dean Ashton added their second in the midway of first-half. But, the relieving Toon gaffer would have to thanks his African squad members after Martins and Geremi get us back in action in the last 2 minutes of first-half.

I also consider we’re the lucky side too when Uriah Rennie refused to award a penalty for the home team when the ball hit Michael Owen on the hand.

“I would sooner be a lucky manager than a good one,” Keegan said. “For me, Alex Ferguson is a very lucky manager, but unfortunately not today.”

It looks like Keegan will have to think any other possible options for our next fixture at home against Chelsea. To be honest, starting from our last week game against the mackems, we have been less impressive if not bad performance. Yesterday, Harper’s distribution was so bad, and forced Keegan to had Fraser Forster warming up after 25 minutes.

The 33 years-old stopper, although not being superior in distributions, have a decent save when he deny Ashton’s rasping shot 10 minutes from the end, while a last-ditch save by Green from Martins ends the second-half with no further goals from both team.

“I have never handled a player quite like Martins,” Keegan said after the match when asked his opinion about Martins, “He does fantastic things and he is more of a team player now.”

A draw means we have lost a great chance to climb up above Spurs after they also only have a draw against the bottom rock team Bolton Wanderers.

West Ham United:
Robert Green, John Pantsil, George McCartney, Lucas Neill (c), James Tomkins, Julien Faubert, Mark Noble, Scott Parker, Bobby Zamora, Dean Ashton
Subs: Nobby Solano, James Walker, Carlton Cole, Hayden Mullins, Luis Boa Morte

Newcastle United FC:
Steve Harper, Habib Beye, Jose Enrique, David Edgar, Steven Taylor, Nicky Butt, Geremi, Joey Barton, Oba Martins, Michael Owen (c), Mark Viduka
Subs: Fraser Forster, Damien Duff, Lamine Diatta, Alan Smith, Andy Carroll

Referee: Uriah Rennie
Attendance: 34, 980

Don’t be silly, I was almost having a heart attack when I saw the paragraph in an article at Times Online. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I read it again from the beginning and found out the reality at the first sentence of the next paragraph.

It was from reports this morning who claimed that Kevin Keegan was ready take Thierry Henry back to England.

“It’s fantastic isn’t it. I have had lunch with him - I have had fantastic lunches this week at the training ground. We have had [Luka] Modric there with Thierry Henry, Deco has been in for a meal…” Keegan said. “Unfortunately, that’s fantasy football. Back to reality…”

More in the article, Keegan said he has submitted a list of summer transfer targets, but especially about Henry, It was something that if he went to a talk-in and a 10-year-old kid asked him if he could fetch one player to Newcastle United, who would that be?

Keegan said, he will give the answer it was Thierry Henry because he is the best player the Premier League has ever had. And KK said, the minutes later all the news in the internet and fans site will posting the article as we are now signing Thierry Henry.

I have made one mistake before when I was receiving a text from a friend of mine who said he’s listen to a news from Star Sports mentioning we have signed Deco from Barcelona. My fault at didn’t do the check and re-check first, but I quickly write about it here. That post is one of my most viewed article of all time. More than 1,000 views in couple of days…

So, when couple of days ago, many internet news reporting about the “Croatian Genius” Luka Modric is already come to the North East and talk about his move from Dinamo Zagred to Newcastle, I just wait and digging more informations about that.

Still from the Times article, Keegan said: “If you are looking at a young midfield player who has got a fantastic future ahead of him, Modric is one of them. But then every other club in the league, from Arsenal and Manchester United, would like Modric.”

True, I was thinking the same that Modric would be a fantastic signing for Toon next season, but maybe we will have to offering him something that the other premier league giants can give it to him. We may cannot offer the European league next season, also we can not give a promise that United will definetely go to Europe again in the summer next year.

But, it’s interesting to read the news from Sky Sports (oh…I hope they’re telling the truth this time, not that Deco stuff again) that Croatia manager Slaven Bilic has backed Newcastle United in their reported interest in Dinamo Zagreb star Luka Modric. Bilic has tipped The Magpies to land the sought-after schemer, insisting the St James’ Park club would suit the Croatia international.

At the moment, the only news that I can take it as closer to the reality was coming from Times Online.

Fresh from a series of meetings with Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, and chairman Chris Mort, Keegan revealed that he has targeted three or four top-class players he believes can take the club to the next level. The process of attracting those targets will now be left to Dennis Wise, Tony Jimenez and Jeff Vetere, the club’s technical co-ordinator.

“That’s it now. If someone asks me how we are getting on with our targets, I can honestly say, ‘I don’t know’ because I am not party to that. But I will know the minute they are complete or have failed, I guess - hopefully complete.” Keegan said.

Lads and Lasses, keep your fingers crossed and let’s hope Dennis and co will coming back to Keegan with wonderful news, at the moment all I can say is wait and see.

I hope you still remember every single words you said earlier in the summer last year when your big mouth shout about you will bring your team to be the dominant force in the North East. The fact is you and your rookie manager will possibly bring mackems back to the championships next season.

Yesterday the lads were too generous to your team in the second-half after we did great in first-half and wor Michael Owen producing his best form for Newcastle, scoring six goals in six games for us now and he will keep scoring until May to take us end this season with more pride.

In a game that we should have won with bigger margin and have an own goal disallowed, Keegan said that we have seeing the very best of MO right now, and pleased about that.

“In that position, people thought he wouldn’t score goals - but he can’t stop scoring goals - he’s now a midfield player and a forward, so we’ve got two players in Michael.” Keegan added more from the official site, “This is the first time he’s had a run here, and the first time the fans have seen the real Michael Owen. And I’m glad they are seeing it.”

By the way, after reviewing a match preview from Sunderland Echo before the North-East derby, I was so pleased to read what they write today. They write about a defeat in this derby is death-in-the-family-time for most fans on either side. And for an awful lot of mackems, the simple truth is that if their team were to beat Boro, Bolton and Arsenal in their final three games, it wouldn’t make up for yesterday’s defeat.

Yes, actually your team was lucky only lost by two goals against the Mighty Magpies who is not playing good yesterday. I think from now, you better prepare some tissues, and weep in bitter tears when you get all those three games left end-up with another defeat.

And oh, before I forgotten. I’d like to hear your young Richardson would say now, does he still think that mackems can be as big as ManU after what he saw yesterday? Now who’s got the real “soap opera” here, Newcastle United or mackems? After three wins or so, your player think mackems will be the new premier league leader? I don’t think so It took another century at least, and maybe more…

We are the Geordies, the Geordie boot boys,
Oh we are mental, oh we are mad,
we are the loyalist, football supporters,
the world has ever had!

HOWAY THE LADS!!!