Even when they were blazing a Premiership trail a couple of seasons ago, qualifying for Europe and playing an expansive and attractive brand of football along the way, there were still people muttering about how hard an act that would be to follow and how Europe would put an unholy strain on the squad.

Both of which turned out to be true, as it happened. But when you look at things in the round, the grass of Toon is actually always greener and not on the other side of Tyneside.

The owner might not be well liked. But at least he’s English. The man in charge of player recruitment might be universally derided, but things are even worse at Cardiff.

And however patchy the start to the season, it’s oh so much better than Sunderland’s. A glance at the odds tells you all you need to know about Newcastle’s chances of winning the Premiership this season.

Yep, Newcastle are 2000-1. And yep, some on Tyneside would argue that those odds aren’t long enough. But what would constitute a good season for Alan Pardew and his band of merry (mostly French) men?

Finishing above Sunderland should keep the most parochial fans happy. And that’s an eminently achievable scenario. Sunderland might have acted swiftly to move on from the Di Canio debacle, but replacing him with Gus Poyet is a risky strategy. The Uruguayan is not dissimilar to the Italian. He splits opinions, isn’t frightened to ruffle feathers and is more ‘my way or the highway’ than consensus-builder.

So with local bragging rights looking fairly secure, will a mid-table finish be good enough?

With the squad that Newcastle possess, the answer is probably no. Give Pardew a fully fit and firing first team and his side can beat pretty much anyone in the division. But they’re a mercurial bunch likely to beat Man City one week and then lose to Palace the next.

It will be Pardew’s task to instill some consistency and recreate the spirit of the 2011/12 campaign. Get anywhere close to it and a top ten finish is theirs to be had.

Europa League qualification? Unlikely

The Premiership looks like being a wild ride this season, with any one of six teams in with a chance of winning the title. Man City are the bookies’ favourites, but Chelsea have the experience, the backbone and the depth of squad to come out on top. Those three attributes are what the current Toon squad lack.

If there really are six teams in with a shout of winning the Premiership, then it stands to reason that two of them will miss out on the Champions League places and will therefore slug it out for the Europa League spot.

Based on the season so far, those teams will most likely be Spurs, Liverpool and maybe even the suddenly vulnerable Manchester United.

Now what about Newcastle? A top eight finish, however, is well within their grasp. Throw in at least one decent cup run and that’s a perfectly decent season in the eyes of most people.

Finish above Everton and it’ll be a successful one. Get rid of Joe Kinnear along the way and it’ll be a triumph.

And talking of recruitment, there will be another indicator of a successful Newcastle campaign this season involving keeping hold of certain players.

Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Sissoko, Gouffran, Remy – these are quality players. Fit, in-form and motivated, they could get into pretty much any team in the Premiership.

Holding onto them, and in Remy’s case making the loan deal a permanent one, would go a long way to moving Newcastle from mid-table this season to top six the next.

Yes, the squad needs to be strengthened, especially at the back. But there’s a quality core to it that should be cherished and supported and clung on to.

And then the grass truly will be greener on Tyneside.

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Although the news are saying Given’s lawyer Michael Kennedy has took the unusual step of issuing a statement on his client’s behalf, Joe Kinnear was refusing last night that Shay Given wants to leave Tyneside.

Times reporting about Kinnear claimed that Given had told him yesterday morning that he wanted to remain at Newcastle and accused Kennedy of releasing the statement without his client’s approval. Kinnear also said that he and Given has been discussed the future over a cup of coffee at Newcastle’s training ground yesterday morning.

Also from the Times online, Kinnear said: “We actually rung the guy who made the statement and asked him why he put it out. He said he was aware that these clubs were interested in Shay. He told me that is what he read in the papers and he acted accordingly.”

Acted accordingly? I think that Kennedy ‘acted accordingly’ was because there were potentially big cash on his pocket if Shay is actually leaving Tyneside to any of three clubs that are said to be interested on him. I would place a bet on this with my Bet365 bonus code found on the web.

Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham are those three clubs that being linked with Shay if he does leave. But, Arsene Wenger has said he’s not going to buy a new goalkeeper on January transfer window.

Meanwhile, United will travel to Hull City for today’s FA Cup Third Round clash with a good record at third stage of the competition during Newcastle’s Premier League years. The Magpies have only lost just one Third Round tie since returning to the top flight in 1993.

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After Sunday’s 5-1 Barclays Premier League defeat by Liverpool, the club’s injury list has reached double figures and Joe admits that it’s been more or less a case of cancelling training and wrapping all of his players, and see if he can get 11 players to be fit for Hull’s match this weekend.

The only good news that Joe can cheers about is the French defender Sebastien Bassong will return from a one-match ban. Jose Enrique, Nicky Butt and Shola Ameobi all will have late fitness tests.

But Habib Beye will be sidelined for up to two months with a knee problem. Mark Viduka, Obafemi Martins, Claudio Cacapa and Joey Barton are among them who has a long-term injuries.

The Toon boss, on his New Year’s message said that he is keen to take Newcastle United to climb the Premier League table in 2009.

He feels that Newcastle side is still good enough to achieve a respectable position in the second period of the campaign despite all the lengthy injury list.

“I’m proud of what we have achieved so far, and I feel we can build on it.” He said, as quoted from the Chronicle, “I am only looking ahead and only look upwards, and I think we can get a respectable finish because this division is just so close.”

Meanwhile, Shay Given has insisted he is not going to leave the St James’s Park after serving the Toon for as long as 12 seasons. Shay is contracted with Newcastle until 2011.

According to a source close to the 32-year-old goalkeper, who told the Chronicle, Shay always given his all for Newcastle United, and that will never change.

Being frustrated at how things had gone on the pitch against Liverpool was the reason why he left the field so quickly, but to say he’s unhappy at Newcastle is 100 % wrong.

Another report suggesting that Inter Milan’s coach Jose Mourinho could make a move for the Magpies’ skipper and was offering one of his players in a swap deal. Owen is now free to talk to other clubs, but insisted he wants to wait until the end of this season before making it clear about his future at Tyneside.

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As quoted from telegraph website, Lee said “But it’s now a matter of whether or not Mike Ashley wants to invest more money – because he will have to – or whether he just wants to get the club off his hands now.”

Furthermore, Lee said that he’s admire of what the Tottenham’s owner Daniel Levy admitted to have got it wrong, by letting someone else buy players for the manager.

“They’ve now resorted to the way it should be done with Harry Redknapp and he certainly wouldn’t accept that.” Lee added more at the telegraph website.

True to that. I was in personal sees no further benefits to continue the war, and if everyone can realise the future of this club is all that matters, and if Mike Ashley is willing to do the same as Levy did at White Hart Lane, I can forgive Mike Ashley.

Whether MA will open a new conversation to bring KK back or not, that’s another thing, but if he really wants to make a whole new way of relationships between him and the Toon Army, it’s the right time now for him to make a new statement.

And the other important thing at the moment is that JFK is now seeking for a long-term deal with United, after securing the first win for Newcastle since August 2008.

Currently served the club on a month-to-month contract, Joe Kinnear has warned the club owner that he is not prepared to serve as a short-term firefighter indefinitely.

“If Newcastle is not sold quickly there is going to come a point when I’ve got to look after myself,” he said on the guardian site, “I would like a bit more security, I suppose.”

When Ashley appointed him, he does not offering Joe a package that accompanies longer-term deals. “When we had our first chat I saw myself being here two to a maximum of three months, but if the club hasn’t been sold by then we’ll have to review the situation,” said Kinnear. “I want to stay in the game. But I haven’t got a clue what the future holds.”

Now, the future seems still as cloudy as the fog of the Tyne, time will tell and I was hoping if not as soon as before Christmas, JFK would have his contract reveals and so he can continue to build-up the Lads mentality back.

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