Something For The Weekend

Although last weekend will largely be remembered for the giant-killing heroics of Barnsley and Cardiff in the FA Cup, it also proved a pretty significant weekend of action for the teams involved in the ever-increasing relegation scrap at the bottom of the Premier League. Newcastle were thrashed at Liverpool, Sunderland were edged out at home by Everton, Reading took advantage of Manchester City's slipping form at the Madejski and Wigan wrestled a point from Arsenal at the JJB. All of which means that just three points separate the team in eighteenth and the team in thirteenth.

In the upper echelons of this mini-league are Newcastle on 28 points, but that will be cold comfort for the Magpies, whose fall from grace has been swift and brutal. Just two months ago, the United faithful were planning for a brave new world after returning favourite Kevin Keegan replaced the deeply unpopular Sam Allardyce. The former Bolton man's short reign at St James' Park had been marked by his typically defensive tactics, and they had not gone down well with the passionate Newcastle support.

Keegan's arrival was supposed to mark a return to the fast, flowing, attacking football that brought so much success to the club in the mid-90s, and the 4-1 FA Cup Third Round replay win at home to Stoke on the day his return was announced bade well for fans' expectations. However, that has proven their only victory since a brace of last minute wins over Fulham and Birmingham in early December and for their last win before that you've got to go all the way back to a 22nd October triumph at home to Spurs.

Three league wins in the last five months.