So we can fight then!
For some people it was a case of pure relief, while others ate humble pie, but Newcastle United showed they were up for the fight at Bramall Lane to make Premiership football almost a certainty next season.
United had been hammered from all directions after their poor Premiership form but against Neil Warnock's plucky Sheffield United, three vital points were picked up to secure their first Premiership win since Febuary 10 and their first Premiership goal in 397 minutes.
It's been an awful sequence from Newcastle but they won a game that Sir Bobby Robson would certainly have referred to as a 'banana blip'.
The Robson-ology of course was supposed to be referring to a 'banana skin' but finally Newcastle fans were toasting victory tonight!
To be fair after Oba Martins had given United a first half lead with his 17th strike of term, the game could have been polished off before the break when Damien Duff sent one inches wide.
And when Sibierski somehow missed a sitter in the second half the game should have been finished after Martins had somehow won the ball off Paddy Kenny in the right-back area and somehow sent it against the post from an impossible angle!
Yet typical of Newcastle, they chose the hard way and allowed Sheff United to level before sweating it out for a frantic finish.
True, when the Blades equalised United were down to 10 men after Christian Nade tied things up but wasn't it all worth it to see Steven Taylor power home that header late in the day?
Taylor summed up the fighting spirit on the day and deserved the plaudits at the end.
So 40 points in the bag, we will be playing Premiership football next season barring a total disaster and six games left to get a respectable finish.
Whether they can remains to be seen - but surely you feel a bit better after that?
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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Watched the game and as i predicted a 2-1 defeat, it came a pleasant surprise that we walked a way with the points, it was also good to see GR making the tough decisions and dropping his favorites but out of form players, a bit late in the day but still welcomed. Milner back in the team where he should be and he did well, Nobby back at RB and Carr moved over to the left, the balance in the back four looked ok for a change.
Lets hope that same fight and spirit and team selection is still there for next weeks game.
Thank God that the Sheffield United offense didn't show up the Newcastle defense as if they were 12 years old. Arsenal is going to be a big game. I think they can win! The post about the speed line-up looks fantastic. If Butt is up to the holding midfielder role and I mean playing well, then that would be ideal.