The Geordies came and beat a tame Aston Villa

I don't know what to write that hasn't been written before. Sure, I can look at specific statistics from yesterday but that will only really confirm what most know.

Sixty-five long balls of which 40 were successful. Two successful crosses and one goal attempt on target.

Say what you want but if you have one goal attempt on target you're not going to win a match when the other side scores two (incidentally they had eight attempts on target). You might even go so far as to say the result was fair.

I also don't need to go back to the post from earlier this week where I wrote about the mass realisation that all this good feeling of late has just been good feeling or that the most important player we needed to bring in was a midfielder that could put his foot on the ball and was a player for everyone else to look up to.

We're missing something

In the last 15 minutes of the game, a game that we're chasing, Newcastle had more possession than us and that was after a first half where we were poor. But it's not just periods of a game or anything in particular that we can put a finger on.

Before yesterday, I liked to look at it that we had picked up a point against three tough sides (three points from three matches). Today, it's hard to not look at it like we've lost three out of the first four.

We beat Arsenal because they came at us, we were unlucky to not get a point at Chelsea, because they came at us. Liverpool did their homework and beat us because they knew how to play against us, as in not come at us and yesterday, Newcastle didn't have enough to really come at us and they just beat us because over ninety minutes, they created more chances and scored more goals.

But you can look at it in many ways but one thing is for sure; things are not good right now and something needs to happen. It will and we're not going struggle like we did last season, but it really isn't nice that we lose to Newcastle at home.

A long season ahead

And I know it's only four games in but we've got Norwich, Manchester City, Hull, Spurs and Everton coming up between now and the end of October and here is a bold prediction for you; if we don't pick up six points as a minimum from those matches, we'll be in the bottom three entering November and then despite all the good feeling, it will get messy.

For the record, I think we'll get more than six points and we'll end up better this season than we did the last one, but I could be wrong and if things don't happen quicker this season than last, there is no telling what might happen.

It's just the reality of where we are at the moment.