After a preposterous summer, the Toon Army are gearing up for the latest adventure.
Newcastle United are looking to improve after the exceptionally disappointing 2012-13 season, where the club failed to cope with their extended Europa League exertion coinciding with the Premier League campaign.
The summer has been the usual chaos seemingly token for a pre-season campaign at St. James' Park, with Joe Kinnear swanning into the Director of Football role for seemingly no reason.
The fans were predictably not amused, and the brows were furrowed further when Kinnear made an aching big tit of himself on TalkSport when he managed to mispronounced the names of several key players, saw of Managing Director Derek Llambias and reportedly blocked a deal to sign centre back Douglas from FC Twente on the grounds he knew nothing about the player.
With rumours the club wanted Pardew's former West Ham staples James Tomkins and Carlton Cole and Liverpool misfit Stewart Downing, the fans feared the worst.
However the transfer market has been surprisingly quiet. Only two signings have made the move to Tyneside, albeit not for the want of the rumour mill's trying.
The team begins the campaign on Monday 19th at Manchester City, which is an awful place to start given the Citizens mauled us 4-0 in March. The fixture list however is relatively calm afterwards, with Everton the only other biggish side in the first seven matches. Wins against the likes of Fulham and Hull, for example, will be crucial.
A few thoughts:
What Would Be A Great Season?: Solid midtable going higher. It would be fantastic if the 2011-12 season could be replicated but that seems unlikely at present.
What Would Be A Horrible Season?: Watching Joe Kinnear valiantly lead the team towards the Championship, with a legion of underperformers wanting out.
What's The Likelier Outcome?: As ever with the Toon, its a job to say. The team has a great squad that fell dramatically astray last year and its a challenge to guess what will happen. It is likely we will wind up in another midtable position.
Key Player: Yohan Cabaye. He can provide a great presence in midfield and the creative spark that can fuel the team's attacking intent.
Needs To Improve: Cheick Tiote was a frequent liability last year as he often gets suspended or gives away possession cheaply. Somewhere in him is the man who was a midfield king a few years back and he has to rediscover the form.
Will Be Missed: The versatility of James Perch made him a valued asset and his departure to Wigan Athletic robs the squad of a key utility option.
Good That He's Still Here: After a summer of rumours linking Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse with moves out, its surprising that all are still here. But given they are very important players that fact is also very welcome.
Why Is He Still Here: Mike Williamson's awful defensive record last year led to him being linked with Cardiff but despite a reported move he's annoyingly still here. The collapse of Dan Gosling's move to Crystal Palace also means we're still lumped with him.
Incoming: The club have made all of two signings, with loan striker Loic Remy and youngster Oliver Kemen moving to St. James' Park. Remy has the chance to prove himself after controversially rejecting the Toon for QPR in January. Other moves have failed but one or two more incomings are likely before the end of August.
The Manager: 2012-13 was a troubling campaign for Alan Pardew, who celebrated his 8 year contract by embarking on a ridiculously poor run of form. The arrival of Kinnear is not a reassuring touch as Ashley seems to be stacking the deck back in his favour, although a few good results could put Pardew back in the good books.
Something To Keep From Last Year: The bleeding of youngsters was encouraging but a number of them are yet to convince as regulars. However Paul Dummett and Sammy Ameobi have shown some form in pre-season, while Gael Bigirimana is still an exciting prospect.
Something To Improve: There are all sorts of things. Corners - though the fact we scored from one against Braga indicates a change in luck. Giving away penalties. Defensive positioning. Attitude. Retaining possession. Incoherent tactics. I could go on but there really would be no point.
Pre-Season:
Motherwell (A) 4-2 win
Rio Ave (A) 3-1 defeat
Pacos de Ferreira (A) 1-1 draw
Blackpool (A) 1-0 win
St. Mirren (A) 2-0 win
Rangers (A) 1-1 draw
Braga (H) 1-1 draw
A Word On The New Kits: The first new kits with Wonga.com on the front includes a new home kit where the standard black and white stripes includes additional thin blue stripes in the black ones and two thin blue stripes down the side of the kit. The away, by contrast, uses a very dark blue with Puma's standard shoulder stripes similar to the Wolves away kit. An alternative black and white half-and-half kit was used for the Braga match as a one-off, while a yellow third kit similar to Cardiff City's is also rumoured. They're all surprisingly decent but as formulaic as ever.
So, the all important final question...
Where Will We Finish?
In all probability, the fact we have a squad capable of both great things and self destructive relegation means we're likely to come nowhere near either extreme. Midtable beckons - 8th-12th, by my reckoning.
But of course, this is the time for prediction and few of them turn up right. Indeed, we hope for exciting things from Newcastle United this season and we look forward to see the season go ahead. With any luck any new season optimism will last longer then the likely opening day humping by Manchester City...
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