Newcastle United - Race to Europe....

Currently in 6th position with close points between the magpies and 5th placed Chelsea, Newcastle look like a likely customer for a ticket to Europe.

The Toon has been victorious in Europe before, winning the Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1969, the Anglo Italian Cup in 1973 and lately the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2006. If Newcastle were to reach Europe again their expectations will be far higher, such as the Europa Cup.

Newcastle are joined by Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool for the Europe spot, which will be a hard battle. Chelsea are currently in the Champions League spot but are not far ahead of Newcastle and 5th place Arsenal. With not that long left of the 2011/12 season it is all to play for.

The latest form for us has slipped a bit in recent weeks with only 2 wins out of 5, and a well fought draw with Sunderland. With tough games to come and which will determine the European place Newcastle have to step up their game. The main players that could help us to get that spot, and my favourite players are Time Krul, captain Coloccini, Davide Santon, Cheick Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and the two Senegalese strikers.

My view and many other Geordie views are that the players have fought very hard this season which has been one of our best for many years. But if Europe comes, facing teams like Ajax and Athletico Bilbao, the players will need to give it that extra push for glory.

For many seasons, the fans have motivated the players to the win and in Europe they will sing their hearts out to get a trophy the north east side deserve. With one of the biggest fan based teams in the country, the Toon army will love travelling all around Europe watching the team play.

The current season, we have been phenomenal in attack and midfield, but still slack at the back. With the loss of Steven Taylor in early season due to an injury which puts him out for the rest of the season, Mike Williamson had to fill the shoes of the first team Geordie centre back. Williamson is not the most experienced defender in the Premier League and that has cost us in many games, but Colo, Santon and Simpson have been outstanding, and not to forget the fling Dutchmen Tim Krul, who has been one of the outstanding players this season.