Momentum with Newcastle

Alan Pardew's Newcastle are a team on the up; a team who have slowly but surely crept up the Premier League table, and capitalised on the failings of both Tottenham and Chelsea. But now they are starting to be recognised as serious threats, with the mercurial front three of Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa leading their charge to Europe's top competition, something completely unpredicted at the beginning of the season.

Since the departure of Andy Carroll in that sensational £35m move to Liverpool last January, Pardew has crafted a multi-faceted team, who can both express themselves and graft for results, with a settled side that has gelled into a well-oiled unit. With the dominating figure of Fabricio Coloccini in defence, ably supported by the emergence of Tim Krul, one of the league's best goalkeepers, Newcastle have built the foundations for a team that can go on to greater things, perhaps showing themselves to be the best Geordie side since Kevin Keegan's side, who came so close yet so far to winning the title in 1996. Yohann Cabaye and Cheik Tiote have also revelled in their midfield roles, showing themselves to be of the calibre to elevate Newcastle to unprecedented levels of success.

And what a piece of business that Carroll deal is looking, with his replacement Cisse taking his goal tally to 10 from 9 games, whilst the former occupant of the famous number nine shirt has struggled to live up to his astronomical price tag, with a measly 6 goals from 40 appearances. The figures speak for themselves, as Cisse's emergence has already made Carroll a distant memory, something highlighted when Newcastle recently beat Liverpool 2-0, with both goals scored by Cisse and with Carroll booked for diving, booed off and storming off down the St James' tunnel.

And whilst their remaining fixtures, with a difficult trip to Chelsea, rivals to a Champions League place, and a home game against Manchester City look challenging on paper, the momentum is certainly with the Geordies, who since beating likely title winners Manchester United 3-0 have looked well on course to continue their relentless run.

Whatever happens come the end of the season, Newcastle will have enjoyed a fantastic season, and one that will live long in the memory of some of the most dedicated and passionate fans in the country, fans starved of success in recent years but fans who have plenty of reason to be optimistic looking into the future.