With so many people praising Newcastle United’s dominance this season, it’s interesting to compare them to last year’s champions Burnley.
The quality that runs throughout Newcastle United is evident. Many say they are far too good for the Championship and others cannot stop lauding the almighty Rafa Benitez for the work he has done at St James’ Park. However, all of the talk and hype may not be as warranted as you may have thought.
As we prepare for a busy Christmas period, the Magpies sit at the top of the division with just five losses from their first 19 games. Now that seems impressive on the face of it, but back in May champions Burnley won the Championship with just five losses throughout the entire season.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez
This is not to say that Newcastle haven’t been phenomenal because they have, but everyone saying they are going to run away with the league and break Reading’s record need to realise that just is not the case.
This time last year, Burnley had lost just three matches in the league – though they did lose two more in December. Impressively, they lost no league games after Christmas.
Given the quality in Newcastle’s squad it is difficult to pick out a star performer, but it is interesting to consider where they would be without the influence of star forward Dwight Gayle.
These things happen in the second tier and whilst they will more than likely gain promotion back to the Premier League, it is not going to be as easy as they initially thought, and may not indicate an easy return in that first season back in the top flight.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche
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