Hughton in search for contract as Newcastle move up the league
Published:Newcastle moved up to fifth in the league table after Arsenal succumbed to their second defeat to a newly-promoted team at the Emirates this season.
Despite being the subject of the front pages of the tabloids, Andy Carroll was Newcastle’s hero once again as grows for his inclusion in the England team grow louder.
Arsene Wenger will not be happy with Lukasz Fabianski as Carroll beat the goalkeeper to a long punt from a Joey Barton free-kick, and Shay Given continues to be linked with a move to the Emirates.
But it was Newcastle’s resolve that impressed the most against a team that have scored nine goals in the last 10 minutes of their past 11 matches.
Chris Hughton’s side are now as long as 8/1 to be relegated, and the Toon boss must be wondering just what he needs to do to secure a new contract as Newcastle manager.
Newcastle play Blackburn at home on Wednesday night and are 1/1 to beat Sam Allardyce’s side.
A win would see Newcastle Arsenal and Manchester City for a place in the top four, but whilst the Geordie optimism is stronger than most sides, even the Toon Army would struggle to make a case for Newcastle finishing in the top four at the end of the season.
But whilst Andy Carroll stays fit and in goalscoring form, Newcastle fans can expect to enjoy a few more wins in the Premier League as the season progresses.
Currently Carroll is 40/1 to finish as the Premier League’s top goalscorer but with Ladbrokes offering 1/4 of the odds for an each way place, a top three finish for Carroll is priced at 10/1.
Carroll is 1/1 to score at any time against Blackburn on Wednesday and increase his Premier League tally to seven. See the full Barclays Premier League football betting odds here.
