When Alan Pardew said that Newcastle was a club of extremes because of the reaction of the fan base to wins and losses, he was completely nailed on - not that loving or hating your team for the way they play should be considered a bad thing. In honesty, he didn't go far enough: it's not just the fans who only deal in extremes, it's also the media and their self-fulfilling prophecies. In the same breath that they're calling us all fickle for celebrating victories having demanded the manager's head (and giggling behind their hands at how silly we are as a fan base), they're also suggesting we're not a bad bet for Europe. Think about the questions asked of Alan Pardew and Tim Krul by Sky Sports immediately after the West Brom win: "you must be thinking about Europe now, eh?" Both batted the questions away sensibly, and the majority of the fan base groaned at the question, but that doesn't stop every other clubs' fans catching the tail-end of the reporting and thinking that Newcastle fans are now calling for Europe. It opens up more accusations of delusion, and it's dangerously reductive. But what do the media care? They get their headlines (either Pardew Targets Europe, or Pardew Banishes Talk Of Europe), and they get a story out of an impertinent, ridiculous question. Inevitably, the bookies then reflect that coverage, and Newcastle have now moved in to 25/1 to finish in the top six. As The Chronicle have pointed out, BoyleSports have shortened the odds on a European place finish and Paddy Power have gone further in to 20/1 - while both are offering 66/1 on a top four finish. Unthinkable just a few weeks ago and silliness even now. Paddy Power also have Newcastle at 10/1 to win the League Cup - fifth favourites (Chelsea being the favourites), though there's a considerable jump back to sixth placed Bournemouth out at 40/1. It's daft at this stage to speculate on where the team are going to finish, particularly with a tough run of games in December, including the derby. But it just goes to show the extremist way the media paint the club, as well as the bookies. It's certainly not just the fans.
