Liverpool
Man City
Chelsea
Forest
Arsenal

And that's before you factor in Bournemouth, Villa and Brighton.

5th as a minimum is the only way we'll keep our big players which means not only do we need to keep ahead of the chasing pack, we need one of the teams above us to falter.

Chelsea might although I think they've had their dodgy period or are just coming out of it; ditto Man City. The most likely is Forest but they're not showing any signs at the minute.

And this thread isn't a knee-jerk reaction to one defeat in 10-that would be ridiculous.All season I've been wondering, game by game, which Newcastle United would show up and, in fact, who the real Newcastle United actually are. I happen to think that the team who won at Arsenal are the closest to the 'real' us but, whilst even the best runs have to come to an end, the manner of the defeat on Saturday (coupled with some of the awful perfprmances earlier in the season) has me very worried. Defeats happen, but to be so comprehensively outplayed-and out-managed-well it's set alarm bells ringing for me.

Apologies for the negativity. We will hopefully prove me to be a bed-wetter but the fact we've clearly got that sort of performance in our locker...