[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Tony Godden and Ally Robertson keep Albion's sheet clean at St James's Park; 10th September 1977

Following Tuesday's last-gasp draw against Swansea, Albion continue the protracted march towards the thirty-point milestone with a trip to troubled Newcastle this weekend.  No doubt the Magpies will have this marked down as a must-win game, while for us it remains one best-not-lost; as painful as the prospect is, it could well end up being "safety first" again in this one.

I cling to the hope that we'll be adventurous enough to give a run-out to new loanee Alex Pritchard, if only so that he doesn't end up becoming another Gnabry.  There was a flash or two of inspiration from Sandro on Tuesday, and another confidence-booster for the frustrated Rondon, so despite another sub-par performance, we do - hopefully - have the building blocks to improve again in the coming weeks.

We'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, let's just get those thirty points chalked up.

Laurie Cunningham fires past Mike Mahoney in Albion's 3-0 win against Newcastle, 10th September 1977