Dark times ahead: Aston Villa v Newcastle

Don't get me wrong, I want this season over so we can blindly restore hope and optimism for next season and get a full and proper service, so when the new one begins we have a little more faith that Martin O'Neill will have seen the light and will revert to a variation of 4-5-1 and dump 4-4-2.

If nothing else, I have to hope and for that you can not blame me. You might disagree with me on the actual thing I want the manager to change and for that, the banter can begin, but for my hope and optimism, you can't disagree. One thing however we will all probably agree on is it's not going to be fun after Sunday when the season ends.

I'm not a big fan of not having football. I love watching my football and while there is always something to watch, you can't beat the Premier League, if you are English that is and your team is playing. Football is very hard to describe to someone who doesn't 'get it' but for most of us, it isn't just a passing fancy, it's a part of our life.

But, the season isn't over yet and we have Newcastle on Sunday in a match they have to win and we don't. Sure, if we want to finish fifth and beat last years 6th place and 60 points we have to win but even if we do win it doesn't guarantee fifth, as we've got to hope Fulham, who also need to win to secure seventh place and European football next season, beat Everton.

Marky Mark thinks Everton will lose and he also thinks we will win so if he is right we will finish in 5th place and Fulham will be playing European football next season. I also fancy we will win, as it is the last home game of the season but mostly because Newcastle are quite poor at the moment.

However, if I were to be placing a bet on this match, which coincidentally I am, I'd bet on a draw. In that bet I'm also going to be having Hull to beat Manchester United, as I've got a feeling we will finish on exactly the same points as last season and that Newcastle are going down. But, my bets don't always turn out like they are supposed to. However, it is very much a case of Newcastle needing more than just a good result themselves, which I think will be too much for them.

So, as it is the last day of the season on Sunday, we'll be doing a special post, with lots of banter here and on our new forum, which sort of went live today, with a few links to lots of other places where you might be able to get a little more than you bargained for but whatever the result, we've made progress this season, even if that progress is simply consolidation and for that, we've got to be happy.

Naturally however, when we can start bringing new players to the club on Monday, I'm going to get all excited again and start hoping for top four football next season, but that really does rest on the shoulders of Randy Lerner. Do you think he really wants it? We will find out this summer.