Newcastle United’s rescheduled trip to Wembley confirmed for May 9th

Scheduled initially for March 16th, the game has now been confirmed to take place at Wembley on Wednesday, May 9th at 8pm (BST).

Postponed due to Spurs’ FA Cup quarter-final against Swansea on March 17th, the news that Newcastle United will now travel to Wembley for a mid-week evening fixture on May 9th is bittersweet for Toon fans.

Following the 3-0 victory over Southampton on March 10th, Newcastle United would’ve faced an in-form Spurs side who were just coming off a resounding 4-1 win against Bournemouth.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been fighting on multiple fronts for the majority of the season. From the end of February to March 11th, they faced four opponents ranging from League One strugglers Rochdale to 2016/17 Champions League finalists Juventus (a 2-1 defeat at Wembley saw Spurs knocked out of the competition 4-3 on aggregate).

The postponement was therefore beneficial to both sides, as Spurs saw a minor relief in their hectic fixture list, and Newcastle gained an extra week of rest going into the international break totalling a full 21 days before Huddersfield visited St. James’ Park on March 31st.

However, the rescheduled fixture has been met with fresh concern over the Premier League’s accommodation of travelling fans.

Those Toon supporters local to Tyneside are now faced with the impossible task of travelling hundreds of miles to London mid-week, where public transport will be particularly tough to navigate especially at such a late hour post-match. Many will decide simply not to go instead of facing a precarious trip back to the North East, with likely work commitments the next day.

Whilst the Premier League has faced criticism for its treatment of away fans, it’s worth highlighting that the positives of the rescheduling go beyond simply avoiding Spurs at what was a tenuous time for Newcastle United.

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Not only were the players granted three weeks of total rest, but the postponement alongside the Huddersfield result saw Newcastle avoid a potential defeat, and instead climb up to 12th with a total of 35 points.

The Toon now find themselves seven points above the relegation zone with a game in-hand over four of the sides below them in the table, most notably Huddersfield and Crystal Palace who sit 16th and 17th respectively.

Newcastle United have afforded themselves breathing room for their seven remaining games, and Leicester up next on Saturday certainly appears a far more favourable fixture with Premier League safety almost a guarantee.

Most promising for the Toon is that they now won’t face Tottenham until the penultimate game of the season, and fans should rightly be praising Rafa Benitez for his part in making sure that the final two fixtures against Spurs and Chelsea will be largely inconsequential.

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The club must now focus on keeping Rafa Benitez on Tyneside, and working on a permanent transfer for Chelsea loanee Kenedy, with excellent performances since the Brazilian’s arrival in January.