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If we consider their current position (8th place) and the teams that stays in the top 5 now (Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Brighton), it will be difficult for Newcastle to return to the top 4. Losing too many points in early of this season become a big obstacle for Newcastle to repeat their good history in the last season. Moreover, their current performance isn't as stable as in the last season. So, I'm sure that they won't target to finish this season in the top 4 (UCL zone) anymore.
You've been into Newcastle's board meetings that you can freely say you're "sure" it's not their target? They are just five points behind Spurs and there are still plenty of games to play so it's not logical that they would give up this early. They've dropped points and have been shaky for sure but who can say that Brighton or Spurs won't have a bad spell? I'm focusing on the two since they are the most likely teams that would drop out of the top 4.
A difference of 5 to 6 points with the clubs currently ranked 4th and 3rd, namely Brighton and Tottenham, is not a big enough difference in points. And currently only 6 matches have been played. So there are still many matches left that could change the standings in the next few matches. And right now we are still too early to draw conclusions. And again, Newcastle's big win against Sheffield United should be able to make the Newcastle players' motivation better than before. Newcastle's performance last season was very consistent. And maybe this season Newcastle will have the opportunity to restore the consistency they had last season.
Before the season started I had high hopes for Newcastle. But now my expectations for Newcastle seem to be starting to fade. But as long as the season is still running, anything is still possible. So I haven't lost hope completely.