When Newcastle United were sat without a victory and 8/15 favourites to be relegated at the start of December some observers were queuing up to tell Geordie fans the club was doomed.
It was an easy shout to make back then as the Magpies were slumped at the bottom of the table after a 1-1 draw with Norwich City on just seven points.
The statistics and the history books told us then that no side had ever survived the drop after such a poor start to a Premier League campaign.
