After last night’s 0-0 draw with Portsmouth, Newcastle United are staring Championship football square in the face.

The arrival of Alan Shearer on Tyneside seems to have done nothing to correct the form of the Toon and they are faced with an uphill task if they are to scramble enough points to stay in English football’s top flight.

All season long pundits and neutrals alike have been commenting on how Newcastle are too big and too good a side to face the drop, echoing the days West Ham got relegated just a few seasons back.

Well it is now a grim possibility and it could have devastating consequences for the club.

Firstly, there is the immediate future of Newcastle under current owner, Mike Ashley. It is questionable whether or not Ashley will stick around if Newcastle are playing Championship football next season.

If he sells up then it could leave Newcastle in a very awkward position, just at a time when the consolidation of leadership on St. James’ Park is something that has to be paramount to the foundations of the club.

Secondly, the economic impact on Newcastle of not staying in the Premier League is massive. The drop would cost the club around £50 million in sponsorship, TV revenue and other forms of income.

This would lead to a domino effect, as sacrifices would have to be made in a number of areas for the club to cope and survive.

Thirdly, the quality of playing staff and the appeal of Newcastle as a club will plummet. The team has a number of quality individuals in it that would immediately seek a move elsewhere in order to maintain a high quality of football e.g. Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Alan Smith to name just a few.

Keeping the squad together is one of the sure signs that relegation would be just a blip. If the Newcastle bosses managed this the it would mean they had by far the best squad in the Championship and would quite rightly lead to them being favourites to go straight back up.

The one thing that Newcastle have going for them though is the fans and the massive support they attract each week. Regardless of the division Newcastle are playing football in next season, 52,000 loyal Geordies will be there each and every week to cheer on their team.

This is possibly the one thing over everything else that allows Newcastle to be viewed and admired. In the darkest of times for the football club, the supporters keep their chins up and cheer like nothing else matters.

Avoiding the drop could have tremendous benefits for these fans. Their fight will be renewed and undoubtedly the club would strongly consolidate to make sure they were never in such a precarious position ever again.

Newcastle’s fate this season remains to be seen. The team have it in them to defy the odds at the last possible moment and stay in the division where they belong. Their relegation would be a sad loss to the Premier League