This isn't going to be a regular feature or anything, but here are some factoids I ran across as I was basking in the glow of a narrow home victory:
- According to @OptaJean, Yohan Cabaye is unbeaten in his last 25 games, including time with Newcastle, France, and Lille.
- The last time Newcastle lost a game that wasn't considered a friendly was a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on May 1. That's a streak of 14 league and League Cup games.
- Current Newcastle players with exactly 1 Premier League goal: Yohan Cabaye, Cheik Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa.
- Remember the play where Steven Taylor started bleeding his own blood from his nose and argued with the ref about staying in the game? It turns out he broke it. It's not the most heroic sports tale you'll hear this year, but it does say a lot about Taylor's desire to stay in the game and make a positive impact.
- I'll post some more actual stats from the game later, but here's one that should really tell you the difference between this team and previous versions of it: One team committed 22 fouls, the other 7. That's right: Wigan were the naughtier team this time around. Newcastle played lockdown defense, and they did it without killing anybody.