Bursting Bubbles

Back in November, it looked like things could not possibly get any worse for Newcastle United.

Four defeats in a row, a pile-up of talented stars suffering injury, a manager with perceived complaceny after getting an eight year contract (actually eight one year contracts subject to performance) and wondering whether this misery would end in the drop.

Although a pair of wins have been put on the board in vital games against Wigan and QPR, extra notches have been registered on the defeat counter.

Some have been expected - few fans expected victory over Manchester City. Some have been incredibly unlucky - having led three times at Old Trafford, it was gut-wrenching to see Sir Alex Ferguson's wee club from the North West nick it. Some have been preposterous - four goals in 10 minutes saw Arsenal get seven in what had been an even game.

But all have ended the same way - no extra points to a kitty already registered as the worst in club history at this stage in a Premier League season. Not even Dalglish, Gullit, Souness, Allardyce or the Keegan/Hughton/Kinnear roadshow that got us relegated have been this low at this point in a league season.

The icing on the cake was served up at Brighton in the FA Cup. Unusually for a cup tie, the odds for an upset were not so much in favour as they were expected - with the first eleven virtually absent and those left out of form, expectations were that a Toon win might well be the surprise.

Lo and behold, those clad in the burgundy away kit did nothing to confound even the minimal expectations. Surprisingly the stats paint a picture of an upset, saying we had more shots. But Brighton dominated possession and the chances they did create were better.

Even before a harsh red card for the day's captain Shola Ameobi, it looked unlikely that there would be an away goal. After the red card the probability reduced further, with only Nile Ranger - an arrogant useless waste of a shirt that had been transfer listed back in August - holding the line with little support.

Some fans have tried to get positives out of our more recent affairs and to be fair there have been some positives to take out of our more recent defeats. But there are none out of today's shambles, and certainly not for the devoted fans that travelled down at 1am for a ludicrously scheduled 12:30pm kick-off - as an aside the ITV commentator had cheek trying to sympathise with them when his broadcaster had scheduled the stupid time.

Last season also saw Brighton dump us out of the FA Cup. That was arguably more of an upset given the teamsheet we put out had most of our strongest players and we wound up 5th in the final table in 2012, but this year we look a shadow of that side.

Somehow, like last season, what went out was (more or less) the strongest team available. This is nothing short of insane and a damning verdict on Mike Ashley's transfer policy.

Obviously, you cannot forsee the sort of sagas we have had, and 12 injuries, absences and players moving on is something you cannot forsee at the start of the season. But you have to have some preperation for even the slightest injury crisis.

Earlier in the season, Derek Llambias admitted he views the squad as 11 first team options and senior reserves/youngsters. While we are not in a position like Chelsea or Manchester City, who can legimately claim they have 23 first team options, even teams lower down like Stoke, Swansea, hell even QPR, have more options when their first team is neutered.

By contrast, we don't, and this ill-advised gamble by Mike Ashley looks set to be our undoing. Take central defence - James Perch is seen as more of a full back or midfielder, and full back is also the better place for youngster James Tavernier. This leaves Fabricio Coloccini, Steven Taylor and Mike Williamson as our only centre backs. With Taylor injured, it's left the out-of-form Coloccini and error-prone Williamson for the bulk of the campaign, meaning that keeping goals out is starting to prove a challenge too far. And remarkably, this short-sighted policy is not just in defence but all over the pitch.

The first half of this season has been galling to watch, with part seeing Alan Pardew change the tactic despite it being clear the players could not play in the new system, and then trying to revert just as players dried up.

Players are coming in, with French international Mathieu Debuchy joining from Lille and a replacement for Demba Ba expected to join ahead of the next match against Norwich City. But more is needed, and a number of fans are holding the view that replacing squad members that are being far from good enough is required.

A lot of this could well be heat-of-the-moment play after a bad result but after a while of performances like this, the views build up. Today's display at the AMEX Stadium was the worst display by a Newcastle team since the day in May 2009 when they didn't even put up a fight as they were relegated from the Premier League.

Unthinkable as it was back in May 2012, we need to buck up our ideas or a return to the Championship will happen. But unless we sign the players we needed in August and players we also needed added now, it's all over for Pardew, for the talented players we had, and for us as a whole.