While many pundits will crow of the 2015-16 season as the Premier League's best yet, Newcastle fans will not look back on it with fondness.
It was hard to remember now, but there was something of a quiet optimism back at the start, and that was even with the reservations for the strange decision to make Steve McClaren the manager. But it very quickly became apparent this was not a wise choice, with the club needing nine games to win a Premier League match and only winning six by the time he was shown the door in March.
Many have had thoughts as to why McClaren came in - cheap, mate of the owners, trying to be positive after a toxic period, communicating with the vision of better things - but it still felt like a safe option. With Newcastle having only survived in 2014/15 by virtue of their first half of the season, and a throughly rotten run of 3 wins in 19 picked up by the clueless John Carver, there were clear failing at the club.
But it was a bold ask to try to do this with a man who had been dismissed for bottling promotion with Derby County, who went from top in February to not even making the top 6 at the end of the line. Nevertheless, the symmetry was there - Chris Hughton and Carver were promoted from within, even if one was immeasurably more succesful, while Pardew had been a radio pundit between a dismissal by then-League One Southampton after a downward career trajectory, and pitching up at St. James' Park.
There were some games when it looked like Newcastle would get it right. A 2-2 opening day tie with Southampton showed promise, while the Magpies were good for 45 minutes at Man City before a second-half collapse, came close to beating Chelsea, and kicked off with a handsome win over Norwich. But too often came a dirge as poor as the previous year.
It was a surprise that the man chosen to replace the hapless McClaren was one of more high calibre. Rafael Benitez has won the Champions League, the Europa League, La Liga and the FA Cup, and came close to winning the title with Liverpool with an excellent team in 2009.
Had he been given more than 10 games, he may well have kept the Magpies up. But ultimately the adjustment period that comprised of trips to the league leaders, fellow strugglers Norwich and perennial bogey team Southampton was a far from ideal opening, while the only home game of that opening four was the Tyne-Wear Derby. That game yielded the only point from that 4.
Newcastle did manage to tighten up to avoid losing in the final 6, including excellent wins over Swansea, Crystal Palace and Spurs, and credible points against Liverpool and Manchester City, but the margin for error had gone, and ultimately Sunderland's never proved greater.
It was a weird season in respects. After years of bare minimum investment, Newcastle spent north of £70million on players and mostly spent it badly. Florian Thauvin was a disaster, Jonjo Shelvey faded badly after a promising start - much to the delight of Swansea fans - Henri Saivet has been immediately sidelined, and Seydou Doumbia sightings have been rarer than those of Bigfoot.
Even relative successes are tinged with reservations. Gini Wijnaldum was good at home and scored a very credible 11 goals, but managed only one assist away, and threw an intense strop after being subbed at half-time in a defeat by Chelsea that lasted to the end. Alexsandr Mitrovic has had promising moments and brings a pleasing aggression, but missed lots of sitters and spent a lot of time trying to fight opponents. Chancel Mbemba was a good looking centre-back, but was still culpable in a leaky defence and it was a very poor call to only buy him for an unfit-for-purpose defence.
With the likes of Fabricio Coloccini, Steven Taylor, Papiss Cisse, Moussa Sissoko and more also showing on-pitch regression, it was a toxic combo, as the squad Graham Carr built crumbled. A crumble that is likely now to see him shown the door in a fall from grace as swift as it would have been so unexpected when it looked so smart in 2012.
Ultimately, this is the most inexplicable backwards trudge. With tens of millions of pounds thrown at the team, Newcastle should've aspired for more than this. But while external factors are there, and internal politics can also be blamed, on the pitch, it has to be said that Newcastle United were not good enough to stay in the Premier League, and it's now time for uncertainty ahead of trips to Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Huddersfield, Burton Albion and Rotherham, but a further rebuild is now required with key protagonists gone, and below the waves of the second tier.
Anyway, with all that done, a few thoughts on this campaign...
Player of the Season: Rob Elliot. Newcastle's third choice keeper in August seized his opportunity when Tim Krul and Karl Darlow were both injured in October and were it not for him, the Magpies would've been down sooner. Darlow himself deserves commendation for stepping in when Elliot had his own injury nightmare.
Most Improved: Jamaal Lascelles. Few people had hopes for him after a mixed final season at Nottingham Forest, but in the final weeks, he became an unlikely key player, and is likely to be a key presence next year.
Worst Player: Fabricio Coloccini. This is a season where any one of the players could get it, but rancid performances put Newcastle's inspiration "captain" above everyone else.
Most Regressed Player: Moussa Sissoko. Until a late season flourish, he was utterly anonymous and perfectly proved the flawed and fraudulent economics behind Newcastle in the past 4 years.
Best Signing: Andros Townsend. In a year where Newcastle frequently spent big and bad, Townsend gave the Magpies a wing presence that had been missing way too often in the season, with form that has even got him an England squad place.
Team of the Season:
Elliot - Anita, Mbemba, Lascelles, Dummett - Wijnaldum, Tiote - Townsend, Sissoko, Perez - Mitrovic
Best Individual Performance: Gini Wijnaldum against Norwich City at St. James' Park. Four goals, an assist, and a header off the line in the best of what will in most probability be the Dutchman's sole season at St. James'. If only he'd played like this more often.
Best Goal: Andros Townsend v Crystal Palace. Both as much for the occasion of a game where, for one moment, it looked like survival might be possible, as much as the actual strike, but a superb dead-ball that wrung its way around the wall and beyond Wayne Hennessey's forlorn dive. A great strike.
Best Game: The inexplicable 5-1 thrashing of Spurs on the final day, which saw 3 goals scored after Mitrovic was sent off, is one for the ages, but tinged with sadness as it came following the end of the season. Elsewhere, the 6-2 victory over Norwich was sensational entertainment that went this way, that way and all the rest was stupendous for neutrals and Mags. It also provided perhaps the nearest smidge of Newcastle's ability to control a game.
Best Moment: The full-time whistle after the victory over Crystal Palace, which ended with Newcastle outside the bottom 3 and Alan Pardew beaten on his first return to the North East. For one glorious moment, the gods did seem to be smiling. If only we all knew...
Worst Game: In a season full of lowlights, the worst offender was a 5-1 televised humiliation at Chelsea where Newcastle folded under the slightest hint of pressure from the worst defending champions in PL history, and McClaren grinned, smiled and guffawed his way through his post-match witterings to Sky. This humiliation should've seen McClaren off, and it is no exaggeration to say that this post-Blues dithering to keep him in helped contribute to Newcastle's demotion. A close second is a 3-1 home defeat by a dominant Bournemouth side 3 weeks later that actually saw him off, in one of the most abject home performances by a Newcastle United team in living memory.
Worst Moment: In the running are Adam Johnson scoring an incorrectly-awarded penalty in injury time in the Tyne-Wear Derby, Sergio Aguero's blatantly offside goal at St. James' Park to go with the 5 the hit at the Etihad, 2 gutless surrenders to the worst Everton team in living memory, failing to beat Aston Villa at home, Mike Dean ignoring 2 handballs in the build up to Norwich's winner in a six pointer and the weekly regret at having Steve McClaren as manager. But the biggest came at full time at Villa Park, as a goalless draw earned with some of the worst attacking play in Premier League history coincided with a huge result for Sunderland against Chelsea, and the realisation that time was effectively up even before the Black Cats beat Everton to rubber-stamp it.
Manager Musings: There were many for whom Steve McClaren was struck as either the cheap option or simply the only candidate his mates on the club's board wanted to put in charge. While he may well have been let down by the poor signings the board made, or the players who so frequently played like they couldn't be bothered, McClaren still had the task to motivate a squad worth tens of millions of pounds studded with internationals into something that could make the club's pre-season aims of top 8 and a trophy, and he was an abysmal failure who looked out of his depth long before his ultimate end. In his place has come Rafael Benitez, who is undoubtedly an upgrade in prestige and ability, but his adjustment to Newcastle began with a visit to the surprise champions and 2 of Newcastle's biggest games - Sunderland and Norwich. Not ideal while still adjusting. Coupled to only getting 10 games, it was not enough. Had he been installed earlier, it could well have made all the difference.
What Does The Team Need?: First and foremost, a solving of the managerial system. If Benitez stays, then great, and if not, then finding a highly capable manager who can remodel the collapsing club and get the strategy to a tee for an instant return to the top flight. With that sorted, finding players who want to play for the club - regardless of nationality - and removing both those who don't fancy the second tier and those who don't feel the black and white stripes are worth their while, and recalibrating the boardroom to help this have to follow.
What Will The Team Get?: Its early doors yet, but the talk of Benitez staying - as improbable as it looks - is getting more concrete. With players saying he's improved them, fans largely on board, and the alternatives so far including suggestions of Steve Bruce and Neil Warnock, it would certainly be an improvement, not to mention a certain tonic with such a high calibre manage in this position. Players are yet to be discussed, but there is confidence something will be adapted from these ashes.
What Is The Aim for 2016-17?: Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley have already declared their desire to get Newcastle United back to the Premier League as quickly as possible. The mood seems less bleaker than Aston Villa - or at least Villa before their recent takeover - and slightly more confident than at yo-yo-ers Norwich City, but a lot has to be done right to put Newcastle into a position ready to sufficiently challenge for the instant return like in 2009/10. It won't be easy - more of a rebuild is required than the squad demoted in 2009, while the division has become more competitive and crazy than before - but this is not necessarily a challenge to fear.
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