In their insipid, lifeless 1-0 defeat at Tottenham, Newcastle were bereft of ideas and confidence. Spurs looked several classes above, playing a possession game that gave their opponents very little of the ball.
Even more alarming in such a critical stage of the season is Alan Shearer’s inability to find a settled formation, a pattern of play, with time running out.
Should the trapdoor open for Newcastle United at the end of season 2008/09, it will not be the first time they have experienced the despair of relegation. Indeed, this sort of managerial and boardroom chaos is far from new.
It has in fact characterised NUFC for decades. As have false dawns.
The club enjoyed prosperity in the 1950s, when it won two FA Cups and boasted players like Ivor Allchurch, George Eastham, Jackie Milburn and one of English football’s first foreign stars, Chilean striker George Robledo.
But the decline set in and relegation followed in 1961. They remained down there until Joe Harvey guided them to the Second Division title in 1965.
Another period of prosperity followed.
Newcastle picked up their last major piece of silverware, the Fairs Cup, in 1969 – in which another foreign star, Preben Arentoft, played a part.
The 70s saw the legendary Malcolm Macdonald, Terry Hibbit, Tommy Craig, Mickey Burns and the gifted but horribly unlucky Scottish duo of Jimmy Smith and Tony Green grace the club. Harvey was succeeded as manager by Gordon Lee, who then sold Macdonald to Arsenal.
The 1976-77 season was one of amazement for Newcastle United.
Despite losing Macdonald, and the fact that Gordon Lee gave way to the completely inexperienced Richard Dinnis (now a BBC radio commentator), the side managed to mount a title challenge and finish fifth, their highest since the 1950s.
But trouble was on the horizon.
A poor start to the season saw Dinnis leave, and a dismal relegation followed as Newcastle began a six-year spell in the Second Division.
It took Arthur Cox and Kevin Keegan to revive the club’s fortunes.
But after promotion was won in 1984, Cox resigned and dropped down to the Third Division to rescue Derby County, and Keegan retired from playing.
Jack Charlton preserved Newcastle’s First Division status but his dour style of football was unpopular, and he gave way to Willie McFaul.
The 80s saw Newcastle boast such talents as Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne, all of whom would become England stars. But as those players left, another decline followed – and it would appear even sharper than the last.
Relegation in 1989 was followed by a nearly successful promotion challenge under Jim Smith the following season. But a play-off defeat to arch-rivals Sunderland sent the club on another downward spiral that neither Smith nor Ossie Ardiles was able to halt.
By 1992, things were desperate and it seemed anything was worth a try to resurrect the ailing club, to awaken a “sleeping giant”.
Kevin Keegan returned from his long sabbatical in Spain and managed to preserve Newcastle’s second-tier status.
A squad with such players as Lee Clark and Andy Cole handily won the Division One (as it was now known) title in 1993, and then kicked on in the Premier League by finishing third and sixth.
Add in Les Ferdinand, and the by 1996 the Premiership title looked a real possibility, only for the 11-point gap to wither away in spectacular fashion.
The following season Alan Shearer signed, then Keegan walked out (but not before a 5-0 demolition of Manchester United) and replaced, seemingly logically, by Kenny Dalglish.
Dalglish, with an inherited squad, won a place in the newly expanded Champions’ League. The following season, however, marked the beginning of a tragi-comedy.
Alan Shearer had been injured pre-season, and players like Clark, Ferdinand and Ginola were sold. It all proved a colossal mistake – and following a memorable 4-3 win over Barcelona, the goals and results dried up.
Dalglish did get Newcastle to an FA Cup Final, which was lost to Arsenal.
But he was then replaced the following season by Ruud Gullit, who proved catastrophic. His falling out with Shearer and reprehensible treatment of Rob Lee being the final straw.
Newcastle were in a desperate situation, and Bobby Robson would “come home” to remedy the situation.
The Robson era, in retrospect, has proven the last era of stability and relative success in Newcastle.
As he advanced in age, his exit was inevitable. But the appointments of Souness, Roeder (despite a good start) and Allardyce all failed to deliver, and the return of Kevin Keegan was cut short this season, bringing us to the current chaos.
It’s nothing new, but will Newcastle’s downfall have even more catastrophic consequences than it did in 1961, 1978 or 1989?
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