Who said it couldn't get any worse than last season at Southampton again?
In fairness, after the 4-0 drubbing in March when Alan Pardew's team looked like they couldn't fight sleep on the south coast, you did wonder whether the Magpies had hit rock bottom in terms of an away-day performance under the Londoner.
But there was nothing in Saturday's chaotic 90-minute display that suggested they could draw a line under the heavy loss against his former employers at St Mary's.
- Duffy: Pardew on borrowed time
- Pardew: No assurances over my future
- Ryder: Ashley to make his choice
- Koeman: I feel sorry for him
In fact, within 30 seconds it looked like, somehow, Newcastle had managed to pick up where they left off in the corresponding fixture. Even against a Southampton side without the likes of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana or Ricky Lambert. And even against a Saints team that had a new manager installed in Ronald Koeman who was still getting used to life in a new environment.
No sooner had Newcastle broken from a team-building huddle, though, and things began to go wrong for the Magpies. Not even a minute had passed when Fabricio Coloccini's poor backpass rolled short to Tim Krul and he played the ball off Shane Long before it rolled narrowly wide. We all know what happened next, as Graziano Pelle struck twice inside 19 minutes to leave Newcastle with a mountain to climb.
The body language of the Toon players suggested they simply weren't motivated for this game. If they were, then serious questions should be asked as to whether they are good enough to wear the black and white shirt. Or is the pressure too much for some of them? Either way, it is Pardew's job to rally the troops.
But he didn't move from his seat in the dugout for the entire 90 minutes, with chants of "Pardew, Pardew show your face" coming from the away section of the ground. If the pre-game team talk failed to inspire, what hopes did anybody really have for the half-time chatter from the boss?
The answer came within nine minutes when Newcastle failed to deal with a routine ball down the channel from Steve Davis before Jack Cork waltzed around the keeper and rolled the ball past Krul for a third. At that stage the scoreline could have got out of hand but United came up for some air, shall we say. Pardew stayed seated but assistant John Carver tried to rally the troops from the sidelines, resulting in a slight improvement, with Jack Colback and Manu Riviere having chances but failing to convert.
If there was to be any consolation in the score not being as heavy as last season, those slim hopes evaporated in the final minute when Morgan Schneiderlin curled home a superb goal to put the lid on the game. Nobody could complain.
Southampton were full value for money at 4-0, leaving Newcastle fans to lick their wounds again. Throughout the match there were chants for Pardew to go, and it seems that possibility is growing as the games tick by. Newcastle chiefs don't like to be criticised, but the Magpies are rock bottom of the table. Nobody knows where the next win is coming from, and it is clear that the current crop of players are struggling to cope with the expectations at a club that serves a football-mad area who eat, sleep and breathe black-and-white dreams every day of their lives.
The question is now whether Pardew can also handle that pressure. He has had plenty of time to make this team his own, but the Magpies are struggling at the foot of the table with talk of a relegation battle ahead. That may be premature, but another three or four performances like this and the club WILL be talking about a survival battle, never mind a push up the table or silly talk of European football.
Whether Pardew will be part of that remains to be seen.