Was Last Night's Hammering A Tipping Point?

I make no secret of having been opposed to the appointment of Curbishley from the off and, despite our slide down the table since he flounced out of the club, I still hold with the view that he was the wrong man for the job. Why are where we are now? In large part because of the ludicrous purchases of Curbishley: Ljungberg, Dyer, Boa, Davenport, Quashie and Faubert. £26m in transfer fees alone for that bunch, never mind the salaries. It took another £4m to buy out Ljungberg's contract and Dyer's wages alone have cost us the best part of £30m. And for what? Add in Bellamy, Neill, Upson and Parker and you explain just about the whole of the debt!

After last night's game, a few more might appreciate the qualities Pardew brings to the table. Newcastle played like we played under Pards - vibrant, pacey, attacking football. And we played like a team under Zola, Roeder and, I'm sad to admit, Grant - clueless, gutless and hopeless.

You have to wonder if last night was a tipping point. I was a huge fan of Pardew but, after that pathetic hammering at Bolton - 4-0 - I was forced to concede that perhaps he had to go. Thus far I have backed Grant but last night was just too poor to be true. We made Newcastle look like Barcelona. We made Leon Best look like George Best. We made Gutierrez look like Messi.

Defensively we were woeful. Piquionne was disgraceful for the first goal, giving away the ball and making no attempt whatsoever to get it back again. Quite why the defence was so stretched from that point is beyond me however. The goal was so easy to score, especially when Green dithered rather than rushing Best to close the inevitable shot.

Goal two was humiliating. The marking from the freekick was crass and the failure of Gabbidon to clear was oh so typical. Goal three was as bad. The first defensive headed "clearance" was poor and the follow up Tomkins pass to Nolan was embarrassing.

Goal four looked offside to me but, regardless, there was a gaping hole through the centre of our defence and Gabbidon was hopelessly out of position. And God knows where the midfield cover was supposed to be.

Goal five said it all. Gabbidon was hopeless again and Upson made no attempt to intercept the cross. Then there was the Ranger miss. There were three, count them, THREE unmarked Newcastle players in our penalty box. How? How is that possible?

Somebody has to be held accountable for that performance. Grant claimed it was just a "bad day at the office" and that, in itself, is unacceptable. I wanted to hear that the performance was a disgrace, embarrassing, utterly unacceptable, humiliating, shameful and unforgivable. Upson said it was "one step too far" as if  too much had been expected and demanded of our poor put upon players. Cobblers. These lazy bastards don't give a damn.

Will this game prove to be Grant's tipping point? I wouldn't be surprised. The trouble is, Pardew was the man to replace him and Newcastle won't sack him for at least another six months. Hughton would be a disastrous appointment so perhaps Woy would be the best bet - after Liverpool show him the door.