ROOTED in the relegation places, still searching for a first Premier League win and with their supporters in open revolt against both the manager and owner, it’s hard to see how things could be any worse for Newcastle United.

So much has gone wrong in the last few months that it’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to assessing the root cause of the problems, but as the crisis deepens, just who is to blame for the shambles at St James’ Park?

ALAN PARDEW

The Northern Echo:

Gauge the mood among Newcastle supporters, and it’s increasingly evident that a majority hold Pardew primarily responsible for the mess, and want him removed from his position as a result. The manager is far from the only problem, but it is hard to deny that he is a major factor in the Magpies’ demise.

Tactical inflexibility, a failure to improve the players he works with, an inability to deal with ‘high-maintenance’ players such as Hatem Ben Arfa, a temperament that he struggles to keep under control and a propensity to blame anyone but himself – the charges that can be laid at Pardew’s door are many and varied.

Ultimately, after almost four years in his position, it increasingly feels as though the 53-year-old has come to the end of the road and that a new face is required. That wouldn’t change the make-up of the squad or the multitude of other problems that exist, but it might jolt the players out of their current slumbers and would at least address the toxicity of the relationship between manager and supporters.

MIKE ASHLEY

The Northern Echo:

The counter-argument to sacking Pardew is that it doesn’t matter who is Newcastle’s manager – the situation will not improve for as long as Ashley continues to run the club as his own personal fiefdom.

In purely personnel terms, Ashley’s well-established transfer policy makes it all-but-impossible to construct a squad capable of competing in the top half of the table for a prolonged spell because the best players are always sold and they are replaced by cut-price alternatives with little or no experience of life in the Premier League.

Aside from those more practical considerations, however, Ashley’s dictatorial reign, in which he is completely unwilling to establish a degree of consensus with the fans, is the single biggest factor in creating an atmosphere of discontent and mutiny. For as long as he remains in charge – and we know that’s going to be at least until the end of next season – a new crisis will only ever be another controversial decision away.

THE PLAYERS

The Northern Echo:

For all the issues at boardroom and managerial level, Newcastle’s players should not be allowed to escape their responsibilities for everything that has gone wrong. The side that imploded so spectacularly at Southampton last month contained six full internationals and another four who had represented their country at under-21 level.

To a man, they performed abysmally, and some experienced, highly-rated players should be taking a long look at themselves as they reflect on their performances so far this season. Moussa Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran have been especially wretched, and for all that it can be claimed both players are playing slightly out of position, they should be able to adapt far better than they have.

The likes of Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere can be absolved of too much blame because they only moved to England in the summer, but even accepting that, their lack of spirit, fight and energy in Monday’s Britannia Stadium defeat was extremely alarming.

LEE CHARNLEY and GRAHAM CARR

The Northern Echo:

Ashley and Pardew might be the higher-profile figures, but the other members of Newcastle’s ‘recruitment team’ shouldn’t go without blame. Managing director Charnley and chief scout Carr as just as culpable for the inadequacies that have dogged Newcastle’s attempts at recruitment in the last two transfer windows.

Senior sources insist Ashley would have been willing to sign one more striker this summer, but far too much attention was paid to pursuing Alexandre Lacazette, who was never going to be available for less than £14m, and Loic Remy, who was always extremely reluctant to rejoin Newcastle. As a result, time ran out, so should Charnley have done better?

Carr has received a great deal of praise for unearthing the likes of Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye, but his star has waned and while it is still far too early to be delivering a definitive judgement, this summer’s purchases look to have serious deficiencies when compared to what was required. Is Carr’s reluctance to consider the domestic market now proving seriously counter-productive?

THE COACHING STAFF

The Northern Echo: TALENT SPOTTER: Newcastle coach John Carver

While Pardew is responsible for the majority of coaching at Newcastle’s Benton training ground, assistant manager, John Carver, and first-team coach, Steve Stone, also play prominent roles. Watching Newcastle in action, it is hard to work out what they are doing.

The Magpies’ set-pieces have been dreadful all season, with Monday’s game at Stoke marking a new low. If time is being devoted to the delivery and organisation of attacking set-plays, then it is clearly going to waste.

Similarly, Newcastle’s inability to deal with aerial balls into the box at the other end of the field shows no sign of being adequately addressed. Yet another goal was conceded from a cross on Monday, and while the performance of individual defenders can justifiably be criticised, the lack of organisation in the back four as a whole hardly reflects well on whoever is doing the coaching.

THE SUPPORTERS

The Northern Echo:

Listen to the national narrative surrounding Newcastle, and the opinion of some influential figures within the game, and you could be forgiven for thinking the fans are bringing all this on themselves. Yet again last month, Steve Bruce was pedalling the well-worn myth that Newcastle is a club that is all-but-unmanageable.

It isn’t, and of all the people involved at Newcastle, the fans are the only group who do not deserve the critical questions being asked of them. Unrealistic expectations? Why is it unrealistic to expect a Newcastle team to claim more than 19 points from a possible 75 since the start of the year? Unfair abuse of their manager? How else are the supporters to make their point when the club’s owner pays such little attention to their thoughts?

Some have argued that if the fans really want to enact change, they should stay away from the matches because the financial bottom line is the only thing that matters to Ashley. There might well be merit in that argument, but it’s hard to make a staunch supporter turn his or her back on their club.