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Newcastle United do not have a permanent head coach, have admitted they are highly unlikely to sign any players in January and have lost seven of their last nine games.
To that backdrop they sent out season-ticket renewals last week. The club, however, do not expect a significant fall from current levels. Premier League football has proved an irresistible carrot for supporters, despite an apparent apathy inside the club that is causing alarm.
However, the fans’ view will undoubtedly change if next season they are presented with Championship football. Newcastle face third-bottom Hull today and, if they lose, the gap between the sides will be down to five points.
It is a reminder that there is still plenty to play for, if it is not quite the push for Europe or the glamour of a cup run that the supporters crave.
Januarys at Newcastle have been huge indicators of the club’s aspirations. In January 2011, they sold Andy Carroll without a replacement when they were effectively safe. That season was effectively written off.
This time last year, they sold Yohan Cabaye and did not replace him. The season was effectively written off.
Yohan Cabaye left Newcastle in January (Getty Images)
Only in January 2013 did the Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley, release the tightest of purse strings to sign five French players. Then Newcastle were fighting for their lives to stay in the Premier League.
Survival matters, which is why the temporary head coach, John Carver, knows he cannot afford to lose at Hull, the ground where last season he finished the game in charge following manager Alan Pardew’s sending-off for head-butting David Meyler.
Newcastle are hopeful that Papiss Cissé, their leading Premier League scorer with nine goals, will have flown back from the African Cup of Nations in time, following Senegal’s defeat to Equatorial Guinea. Cheick Tioté is still there with the Ivory Coast.
Newcastle United - the latest match picturesShow all 125 1 /125Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1 Johnny Evans and Papiss Cisse come together
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1 De Gea makes a save
Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1 Ashley Young scores the winner for Manchester United against Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1 Ashley Young celebrates the winner for Manchester United against Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 5 Newcastle 0 Wilfried Bony came on in the victory over Newcastle to make his Man City debut.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 5 Newcastle 0 A quick-fire David Silva double put City five goals to the good.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 5 Newcastle 0 Edin Dzeko tripled Newcastle's misery with a third goal before half-time.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 5 Newcastle 0 Samir Nasri doubled Manchester City's lead with an emphatic strike.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 5 Newcastle 0 Sergio Aguero put Manchester City ahead inside two minutes after Vernon Anita gave away an early penalty.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Stoke 1 Peter Crouch scores a late equaliser
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Stoke 1 Jack Colback puts Newcastle ahead with 15 minutes remaining
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Hull 0 Newcastle 3 Yoan Gouffran scores Newcastle's third against Hull
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Hull 0 Newcastle 3 Newcastle players congratulate Sammy Ameobi after his goal against Hull
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Hull 0 Newcastle 3 Sammy Ameobi scores from 30-yards out
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Hull 0 Newcastle 3 Ahmed Elmohamady reacts after he realises his goal is ruled out for a clear handball
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Hull 0 Newcastle 3 Ahmed Elmohamady punches the ball into the back of the net during the 3-0 defeat to Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Hull 0 Newcastle 3 Remy Cabella celebrates his goal against Hull
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 Remy Cabella goes close as Newcastle dominated in the first half
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 Petr Cech started in place of Thibaut Courtois and was fantastic for the Blues
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 Jose Mourinho was furious with his team's performance in the opening stages
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 Willian's quick thinking allowed Oscar to tap in the opener at the far post
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 Oscar is mobbed by Chelsea players after scoring the opening goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0 Chelsea players surround the referee believing they should have had a penalty
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Leicester City 1 Newcastle 0 John Carver and Steve Stone watch the action unfold at the King Power Stadium
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Leicester City 1 Newcastle 0 Leonardo Ulloa heads in the winner - his eighth goal of the season
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Leicester City 1 Newcastle 0 Leicester players celebrate with the striker
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Leicester City 1 Newcastle 0 Jak Alnwick made a number of good saves for Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Leicester City 1 Newcastle 0 Remy Cabella tries to get the visitors on the attack
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Leicester City 1 Newcastle 0 Cheick Tiote puts in a tackle on Leicester striker Jamie Vardy
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Burnley 3 George Boyd celebrates his equaliser against Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Burnley 3 Danny Ings celebrates his goal for Burnley
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Burnley 3 Newcastle caretaker manager John Carver (right) reacts
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Everton 2 Everton's Ivorian striker Arouna Kone scores the opening goal against Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Everton 2 Cisse celebrates equalising against Everton, despite the fact he could have been sent off earlier in the match
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Everton 2 Ayoze Perez shoots to score and put Newcastle ahead
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Everton 2 Jack Colback scores Newcastle's third
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Everton 2 Evertons Belgian striker Kevin Mirallas scored a late goal but the Toffees couldn't find another
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester United 3 Newcastle 1 Papiss Cisse scores a consolation for Newcastle form the penalty spot
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester United 3 Newcastle 1 Robin van Persie scores the third for Manchester United with a perfectly-guided header
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester United 3 Newcastle 1 Wayne Rooney scores his and United's second of the game
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester United 3 Newcastle 1 Rooney celebrates with striker-partner Radamel Falcao after the pair combine to put United ahead
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester United 3 Newcastle 1 Wayne Rooney opens the scoring after turning in a Radamel Falcao cross
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Sunderland 1 Sunderland manager Gus Poyet celebrates Adam Johnson's goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Sunderland 1 Adam Johnson strikes his late winner at St James' Park
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Sunderland 1 Adam Johnson evades the challenge of Ayoze Perez
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 4 Newcastle 0 Spurs' striker Harry Kane scores their third goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 4 Newcastle 0 Newcastle United's Jak Alnwick punches the ball clear
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 4 Newcastle 0 Nabil Bentaleb (centre) celebrates putting Tottenham ahead
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1 Didier Drigba scores a consolation goal to bring the score back to 2-1
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1 John Terry looks up as Papiss Cisse's shot hits the back of the net
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1 Newcastle players and fans swamp Papiss Cisee after he scored his second goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1 Papiss Cisse celebraes after scoring Newcastle's second against Chelsea
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1 Papiss Cisse scores the first goal for Newcastle against Chelsea
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Burnley 1 Newcastle 1 Mehdi Abeid leaves Stephen Ward chasing him down the right hand side
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Burnley 1 Newcastle 1 George Boyd fires the Clarets into a first-half lead
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Burnley 1 Newcastle 1 Boyd celebrates with the Burnley mascot Bertie Bee
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Burnley 1 Newcastle 1 Papiss Cisse turns in a cross to draw Newcastle level at Turf Moor
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Burnley 1 Newcastle 1 Newcastle players surround Cisse after his equaliser
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Burnley 1 Newcastle 1 Danny Ings attempts to get a shot on goal in the second-half
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Ham 1 Newcastle 0 Mauro Zarate holds off Sammy Ameobi
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Ham 1 Newcastle 0 Aaron Cresswell fires home the only goal of the game
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Ham 1 Newcastle 0 Mark Noble challenges Moussa Sissoko
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Ham 1 Newcastle 0 Sam Allardyce and Alan Pardew patrol the touchline
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Ham 1 Newcastle 0 Adrian clears his lines for West Ham
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Ham 1 Newcastle 0 West Ham players celebrate their victory
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Brom 0 Newcastle 2 Ayoze Perez flicks in a brilliant opener for Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Brom 0 Newcastle 2 Ayoze Perez celebrates his goal against West Brom
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures West Brom 0 Newcastle 2 Fabricio Coloccini celebrates his goal that put Newcastle 2-0 up
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 Mario Balotelli is spoken to by Simon Mignolet
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 Mario Balotelli reacts to the defeat to Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 Ayoze Perez celebrates his winning goal against Liverpool
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 Ayoze Perez celebrates his goal against Liverpool
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 Ayoze Perez scores for Newcastle against Liverpool
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 0 Newcastle 2 Moussa Sissoko celebrates scoring Newcastle's second goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 0 Newcastle 2 David Silva was substituted after suffering a knee injury
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Manchester City 0 Newcastle 2 Rolando Aarons watches as his effort finds the corner of the Manchester City goal to give Newcastle the lead
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Newcastle 2 Ayoze Perez and his teammates celebrate with the away fans
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Newcastle 2 Ayoze Perez scores for Newcastle to complete the turnaround
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Newcastle 2 Sammy Ameobi scores with his first touch to level for Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Newcastle 2 Emmanuel Adebayor heads in the opening goal for Spurs
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Leicester 0 Gabriel Obertan celebrates his goal with his team mates
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Leicester 0 Gabriel Obertan fires in to give Newcastle the lead
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Leicester 0 Papiss Cisse misses a good chance
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 1 Leicester 0 The match is delayed by an hour due to problems with a big screen coming dislodged by the wind
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Swansea 2 Newcastle 2 Courtesy of Papiss Cisse's second of the afternoon, Alan Pardew's men show they are no pushovers.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Swansea 2 Newcastle 2 Papiss Cisse celebrates pulling Newcastle level at the Liberty Stadium
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Swansea 2 Newcastle 2 Swansea show solidarity with their opponents by supporting former Magpies star Jonas Gutierrez who is battling cancer.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Swansea 2 Newcastle 2 Wilfried Bony puts the Swans ahead against lowly Newcastle.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Swansea 2 Newcastle 2 Mike Ashley, usually an absent figure, was again in attendance for Newcastle's clash away at Swansea.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Stoke 1 Newcastle 0 Peter Crouch heads home the only goal of the game between Stoke and Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Stoke 1 Newcastle 0 Mike Ashley looks on during the game between Stoke City and Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Stoke 1 Newcastle 0 Alan Pardew at the match between Newcastle and Stoke
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Stoke 1 Newcastle 0 Fans call for the head of Alan Pardew at the match between Newcastle and Stoke
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Crystal Palace 2 Newcastle 3 Emmanuel Riviere of Newcastle scores one of his two goals against Crystal Palace as the Magpies advanced in this Capital One Cup tie after extra-time
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Crystal Palace 2 Newcastle 3 Paul Dummett celebrates scoring the winner at Selhurst Park in extra-time
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Papiss Cisse gets his second and equalises for Newcastle
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Alan Pardew and Papiss Cisse celebrate the goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Under-fire boss Alan Pardew looks away after his team go behind
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Nikica Jelavic celebrates after opening the scoring
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Newcastle fans hold up protest banners against their manager Alan Pardew
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Stephen Quinn is tackled by Paul Dummett
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Moussa Sissoko goes past the challenge from Jake Livermore
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 2 Hull 2 Nikica Jelavic holds off Paul Dummett
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 After Jack Cork had made it 3-0, Newcastle fans turned up the volume on their protests against Alan Pardew.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Jack Cork celebrates after scoring the Saints' third.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Alan Pardew's afternoon could only get worse after Graziano Pelle doubled his side's lead after just 19 minutes.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Graziano Pelle gave the Saints the best possible start, tucking his effort past Tim Krul in the first half.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Southampton 4 Newcastle 0 Alan Pardew returned to his former club with his job looking increasingly under threat.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Crystal Palace 3 Neil Warnock celebrates after Wilfried Zaha's late goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Crystal Palace 3 Wilfried Zaha celebrates his late equaliser
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Crystal Palace 3 Mike Williamson celebrates his goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Crystal Palace 3 Rolando Aarons celebrates his goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Crystal Palace 3 Massadio Haidara and Jason Puncheon battle for the ball
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 3 Crystal Palace 3 Dwight Gayle scores the opening goal
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle Daryl Janmaat prevails in a tussle with Aston Villa left-back Aly Cissokho. The summer signing from Feyenoord has impressed Newcastle United supporters so far.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle Paul Lambert and Aston Villa assistant manager Roy Keane look on during the match. Keane was characteristically active on the sidelines
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle New Aston Villa signing Carlos Sanchez was named on the bench and replaced Charles N'Zogbia in the 62nd minute.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle The Villa Park faithful were enthusiastic about the first use of the 'vanishing spray' during the match with Newcastle United. It produced possibly the loudest cheer of the match.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle Roy Keane exchanges words with Daryl Janmaat during the goalless draw between Aston Villa and Newcastle United.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson saw red in the second half in a fiery affair at Villa Park.
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Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester City 2 Sergio Aguero makes it 2-0 in stoppage time
Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester City 2 Edin Dzeko wins the ball back from Fabricio Coloccini
Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester City 2 David Silva celebrates his goal for Manchester City
Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester City 2 Joe Hart punches the ball away
Newcastle United - the latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Manchester City 2 A minute's silence is observed for the Newcastle fans who died on flight MH17
Dutch international midfielder Siem de Jong, a big-money summer signing who has hardly featured because of injury, played in a behind-closed-doors game this week but is not yet ready.
Of consolation to Carver might be the fact that Hull could not use their training ground yesterday because the gas board had not fixed the heating. That is a set-back even Newcastle have yet to experience.
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