'Whipping boys' win Waddle's support

Sir Bobby Robson was not the only man in Turin for whom the journey to the sweeping lines of the Stadio delle Alpi would have produced uneasy memories. Sitting high in the press box, a decent kick away from the penalty spot where England's dreams of a World Cup final perished, was Chris Waddle.

As a former hero of St James' Park and someone whose affection for Robson is deep and enduring, it was natural that Waddle, back in Turin to commentate for Radio Five Live, should have seen the best in Newcastle United's defeat by Juventus. His assertion that Alessandro Del Piero, who might have had a hat-trick, "touched the ball only four times" on Tuesday, was generous to his former club, but Waddle's assertion that Newcastle performed creditably was supported by Robson, his opposite number, Marcello Lippi, and Edgar Davids.

"They are the whipping boys of the group, according to the table but not their football," Waddle remarked. "I've seen all their games and they could have got something from all of them. Surely their luck has to change. It sounds like a poor excuse but they haven't had the rub of the green in any of their games since the Kiev player [Maksim Shatskikh] hit that wonder goal in the first game."

If Kieron Dyer wanted a stage on which to make an impression, the Stadio delle Alpi was fittingly big, even though ITV preferred another look at Manchester United on autopilot. Robson thought Dyer "quick and elusive" in his makeshift role as a striker alongside Alan Shearer, while the player himself said he would like to continue the experiment for both club and country.

"I love playing there and would like to do it more," he said. "The England midfield almost picks itself but there is a place up for grabs alongside Michael Owen. Against Juventus I thought I did well; I thought I had the better of Paolo Montero and he is clearly a world-class defender."

Waddle considers that Dyer ought to be scoring more goals from midfield, let alone as a forward. "I'm sure a few Serie A sides will be watching Dyer after that performance, but he is not the finished article," he said. "With his running power, he should be hitting double figures in terms of goals every year. Once he learns to finish, yes, he will be a big fish."

With three straight defeats from three matches, Newcastle are practically out of the Champions' League, facing the kind of weary, irrelevant stumble to the finish line that Blackburn experienced in 1995 and which was Rangers' lot in almost every one of their tilts at the competition under Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat.

Newcastle were not disgraced in Turin, though, and, providing they can re-qualify for the Champions' League, which is already a big task, the lessons learned here ought to be put to good use. Waddle wondered why a man was not stationed on either post for Del Piero's decisive free-kick and why Nikos Dabizas, who had given away the foul, rushed prematurely out of the wall. Small errors, maybe, but ones that are punished at this rarefied level.