Newcastle lose relegation dogfight
It still hasn't sunk in. Newcastle United have been relegated.
It didn't happen overnight, it has been a slow demise - one which began the day Sir Bobby Robson was "relieved of his duties" and one that accelerated the day Mike Ashley's £134 million takeover was finalised.
Freddy Shepherd's decision to sack Bobby Robson in August 2004 was ill-advised, and inevitable following Shepherd's refusal to extend his contract just two months prior - the same month Newcastle had an official £20 million bid for Wayne Rooney turned down.
Although Robson failed to win any silverware during his tenure, he did lead the Tyneside outfit to two successive Champions League qualification finishes - his failure to make it three-in-a-row (only finishing Fifth!) being the catalyst of his sacking.
Since his departure, the club never looked like repeating such success.
Mike Ashley took over from Shephard in 2007 and his first decision was to sack Sam Allardyce after only eight months in charge in January 2008 - Newcastle were in 11th place in the table at the time of his sacking (Allardyce has since proved very successful, saving Blackburn Rovers from relegation this season with apparent ease).
Ashley then proceeded to run the club into the ground. Just days after appeasing fans with his decision to appoint Kevin Keegan as their new manager, he opted to hand Dennis Wise a powerful, wide-ranging executive position along with a reported £1.5 million-a-year salary.
This proved to be the worst decision he could have made. Wise's involvement in team transfers - resulting in the arrival of inadequate Spanish striker Xisco and the ineffective Ryan Taylor - infuriated Keegan and prompted his decision to quit.
From then on, Newcastle were in complete disarray. The bizarre decision to appoint Joe Kinnear as manager resulted in an alarming slump in form and a triple heart bypass for the man in charge. By the time Newcastle legend Shearer took over it appeared - and proved - impossible to save the club from the drop.
Oh, how different could it have been had they beaten Man Utd to the signing of potentially England's greatest ever player?
It shocks me that Newcastle will be playing in the Championship next season. During my time as a football fan Newcastle have always been a big club. A big club with big players.
Shearer, Beardsley, Ginola, Cole, Ferdinand; and those elasticated legs of Tino Asprilla!
They have given us two of the greatest Premier League games of all time, both resulting in thrilling 4-3 victories for Liverpool in '96 and '97.
A scintillating hat-trick for Asprilla in a famous 3-2 Champions League victory against Barcelona in '97.
And, not forgetting, that Ginola goal against Ferencvaros in their '96 Champions League campaign.
Newcastle have provided me with so much joy and entertainment in their recent history. And, for that, I am gutted they find themselves playing second-tier football for the first time in 16 years.
