WHERE on earth do you start when it comes to conducting a post-mortem of Newcastle’s second relegation in the space of seven years? The top seems as good a place as any, and that means, as he freely admitted in a rare television appearance 12 months ago, the buck stops with Mike Ashley.

Some might claim that having finally loosened the purse strings, Ashley is immune from criticism. But that ignores the fact that he devised the transfer policy that has proved so disastrous in the last few years, he adopted the antagonistic approach that has created such a poisonous atmosphere in and around the club, and he appointed the likes of Lee Charnley and Graham Carr to positions of power they have proved incapable of filling.

It is also now Ashley that will have to sift through the wreckage of a relegation that will see Newcastle’s annual income drop from a guaranteed £100m to around £35m at a stroke. Having bounced back at the first time of asking in 2010, things will be nothing like as easy this time around.

Having needed a win on the final day of last season to safeguard their top-flight status, it should not be a surprise that Newcastle have crashed into the Championship, yet the current campaign began with a degree of optimism that proved painfully unfounded.

Steve McClaren had been appointed as head coach, and while his arrival was not universally popular, most initially regarded him as a safe appointment. When Newcastle splashed out more than £50m to sign the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba, thoughts were trained on the top half of the table. With the benefit of hindsight, we should all have foreseen what was coming.

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Once again, a disparate group of inexperienced youngsters from abroad had been thrown together with little regard for team spirit or squad balance, elements that proved so crucial in Leicester City’s remarkable title success. While the Foxes powered up the table, Newcastle foundered with a collection of players who were either not good enough, not suitable for the Premier League or not bothered about the club’s eventual fate.

The opening two months of the season were a shambles, with the home defeat to Watford, the League Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and the 6-1 hiding at Manchester City exposing fault lines that remained evident throughout the rest of McClaren’s reign.

A six-goal flurry against Norwich provided a rare shaft of light, but normal service resumed as Newcastle suffered their sixth successive derby defeat, and with McClaren infuriating supporters with his blinkered positivity and insistence that “progress” was being made, the mood on Tyneside grew increasingly mutinous.

The January transfer window offered an opportunity to improve things, but despite failings in both boxes being glaringly apparent, Newcastle’s recruitment team opted to spend £30m on three midfielders. By the end of the season, two had already been banished to the reserves.

McClaren should have gone after a wretched 5-1 defeat at Chelsea, but he clung on for another month as Newcastle suffered further defeats to Stoke and Bournemouth. Not for the first time, Charnley’s inability to take decisive action proved disastrous.

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Rafael Benitez arrived in mid-March, and the capture of the former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss was one of the few successes in an otherwise calamitous campaign.

The concession of a stoppage-time winner at Norwich looked like being fatal, but a four-game unbeaten run lifted the Magpies out of the bottom three and created the possibility of a last-gasp escape.

A passionate performance at bottom club Aston Villa was essential, but instead, Newcastle’s overpaid, overhyped squad reverted to type. They barely got out of first gear as their survival chances disappeared around them, and their fate was sealed when Sunderland beat Everton on Wednesday.

For the second time in Ashley’s reign, they will start next season in the Championship, with trips to Burton and Rotherham replacing matches against Manchester United and Liverpool. It is impossible to say that their relegation is undeserved.


STATISTICS:

Played 40

Won 9

Drew 10

Lost 21

Win percentage: 22.5%

Moment of the season: The concession of Martin Olsson’s stoppage-time winner at Norwich felt like the moment relegation became inevitable, and while Newcastle threatened to rally, it ultimately proved decisive.

Goal of the season: It seems like a lifetime ago now, but Newcastle’s 6-2 win over Norwich last October featured a succession of superb strikes. The best came courtesy of Aleksandar Mitrovic, with the striker chesting the ball down before hammering home.

Miss of the season: There are a host of contenders, but Fabricio Coloccini gets the award. Awful on the pitch in the first half of the season, he was a disgrace off it in the second as he attempted to absolve himself of all leadership responsibilities.

Player of the season: Andros Townsend – He only arrived in January, but Townsend’s performances in the second half of the campaign immediately set him apart from his colleagues. He deserves a chance to move elsewhere and remain in the top-flight.