THERE was ice and snow around the side of the pitch at Ewood Park yesterday but, while the temperature might have been cold, it was only Newcastle's defenders who were frozen.

Rooted to the spot as Barry Ferguson's first-half free-kick sent Paul Dickov racing free, Newcastle's backline proved equally immobile after the interval as Andy Todd reacted quickest to a Shay Given parry to ensure there would be no happy homecoming on Graeme Souness' return to Blackburn.

The United boss has seen his side win just one of their last nine in the league now and, after conceding nine goals in their last three away games, his current defence is arguably more error-prone than the one he inherited in September.

He continues to tinker with the resources at his disposal but, with the transfer window due to open next weekend, it is sobering to note that the more the faces change in Newcastle's back four, the more the problems remain the same.

No side has conceded the lead on more occasions than the Magpies this season and, sure enough, going ahead twice yesterday was only good enough to earn a point.

It will have been particularly galling for Souness to watch Todd grab Blackburn's second equaliser with such ease. The centre-half clashed publicly with the former Rovers boss in April after refusing to sit on the bench, and was subsequently axed from the first-team squad.

Laurent Robert has been similarly overlooked since the Scot arrived at St James' Park but, after a week in which his entire Newcastle future has been called into doubt, the Frenchman staged a one-man show before the break.

Souness, who has branded Robert "lazy", has repeatedly insisted that the left winger does not contribute enough for his liking. Yet it is difficult to see what more he could have contributed before the interval yesterday. A typically extravagant free-kick was accompanied by an inch-perfect through ball that sent Kieron Dyer scampering clear for Newcastle's opener, and Robert even found time to clear Steven Reid's header off the line at the other end.

He can be infuriatingly inconsistent but, in a United side largely devoid of attacking options, his vision and range of passing offers the kind of threat that has been so conspicuously lacking for much of this season.

Even Newcastle's defenders can't defend, so it is a little rich of Souness to start berating his most talented midfielder for struggling to track back. Similarly, if it is a lack of effort the United boss finds so hard to accept, he should scrutinise Patrick Kluivert's recent contributions rather more closely.

The Dutch international was utterly anonymous before being withdrawn at the break and, on a day when James Milner and Jermaine Jenas also contributed little, the Magpies could have fared even worse as Blackburn dominated a one-sided second period.

The visitors started well enough, with Robert hacking Reid's fifth-minute header off the line before helping United into the lead. His perfectly-timed through ball sent Dyer galloping clear of a stationary Rovers defence, a failing that would eventually be copied by Newcastle's defenders at the other end.

Such a move normally ends in disappointment but, instead of firing high or wide, Dyer's delicate finish beyond Brad Friedel was handsome and earned his first goal for nine months.

The early strike should have settled any Newcastle nerves but, instead, it did not take long for all of United's age-old failings to come to the fore.

Andy O'Brien tangled with Aaron Hughes, enabling Paul Dickov to fire a tame shot straight at Given, before Robbie Elliott got himself into a horrible mess trying to deny Jon Stead a clear run on goal.

At least Elliott finally cleared the ball to safety on that occasion - something that none of United's other defenders managed shortly before the half-hour mark.

O'Brien conceded a needless free-kick on the edge of the area and, while Ferguson seemed to stand over the ball for an age, Dickov was still able to run into the penalty area completely unchecked before guiding a first-time finish beyond Given.

Stead went close to firing Rovers into the lead after Newcastle's defenders had failed to deal with another free-kick but, as if to prove Blackburn did not have a monopoly over set-piece specials, Robert produced another piece of magic to restore his side's advantage.

There seemed to be little danger when Gary Flitcroft fouled Dyer 30 yards from goal, but very little is out of Robert's range when his mood is right and the Frenchman capped a frantic first half with a rasping drive that scorched into Friedel's bottom left-hand corner.

Ahead for a second time, Newcastle could have done with the suspended Lee Bowyer or the injured Nicky Butt to shore up a brittle back four but, instead, Flitcroft and Ferguson dominated the lightweight pairing of Dyer and Jenas.

Ferguson had seen one first-time strike saved by Given but, rather than learning from their mistakes, United's back four duly sat back and allowed him to try again from 25 yards.

Given could only parry on this occasion - he will feel he should have done better - and, with no visiting defender opting to follow the ball in, three Blackburn players were queuing up on the six-yard box to tap home.

The fact that centre-half Todd eventually obliged spoke volumes for the defensive inadequacies that continue to plague Newcastle's season.

Result: Blackburn 2 Newcastle United 2.

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