NEWCASTLE United are never far away from a crisis but, even given the unique role that football plays in North-East life, the events of the last 48 hours have been particularly tumultuous.

Defeat in Marseille, and a home draw with Wolves that leaves the Magpies facing the possibility of no European football at all next season, have combined to create a storm that has swept across Tyneside.

Newcastle's fans made their feelings known by booing the players from the field following Sunday's game, and even United boss Sir Bobby Robson added to the sense of impending doom by making ill-advised comments when he thought the cameras had stopped rolling.

The last seven days have been a harrowing experience for a club who are 33 points adrift of champions Arsenal and who are facing a major financial headache should they miss out on the riches of the Champions League for a second year running.

It has been a bad week - but Newcastle have certainly known worse.

If you're wanting a really bad week, cast your mind back to the same stage of the season in 1992.

In the space of three days, the Magpies slumped to a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall and a 4-1 trouncing at Derby that left them stranded in the Second Division relegation zone with two games of the season to play.

Newcastle might miss out on excursions to Sweden or Spain if they fail to win their two remaining games of this season - back then a failure to pick up six points would have meant trips to Swansea and Shrewsbury.

A lot has happened in the intervening period and increased success inevitably leads to increased expectation.

But, even given the immense craving for silverware that constantly eats away at the footballing fabric of Tyneside, it is important to retain a sense of perspective amidst everything that is going on.

In the aftermath of Sunday's 1-1 draw, Robson challenged his critics by citing the 28 European games that Newcastle have played over the last two seasons. It is easy to forget that they had not played that many in the 29 years before he joined the club.

Since taking the helm in September 1999, Robson has turned a team who were stranded in the Premiership relegation zone into one who can realistically expect to be challenging for a top four spot every season.

They will still achieve that this year if they win their final two games of the season at Southampton and Liverpool.

Newcastle have it all to do after winning just one of their last five league matches, but skipper Alan Shearer is certainly refusing to throw in the towel.

The United captain might have missed a crucial late penalty against Wolves, but he last night pledged to do everything possible in an attempt to salvage a Champions League spot.

"We will keep fighting," said the 28-goal frontman. "There will be one team finishing with nothing this season and we have to make sure that it is not us.

"On the other hand, there will be one team who finishes fourth and it is still a possibility it will be us.

"While there remains that possibility we will keep trying. We can't feel sorry for ourselves and we won't - we will give it a damn big try on Wednesday.

"We have to win two games away from home now. It's going to be very difficult having won only two games away from home all season, but we will make sure that where there is a will there is a way."

Recent history is not on Newcastle's side as they will end their campaign on two of their worst hunting grounds.

The Magpies produced one of their best displays of the season to earn a 3-0 FA Cup win at St Mary's Stadium in January but, before that, you had to go back to 1972 to find Newcastle's last win in Southampton.

And the Magpies' recent record at Liverpool is equally as bad with Newcastle able to boast just two league wins at Anfield in the last 54 years.

This season's away record has been woeful and, while injuries have played their part in the second half of the campaign, mistakes throughout the club have contributed to the perceived crisis.

The board's decision not to release funds last summer has resulted in a squad that lacks depth in key areas, while Robson's decision to sell Nolberto Solano to Aston Villa in January looks even stranger now than it did at the time.

Too many players have lost their form and their bottle in key games and, in possibly the most farcical situation of them all, Lomana LuaLua was able to deprive the club he plays for of two crucial points by scoring against them for Portsmouth.

Those factors have combined to create the impression of a situation slipping out of control and what has happened over the last five days has only served to enhance that view.

Things could get even worse if Newcastle fail to achieve the two wins that could save their season but, while further reprisals will be sure to follow if that is the case, it is to be hoped they are more reasoned than some of the more impassioned outpourings witnessed since Sunday.

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