This defeat has me asking some serious questions not only about the manager, but the current crop of Pompey players too. There was total lack of commitment and some woeful second half performances today and only Sean Davis can walk away feeling he has earnt his money after this debacle.
Before I carry on with my rant, I should say that we didn't really play all that badly in the first half. Chances were being created but neither Crouch or Defoe could hit a barn door today and even though we were creating opportunities, Newcastle probably still had the best chances with Owen going close and Martins hitting the post when nobody bothered closing him down.
Both sides had been guilty of wasting chances as the half-time whistle blew but during the second half Pompey went to pot.
The midfield were completely outbattled and when they did have the ball more often than not they would give it straight back to the opposition. It was Arnold Mvuemba's woeful pass that gifted Newcastle the opportunity to break and Owen lobbed both Distin and James for the opener.
Pompey had chances to hit straight back with Pamarot heading over from a corner and Defoe missing the target once more but more terrible defending and some poor goalkeeping meant the game was effectively over soon after.
To not be able to defend a simple throw in is inexcusable and we paid the price as Martins was found on his own in the box, James commited himself far too early leaving the Nigerian with the easiest of tap ins to double Newcastle's advantage.
The Blues then ran out of ideas and couldn't break down Joe Kinnear's stubborn side and you just knew our profligacy would cost us a third and it did, as Danny Guthrie made the result look even worse.
So in summary Pompey have lost this game because of a dodgy defence that were exposed by a weak midfield and a pair of strikers who wasted every chance they had. The crowd were quick to show their displeasure at a few players who looked like they didn't care and there are now serious worries about if certain individuals are coasting along until they can move in January.
Some Pompey fans are also giving Tony Adams a hard time after today's result but there's only so much he could do. Glen Johnson was injured so Belhadj aside we didn't have any width in the team at all and when Lauren and Marc Wilson make the bench you know you've got injuries galore.
Whilst his decision to bring on Kanu for Hughes and play him in centre midfield was baffling, he can't make the players pass the ball or come on the pitch and organise a shaky defence like he did during his playing days.
It's not all doom and gloom as we did create chances and you can be sure that Defoe and Crouch won't play that poorly again. It's the defence that really worries me, but I could go on about that for ages so I will save that for another article later this week.
For now, we will have to reflect on what is an embarrassing defeat and work out where it all went wrong.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 5 - Should have done better with the last two goals.
Noe Pamarot: 5 - Struggled.
Sol Campbell: 6 - Some good challenges.
Sylvain Distin: 5 - Couldn't cope with Newcastle's pace.
Nadir Belhadj: 5 - Poor for much of the match.
Arnold Mvuemba: 4 - Awful pass led to Newcastle's opener.
Richard Hughes: 5 - Outbattled by Butt and Guthrie.
Sean Davis: 7 - Gave his all.
Niko Kranjcar: 5 - Kept giving the ball away.
Jermain Defoe: 5 - Missed many chances.
Peter Crouch: 5 - Wasteful.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Lauren
Hermann Hreidarsson
Marc Wilson
Armand Traore (Mvuemba 58): 5 - Frustrating.
Kanu (Hughes 70): 5 - No impact in centre midfield.
David Nugent