Man United transfer reality is clear if they want to give Ruben Amorim a chance to fix this mess
Manchester United are guaranteed to finish the season with their worst ever Premier League points tally and Ruben Amorim has a job on his hands to turn this team around.
A trip to St James' Park is usually a big date in the calendar for Manchester United, but there was no getting away from the fact that this was an inconvenience to them this week. While Newcastle steeled themselves for a nervous run-in, Ruben Amorim's side are only playing to avoid unwanted records.
Sandwiched between both legs of their Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, this match was one for United to survive, from a footballing and physical point of view. In the end, they did neither.
There were spells in the first half when it looked like the team for whom this game meant nothing but could trouble the team for whom it meant everything. But the positives didn't last.
A couple of smart moves and a slick goal were the sum of Amorim's positives as he headed back to Manchester. In the minus column were a disastrous defensive performance, a costly injury, and a sense of confidence being eroded.
When United led Lyon in injury time on Thursday night, things looked good. Since then they have conceded a late equaliser, seen their goalkeeper dropped and been soundly beaten on Tyneside. Thursday night's return against the Ligue 1 outfit, on which United's season rests, looks a lot more challenging than it did.
It has long been Europa League or bust for United. To put their domestic struggles into perspective, this defeat meant they are guaranteed to finish on their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League despite having six games to go. They have been wretched.
The only real interest in this game was who could put their hand up for a spot in Amorim's side for Thursday and what will surely be a tight and tense night at Old Trafford. Top of that list was Altay Bayindir, the goalkeeper finally making his Premier League debut at the expense of Andre Onana, dropped as a form of protection for himself.
Just as it looked like Bayindir could at least say he had survived his afternoon without error, his weak distribution cost him. He passed it straight to Joelinton, who teed up Bruno Guimaraes to score the fourth.
Until then, the Turkish goalkeeper had been solid enough despite proving his kicking can be just as unconvincing as Onana's. He had at least been much more commanding under the high ball and had made one smart save from Alexander Isak.
Only Amorim will know if he was seriously conceding starting Bayindir against Lyon, but this surely settles the debate. Onana will get another chance, but he needs to step up.
There are many issues with this United team, but they lack a commanding goalkeeper and a ruthless goalscorer. They won't progress until both of these issues are sorted.
Until pulling up with a hamstring injury, Joshua Zirkzee was possibly playing his way into the starting XI on Thursday night.
His link-up play had been good and although he wasn't keen on duelling with Dan Burn and Fabian Schar in the air, he could use his quick feet and intelligent play to keep United moving.
There was one stunning pass to Bruno Fernandes in a move that ended with Zirkzee forcing Nick Pope into a save with the return pass. He is a very different forward to Rasmus Hojlund but probably the more confident player at this stage. Having scored in Lyon, this performance was setting him up for a big role in the second leg until injury struck.
But he will always be an occasional goalscorer at best. He is a tidy footballer, but isn't the answer. Neither is Hojlund. United will sign a striker this summer, but on the evidence of the last few days, they need a new goalkeeper as well.