Newcastle Utd 0 Blackburn Rovers 2

NEWCASTLE: Harper, Solano, Onyewu, Bramble (Ramage 70), Carr,Dyer (Ameobi 70), Parker, Butt, Milner, Owen, Martins.
Subs Not Used: Srnicek, N'Zogbia, Carroll.

BLACKBURN: Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley,Kerimoglu (Gallagher 89), Mokoena, Pedersen,McCarthy (Derbyshire 67), Roberts (Nonda 85).
Subs Not Used: Brown, Henchoz.

Att: 51,226

This was a woeful home defeat, the fifth consecutive game at St James' Park that Newcastle have failed to score, and this was the match that confirmed that the manager is on his "last legs" as Toon boss.

Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts did the damage, and you couldn't help but remember the very same fixture last season when Rovers won 1-0 and the Souness Out banners appeared. It was the final nail in the coffin for Souness, and Roeder must feel the noose pulling tight around his neck.

He says he will fight on ... but so did the rest of them ... Dalglish, Gullit, Robson and Souness. And once again it's "Musical Toon Manager", although Freddy Shepherd insists Big Sam is not in his thoughts. But we cannot continue watching players who are not willing to fight for the manager.

The boos have rung out around St James' Park this season, and they did again on the final whistle to heap further pressure on the beleaguered manager.

The Magpies, who have won just one of their last 10 Premiership games, were again heartless in front of their home fans. And if there were more places to hide, I'm sure some of them would have found it.

By contrast, a side built on a shoe-string head into the final week of the season looking at qualifying for the UEFA Cup, while we cannot even make the InteToto.

Owen's return was seen as a positive finish to a poor season, but it was the same old story for Roeder's sorry troops. Totally gutless!

Where Rovers fans could enjoy Tugay's creativity and the movement of McCarthy and strike partner Roberts, the Magpies looked on a disjointed midfield with very little vision and a defence that was like the Keystone Cops.

What a defence. Titus Bramble (as always) wasteful in possession; Stephen Carr caught of position more times than not; and Oguchi Onyewu quite possibly the worst central defender we've had for years, it was indeed a sorry sight.

But it might have been very different had Kieron Dyer done better in the fifth-minute with a header that should have left Brad Friedel helpless.

Ryan Nelsen got in a vital challenge to prevent Owen from firing home from Scott Parker's flick-on after 40 minutes, but the Newcastle captain should have done better seconds later when the striker returned the favour only for him to scuff his effort straight at Brad Friedel.

The American then turned away James Milner's curling free-kick, but he should have been beaten on the stroke of half-time when, after he could only punch Nolberto Solano's driven cross to Owen, the England international drilled his shot high over.

But in the meantime, the visitors had taken the lead when McCarthy got the benefit of a marginal offside decision to thump Stephen Warnock's 14th-minute cross past Steve Harper.

Harper kept his side in it with a fine save from Morten Gamst Pedersen 11 minutes before the break after Bentley had skipped past Carr and Milner to cross from the right, and Rovers had a goal ruled out for offside seconds later with Roeder's men in disarray at the back.

United might have levelled after 69 minutes when Owen, who had seconds earlier had claims for a penalty for a trip by Samba waved away, rounded Friedel, but saw his shot from a tight angle headed off the line by the Congo international.

Roeder introduced Shola Ameobi and Peter Ramage for Dyer and Bramble on 70 minutes, but the game was over when Roberts was handed the simplest of tasks by Bentley to head past Harper.

The life went out of Newcastle and the fans made their feelings felt at the end. But it wasn't just this performance. They have had a belly-full of junk like this all the campaign, with the only bit of hope coming from the UEFA Cup run. All in all ... a shocking season ... and the fans walked out as gutted as the look on Shepherd's face at the final whistle.