The club's hierarchy is a mess and the players continue to disappoint from one season to the next. Relegation looks inevitable, whoever replaces the former England manager
Newcastle United's season has been the equivalent of watching head coach Steve McClaren and his squad of underperforming, overpaid footballers sink into quicksand.
At first Premier League safety looked possible, albeit via another season-long struggle, but as McClaren's flailing became more desperate and his players lost all faith, the inevitability of their demise was clear.
On Friday, after three spineless performances in defeats to Chelsea, Stoke City and Bournemouth, Newcastle put McClaren out his misery, nine months to the day since his appointment.
But those who think firing McClaren will erase the toxic atmosphere engulfing Newcastle are sorely mistaken. With the club set to finish in the bottom six for the third time in four seasons, blame must be apportioned properly.
Before sinking further into the murky Tyneside mire, it's important to understand how Newcastle United fails to function at a boardroom level. There are three main antagonists who have been pulling the strings above McClaren: Mike Ashley, Lee Charnley and Graham Carr.
Ashley is the club's owner and universally loathed by fans and neutrals. He's reported to be the 15th richest person in the UK, with Forbes estimating his net value at £2.5 billion last year.
The Sports Direct tycoon doesn't interfere too heavily with club matters any more - he's busy fielding accusations of ignoring letters from politicians demanding an explanation for alleged immoral treatment of workers at his warehouses - leaving most of the dirty work to his lackeys.
Chief lackey is Charnley, the bespectacled managing director who essentially runs the club. The owner's right-hand man has been with the club for over a decade but only rose to prominence in 2014, and he's presided over a period of consistent bleakness.
Carr is Newcastle's chief scout, although a more appropriate job description would be director of football. The 71-year-old was revered by the Geordie faithful four years ago having identified fan favourites Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye, Cheikh Tiote, Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.
But after a sprawling list of failed transfers in the past three years, of which only Daryl Janmaat can be considered a bona fide success, Carr's reputation among the St James' Park season ticket holders has plummeted.
However, despite these shortcomings, Carr's influence on Newcastle's hierarchy has continued to grow.
McClaren was heavily touted by Carr, who was a huge admirer of the way the coach topped the Eredivisie with FC Twente as he looked to rehabilitate his career following England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
Charnley was sufficiently convinced by Carr's support to ignore the sea of sceptics who had pondered whether McClaren's exploits at Derby County were cause for concern. The club's Premier League promotion bid imploded in the final few weeks of the season and he was unceremoniously sacked.
Regardless, McClaren was handed a three-year contract and given Ashley's seat on the board of directors. Optimism was immediately blown as the season started with a failure to win in their opening eight league games. Collapses to Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton set the tone for a dire campaign.
A smattering of wins in the lead up to Christmas softened opinion on McClaren, with Aston Villa's appalling efforts hogging the relegation limelight. But seven defeats in 10 games since the turn of the year made McClaren's job untenable.
But Newcastle are in such a mess they couldn't even get a routine sacking right. Seemingly forgetting how letting Carver see out the 2014-15 season nearly ended in relegation, Charnley and Carr spent the last few days scratching their heads behind the scenes. McClaren was a dead man walking at the Darsley Park training centre and everybody knew it.
Somewhat surprisingly, Rafa Benitez has emerged as the main contender to replace McClaren. The former Liverpool boss is reported to be demanding full transfer control and permission to abandon ship should they suffer relegation.
Benitez would be an incredible coup considering nine months ago he was unveiled as the new Real Madrid head coach. But while quality at Cristiano Ronaldo's level is non-existent at Newcastle, there are obvious financial perks should the club somehow stay above water in the top flight.
The Premier League will become even richer next year when the new broadcast rights kick in. The desperate desire to be involved in the lucrative income orgy is why Ashley sanctioned £78m on transfers in 2015-16. That matches how much Newcastle - valued as the 18th richest club the world by Deloitte in January - spent in their previous six seasons combined.
Whether Newcastle hire Benitez, David Moyes or a third consecutive manager to have recently been sacked from a team in England's lower divisions, the new incumbent will have to deal with a set of players who look more at home in a mortuary than on a football pitch.
While McClaren has acted as a lightning rod for criticism in recent weeks, the performances of the players have been deplorable for far longer. Their away form, in particular, is cause for grave concern with 19 defeats in their previous 22 competitive matches on the road.
Club veterans are either painfully past their best, like Tiote, unable to play well for more than 45 minutes a month, like Moussa Sissoko, or sidelined with injury, like Tim Krul. Some, like captain Fabricio Coloccini, have slotted into all three categories over the course of the campaign.
New arrivals have been just as disappointing as familiar faces. Record signing Georginio Wijnaldum's moments of brilliance have been few and far between, while young striker Aleksandar Mitrovic's first season has been full of frustration.
As for Florian Thauvin, who was loaned back to Marseille in January, Newcastle may as well have flushed the £12m they paid for him down the toilet. A dazzling League Cup showing against a fourth-tier club aside, the winger did nothing of note in the few chances he was afforded.
McClaren's sacking means Charnley and Carr could evade scrutiny for their prominent role in signing the likes of Thauvin - the latest in a long line of high-profile flops - despite it being made clear at the start of the season that McClaren wasn't responsible for transfers.
The atrocious player performances, a fractious relationship between fans and club, and a trio of chiefs who a desperate to point fingers makes St James' Park more a minefield than a football pitch.
It will take a brave coach to watch table-toppers Leicester dismantle Newcastle on Monday and keep the faith that survival is realistic. Whoever takes the role is likely to debut on March 20 against fierce local rivals Sunderland, against whom they have lost the last six compet itive games and were humiliated 6-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly in January.
With two away games against relegation rivals Norwich City and Europa League-chasing Southampton to follow, McClaren's replacement could be wading through quicksand within weeks and that sinking feeling will return.
- Goal