Well there we have it. The reign of Steve McClaren at Newcastle is officially over.
McClaren’s appointment was greeted with a mixture of intrigue and anger when the former England boss moved to Tyneside.
His failure to win promotion with Derby County despite being miles clear at the top of the Championship at Christmas was a particular sticking point for fans.
However, we gave him the benefit of the doubt, and despite not winning his first eight games, fans could see some improvements in the style of play.
The first real sign of discontent was during the defeat to Watford in the FA Cup, with Newcastle failing to progress yet again. From there things got gradually worse and the media spotlight started focussing on McClaren.
The defeat to Bournemouth signalled the end for McClaren, who seemingly found defeats funny in the post-match press conferences, trying to laugh off valid criticism of himself and his squad. This was a huge issue for fans.
Here are six games that doomed Steve.
October 3rd 2015 - Manchester City 6 - 1 Newcastle United
The Sergio Aguero-show was the first sign of McClaren’s defensive woes.
Man City ran riot at The Etihad despite Mitrovic’s opener.
November 28th 2015 - Crystal Palace 5 - 1 Newcastle United
Again, away from home, Newcastle United took the lead this time through Papiss Cisse. However, the defence crumbled yet again against former manager Alan Pardew’s Palace.
January 23rd 2016 - Watford 2 - 1 Newcastle United
Newcastle had lost an FA Cup fixture just two weeks previously to this defeat. However, they had played fairly well.
This defeat in the league was the second this season against the newly promoted Hornets. The fans weren’t happy and rightly so!
February 3rd 2016 - Everton 3 - 0 Newcastle United
Inept. No passion. No effort.
Three phrases to describe this performance.
McClaren’s men were embarrassing in defeat and Ross Barkley’s panenka penalty was just another nail in the coffin. There were simply no Newcastle players on show.
February 13th 2016 - Chelsea 5 - 1 Newcastle United
A repeat of the Everton performance, except the goals came earlier for the opposition. No positives could be taken from this embarrassing loss.
March 5th 2016 - Newcastle 1 - 3 Bournemouth
Literally the final straw, McClaren had escaped the executioner numerous times, but on this occasion, there was no escape.
Booed off the pitch at half and full-time, Steve McClaren spent his last game at the helm of St James’ Park hearing the frustration of the fans.