Is Newcastle United A Club In Crisis?

At the start of the Premier League season, Arsenal has become the first club to earn the media's label of crisis club this season - no big signings in the summer, followed by a 3-1 loss at home to Aston Villa.

However, Newcastle United probably should have earned that title right from the start. The Toon's summer was turbulent with Alan Pardew just hanging on to his job despite the dreaded vote of confidence and the Toon just surviving by the skin of their teeth last season, and the appointment of the controversial and frail, Joe Kinnear as technical director.

A feeling of deja vu for Toon fans

Technical directors have never been popular in English football having been doomed to failure in a culture where the manager still assumes absolute power at the club - witness Liverpool, Tottenham and of course, Newcastle before with the appointment of Dennis Wise above Kevin Keegan (a cardinal sin in Geordie eyes) - a bit bemusing why eccentric owner, Mike Ashley, decided to try the failed experiment again then.

Kinnear's appointment could be seen as a damning indictment on Pardew's abilities in the transfer market - despite Pardew managing to convince the electric Papiss Cisse to come to Tyneside when the Toon made the Europa League in 2012.

A sight Toon fans want to see an end to

Unfortunately, Papiss Cisse's generator seems to have shut down in recent months - perhaps distracted by the Wonga sponsorship controversy - along with the Newcastle United goal scoring machine which has so far had zero output this season. Indeed, in the first two games of the season so far, Newcastle have only mustered 1 shot on target out of 21.

Alarmingly, Newcastle's opposition have mustered 4 goals, 12 shots on target out of 26. Ok, 11 of those shots on target were by powerhouses, Manchester City at home in the first game, but it does raise some concern that Newcastle's defence despite the huge Gallic incursion remains on the shonky side.

Stewart Downing adds another bow to a strong Hammers side 

Yes, they got a 0-0 draw against West Ham in their first game at St James Park but it was a very nervy one and rather disappointing performance first up in front of the Geordies which gives no reassurance that this season is going to be unlike last.

Newcastle United found out last season that trying to emulate their success of reaching Europe is mighty difficult when you don't quite have the financial power of the top 5 - even a club like Liverpool are finding it difficult as the Premier League continues to improve leaps and bounds.

However, unlike Liverpool, Newcastle seem to have stalled and returned to the bad years of the late 2000s - a side with plenty of quality that underperformed and eventually got relegated in 2009.

Time to let him go?

Perhaps, Newcastle need to cast off some of that quality to go forward, i.e. Yohan Cabaye refusing to play for the Toon after they rebuffed offers from Arsenal and PSG in the summer. Cabaye's dissent is hurting the Toon and Alan Pardew needs to make a statement on Cabaye just like Brendan Rodgers did with Suarez or risk losing his job first.

So a gloomy start to the new season for the Toon - and unlike the Arsenal, there's no European football to console themselves.

More gloom - physically and emotionally for Toon fans

As for Newcastle's opponents on Saturday, West Ham can look forward to better things this season - they've got a side that looks very good on paper and Big Sam must be smiling how things have worked out for him since his ignominious departure from the ground he visited today all those years ago. West Ham have never done well at St James Park - whatever name it has had - and this was a game where they were always going to be under the pump.

But they more than held their own against a nervy but determined home side. While Big Sam hasn't quite delivered the type of pleasing football that Hammers fans crave from the Academy of Football, it has the platform to deliver greater things to the club in the near future.