Newcastle United were handed a footballing lesson yesterday as Wolverhampton Wanders brought the Magpies down to earth with a bump following their 6-0 thrashing of QPR.
With the defeat to Wolves came a handful of questions and some that have to be laid at the door of manager Rafael Benitez. Of course Newcastle United are due a few results like this, Wolves will not be the only team to take three points against the Geordies but that should not absolve Benitez of some criticism.
It feels somewhat criminal to be asking questions of Benitez, a man of such pedigree, but as I'm sure he would agree “ criticism is often the springboard to improvement.
Benitez is a man known for tinkering with his team; he rarely starts the same the team and the Spaniard's CV shows that it has largely worked for him during his career.
But questions must be asked why after such a resounding victory Benitez decided to change the team “ if only by three players. Those left out, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Yoan Gouffran and Ciaran Clark had a right to feel hard done by and those who replaced them, Chancel Mbemba, Dwight Gayle and Mo Diame, were among some of the worst performers of the day.
Would it have been so bad to keep the starting eleven which took QPR to the cleaners? Arguably not but all the same, resting players has its benefits as long as thosewho come in do so with effort, determination and provide a reminder that they are there to battle for a starting place.
That did not happen. Diame gave the ball away far too often, Mbemba scored a woeful own goal but looked nervy throughout and Gayle was barely noticeable.
Of course, that is down to the players and their own efforts; Benitez can do little once his team is on the pitch. He can shout and finger wag but if the players are having a bad day then little can be done.
And that may be just it “ it probably was just a bad day, but what a bad day it was. Wolves should have had two or three more and controlled the game without having to do too much.
They pushed Newcastle into panic, mistakes, pointless ˜Hollywood' balls and simply turned them into a former shadow of the team that romped to victory at Loftus Road.
And while Benitez can be largelyabsolvedfor the efforts of the players, there must be questions over his formation “ Newcastle United were simply set up all wrong.
To play one up front at home to a team that a few days earlier shipped four goals is a strange one. Mitrovic and Perez worked well together, with the little Spaniard playing just off the Serbian “ on Saturday, Perez was lazy and out of the game as he was placed on the wing.
Mitrovic's replacement Gayle was non-existent. On the rare occasions that Newcastle did get the ball into the box, Gayle was nowhere to be seen and was often seen coming back 30 or 40 yards to get the ball.
So why did Benitez set up that way? Perhaps he thought that Perez after such a strong performance against QPR would still be on a high or that Gayle could terrorise the Wolves defence with his speed; neither happened.
At home Newcastle United need to be going for the jugular, they need two up front or one striker playing just off the other “ a lone man up top, especially in the mould of Gayle will not work.
One thing is for sure, Benitez is still learning about the Championship. He's still feeling his around the league and that does need to be remembered; the Wolves defeat will not be the last one the Magpies suffer this season but Benitez will hope they will not suffer another one in the same manner.