Injuries, injudicious signings, indisciplined defending, inertia - the story of Newcastle's season has been starkly similar to the terrible tales of the past.

A campaign that started with ambitions of Europe could yet finish with an unseemly battle against the drop. Given the £50m that has been spent since the start of last season, that represents failure on a monumental scale.

Most supporters have apportioned their blame and pointed the finger squarely at manager Graeme Souness. Rightly or wrongly, he still seems likely to carry the can for a season of strife.

Since the end of last season, the Magpies manager has released Craig Bellamy, Patrick Kluivert, Laurent Robert, Jermaine Jenas, James Milner, Darren Ambrose, Andy O'Brien and Aaron Hughes. They have not been suitably replaced.

Newcastle's defence - a perennial problem area that has not been adequately addressed for more than a decade now - remains a constant source of concern.

It is light in both numbers and quality, with the sale of O'Brien and Hughes particularly hard to fathom given their immense versatility. Titus Bramble remains prone to both injuries and errors and, for the umpteenth season in a row, Newcastle have shipped more than a dozen points thanks to elementary errors at the back.

The midfield is a mess, lacking both pace and creativity, two factors that are increasingly important in the modern game. The £9.5m acquisition of Albert Luque already looks like a gamble gone wrong, while it is difficult to see what Souness continues to see in the lacklustre Amdy Faye.

Similarly, the Scot's decision to field out-of-form striker Shola Ameobi in an unorthodox left-wing role suggested a lack of any grand design or long-term plan.

Up front, Newcastle's season has once again been built around Alan Shearer. Breaking Jackie Milburn's record will lend his campaign a sentimental edge but it is hard to argue that the abandonment of his retirement was a wholly successful act.

Without Michael Owen, the Magpies are seriously short of scoring options. It is increasingly a case of stop Shearer - and that is becoming ever easier given the talisman's age - and you stop the sole attacking threat.

The Magpies are suffering because of the side that Souness has built and yet, in most quarters, he continues to elicit sympathy as much as disrespect. Why? Because the side he has built has never been on the pitch.

Nobody likes to hear their manager moaning about injuries and bad luck but, when it comes to Souness, it is impossible to dispute the point.

How many other clubs would spend £16m on one of the world's greatest strikers, only to see him break his foot in one of the most innocuous challenges imaginable?

How many clubs would stand by an injury-prone star, only to see him suffer a medical illness that no-one could predict?

How many clubs would see 11 first-team players heading for the treatment table at the same time?

I'll tell you how many - one - and it's Newcastle. Imagine a midfield of Luque, Parker, Dyer and Solano feeding an attack of Shearer and Owen. Now open your eyes again because, chances are, it's never going to happen.

Whatever the reasons behind Newcastle's injury crisis - and Souness' argument that conditions on the training ground are to blame seems to be a justifiable one - no club could have prospered given the loss of so many key first-team players. Some, though, might have made a better fist of coping.