HE might have salvaged Newcastle's season, but at least we now know caretaker manager Glenn Roeder is incapable of miracles.

Beating the likes of Southampton and Portsmouth is one thing - taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford is quite another. While the final scoreline was hardly an embarrassment, Newcastle were completely outclassed in a game every bit as one-sided as last season's humiliating FA Cup semi-final defeat.

Almost £30m has been spent since April's Millennium Stadium mauling but, if anything, the Magpies have gone backwards. They have certainly failed to address their deep-rooted problems at the back and equally obvious inadequacies up front.

Not that any of that is Roeder's fault of course. The former centre-half, who ironically made his final playing appearance for Newcastle in a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford, has brought about a significant improvement since Graeme Souness was dismissed at the start of last month.

But that improvement should not be mistaken for a total overhaul. Newcastle are still a work in progress and, despite a six-game unbeaten run leading to dreams of European qualification, significant further progress is still needed. If yesterday's reality check is anything to go by, their development is likely to be both protracted and painful.

As usual, the Magpies' problems began at the back and, just as inevitably, their defenders were the architects of their own downfall.

A rampant Wayne Rooney consistently ripped Jean-Alain Boumsong and Robbie Elliott asunder, while the usually reliable Peter Ramage became infected by his fellow defenders' indecision.

The full-back's early howler might have been entirely out of character, but it was perfectly in keeping with everything else that was going on at the heart of Newcastle's defence.

Last season, Ramage made his senior debut as Newcastle slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford and, while his weak defensive header eventually culminated in Rooney's volleyed winner, the youngster could at least claim to have produced a composed display.

Yesterday, there was no such consolation. One bad day at the office should not be allowed to overshadow the significant strides Ramage has made this season, but the full-back's fraught first-half performance effectively sealed his side's fate.

That his errors were once again exacerbated by Rooney's brilliance merely added salt to the wound.

Ironically, the visitors had made a sprightly opening, forcing two corners inside the opening six minutes, before Ramage's uncharacteristic rush of blood left his team-mates completely exposed.

Failing to check what, or rather who, was behind him, the 22-year-old lazily laid a backpass into Shay Given's path, only for the ever-alert Rooney to anticipate his error.

There was still plenty to do as he approached the edge of the penalty area but, displaying the kind of panache that has made him England's talisman ahead of this summer's World Cup finals, the striker nonchalantly lobbed Given and found the far corner of the net. As far as finishes go, it was not far short of last April's Goal of the Season winner.

With Ruud van Nistelrooy confined to the bench, Rooney had clearly assumed the mantle of Newcastle's tormentor in chief and, sure enough, the Liverpudlian duly doubled the home side's lead four minutes later.

John O'Shea was granted time and space at the heart of midfield and, after the Irishman's through ball sliced the Magpies' defence in two, Ramage was no match for Rooney's physical strength.

Holding off his opponent with ease as he surged into the box, the stocky striker guided a precise low finish past Given's right hand.

Twelve minutes gone and the game was already as good as up.

It should certainly have been put to bed before the interval as Newcastle's defence disintegrated and Manchester United's makeshift midfield carved them open at will.

But, with former Newcastle striker Louis Saha the leading culprit, the home side spurned a succession of gilt-edged opportunities to extend their lead.

Saha, who scored twice during a loan spell on Tyneside in 1999, is widely perceived to be Van Nistelrooy's understudy at Old Trafford and, on the evidence of yesterday's nervy display, it will stay that way.

The Frenchman was clean through on goal when a dreadful first touch took the ball through to Given, before he twice failed to find the target with clear-cut chances from the edge of the box. If those opportunities had fallen to Rooney, Newcastle could easily have been five goals down by the break.

As it was, Roeder's men were still in some sort of a contest when Scott Parker dragged his side's first opportunity wide of the target in the final minute of the first half.

They were even threatening to engineer the most unlikely of revivals when substitute Lee Bowyer, introduced at half-time for the ineffectual Shola Ameobi, forced Edwin Van Der Sar into a smart low save within ten minutes of the re-start.

Picking up Emre's precise infield pass, Bowyer's 30-yard daisycutter was creeping inside the right-hand post before Van Der Sar clawed it around the upright.

But that was as good as things got for the visitors. With Parker strangely subdued at the heart of midfield, and Alan Shearer's immobility restricting him to a series of increasingly unconvincing attempts to win a free-kick, Newcastle were completely overwhelmed by their hosts.

At least, though, they had remembered how to fight.

There were still the inevitable mishaps - Cristiano Ronaldo fired wide with the goal at his mercy after Rooney had skipped past Celestine Babayaro - but, if nothing else, the meek surrender of the first half was replaced by a healthier desire to prevent a bad day getting worse.

Not, of course, that that desire ever looked like being enough to turn the tide. With Rooney at his irrepressible best, the home side continued to create a succession of chances that were routinely spurned.

Surprisingly, Rooney himself wasted the best of them, shooting against the post after outpacing Elliott and skipping around Given in the 68th minute.

Van Nistelrooy also fired wide after eventually being introduced 15 minutes before the end but, by then, Newcastle's suffering was all but complete.

Their resurrection, however, still has far longer to run.

Manchester United 2 - 0 Darlington

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