Watford 1, Newcastle United 1.

AND to think we thought that things would end with a whimper.

Not content with losing the services of their manager in the penultimate week of the campaign, Newcastle United duly signed off their season to the sight of Michael Owen disappearing down the Vicarage Road tunnel strapped to a stretcher.

Only at Newcastle could such a meaningless final-day fixture come with such a startling sting in the tail.

Owen's latest injury drama provided a fittingly fraught finale to a season that has lurched from one crisis to the next at St James' Park.

Making only his third appearance of the season, the England international suffered a bout of concussion after colliding with team-mate Matty Pattison as he was tackled with his back to goal.

To the on-looking Steve McClaren, the latest in a long line of setbacks to have affected Owen is a source of considerable concern ahead of next month's crucial European Championships qualifier in Estonia.

To Sam Allardyce, preparing to succeed Glenn Roeder, the injury was merely a sign of what is to come. When it comes to life on Tyneside, there is always a crisis lurking around the corner.

"Michael's okay, he's got mild concussion but it's nothing too serious," revealed a relieved Nigel Pearson, who is expected to leave Newcastle as part of Allardyce's anticipated reshuffle later this month. "He hasn't had to go to hospital and it won't affect his plans.

"Like anybody else, your thoughts are with the player when you see him on a stretcher like that. For a second, there was a bit of concern. He'll have a headache, but he'll go home and there won't be any problem."

Owen finished the season feeling dazed and confused, but that was nothing compared to the Newcastle supporters who have witnessed yet another dizzyingly dismal season.

Yesterday's failure to beat the worst team in the top-flight confirmed the last nine months as the poorest in the club's Premiership's history.

A final tally of 43 points was one point worse than the previous record set in the 1997-98 and 2004-05 seasons, and a finishing position of 13th was a fair reflection of Newcastle's current standing in the Premiership scheme of things.

Far too many away displays have mirrored yesterday's, with the Magpies briefly threatening to sparkle before slipping into a rut of limited effort and ambition, and the club's normally reliable home form has crumbled alarmingly as age-old defensive deficiencies have repeatedly reared their head.

Indeed, had it not been for a number of narrow victories at the turn of the year, Newcastle's Premiership status could have been threatened yesterday.

As it was, a calamitous campaign merely claimed the scalp of the recently-deposed Roeder, with the Londoner carrying the can for the inadequacies of his squad.

Some of this season's problems were undoubtedly of his own making, but the majority of the Magpies' players must also ask serious questions of themselves.

Roeder has kept his counsel since leaving St James' Park for the final time last Sunday, but Pearson's one and only team selection provided at least a hint of where the departed manager's assistant feels the responsibility for a season of shame lies.

Obafemi Martins, repeatedly criticised for a perceived lack of effort in recent weeks, failed to even make the substitutes' bench after declaring himself unfit with a knee injury, while Charles N'Zogbia, another player whose attitude has been abhorrent in the second half of the season, walked out of Vicarage Road after his refusal to be a substitute led to him being omitted from the squad entirely.

A lack of team spirit became a major problem in the latter stages of Roeder's reign, and generating a sense of togetherness may require Allardyce to permanently jettison some of the rotten apples that appear to be poisoning other sections of the current Magpies crop.

The St James' Park exit door is likely to be well used this summer, although Kieron Dyer at least did enough yesterday to suggest he might not be passing through it.

Dyer has been a regular source of frustration this season, with his ability to beat defenders counting for little given his infuriating inability to apply himself to the basics demanded of a Premiership midfielder.

Commitment has not figured prominently in his lexicon in recent weeks but, with nothing to play for, the England international finally delivered a glimpse of what he remains capable of during an otherwise instantly forgettable encounter.

Playing in the hole behind Owen and Shola Ameobi, Dyer threatened fleetingly as Newcastle largely outplayed a Watford side that were long ago condemned to the Championship.

His pace and movement repeatedly threatened to unlock a home defence that had shipped 58 Premiership goals at kick-off, and there was little unexpected about the 29th-minute surge that finally broke the deadlock.

Nolberto Solano's through ball was an open invitation to attack and, after ghosting inside the ponderous Jordan Stewart, Dyer calmly slid a slide-rule finish beyond the advancing Ben Foster.

Seven goals for the season equals Dyer's best ever return in a Newcastle shirt, but the sum of his potential continues to be greater than the total of what he produces over the course of a campaign. Like the majority of his team-mates, 'must do better' remains an adequate end-of-term report.

There was plenty that could have been better about the whole of yesterday's game, with Newcastle's midfielders failing to adequately impose themselves on a makeshift Watford side.

Neither James Milner nor Matty Pattison offered anything from the flanks, meaning that Owen and Ameobi found themselves fighting for scraps in attack.

The hosts were no better, although Marlon King had already wasted one presentable first-half opportunity when he levelled the scores from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute.

Referee Rob Styles' decision to award a spot kick against Nicky Butt was particularly harsh - the Newcastle midfielder was no more than a yard away from Adrian Mariappa when the Watford full-back's right-wing cross struck him on the arm - but King took full advantage with a clinical side-footed finish.

Owen's injury set the alarm bells ringing, and the season ended with Lee Williamson charging 50 yards before firing in a shot that finished closer to the back of the stand than the back of the net. As a summation of both Newcastle and Watford's campaign, it was the perfect conclusion