Newcastle finished off deserved winners but we were left counting our blessings as the strike force blasted back into toon.

Credit as always to Colo and Krul but look at the names of the goalscorers, Ba as always but in Papiss Cissé we look to have a true number nine once more.

If ever the result was everything, that would be tonight.

Easily the worst Newcastle United performance of the season rewarded with three points, you couldn’t make it up.

Opening half hour was decent with Newcastle controlling the ball and creating a couple of decent chances.

Last hour was woeful and even though Brighton scored a flukey goal with their only chance and NUFC should have won a penalty, only ourselves to blame.

A game of two halves…the good, the bad and the ugly…you take your choice.

If you didn’t see this match you might be very surprised by the final score, if you did see the match then you’ll still be in shock now after watching the first half.

A slow start and shocking tackle on Cabaye threatened Newcastle’s bid for sixth. United came alive and were worth their single goal from one of the few bits of real class. Best got the goal but Santon and Ben Arfa were the stand-outs, can the manager continue to keep the French genius on the bench?

A rubbish match with two quite superb goals, no doubt preferable to a decent performance with no end product. Pull out all the stops to see these goals asap, Ben Arfa’s was quite simply stunning and Jonas’ wasn’t arf bad!

Bring on the draw.

Newcastle are good but exactly how good could they really be if they added 2 or 3 first team players to this mix?

The other part of me just wants to say, ‘shut up, ten years since we beat Manchester United and tonight we played them off the pitch’. I’ll drink to that.

Decent performance against a team nervous at home, a soft goal doing Newcastle in as Simpson’s poor defending gifts the game.

Alan Pardew must be desperate for a striking option as Best, Lovenkrands and the Ameobis aren’t up to the job, time for Ashley to help Pardew out.

Our match preview urged the manager to start with Ben Arfa but felt even with Best alongside Ba we’d be ok, wrong!

Let’s hope Ben Arfa’s introduction to the action is not a fleeting glimpse, he and the team should take confidence into the likes of Liverpool and Man.U.

Newcastle showed some good attacking intent but throughout the team the weaknesses instantly appear due to a lack of investment.

When things go against you it is often when you really find what it’s all about, do the owner/manager/players & fans have the appetite to get this season back on track?