For the second Premier League home game in a row, Newcastle United fell to a frustrating 3-2 defeat and once again the final whistle was met with a volley of booing from the St James' Park crowd.
The latest loss, against Everton on Saturday, had twice seen Newcastle fight back to level the scores only to immediately concede again within two minutes, the last of which from away striker Beto would make it five defeats in six league games for the Magpies.
For the first time since the arrival of their Saudi Arabian-led consortium owners, which was quickly followed by the appointment of Eddie Howe in late 2021, questions are being asked about the previously untouchable manager.
The club are languishing 13th in the table, making European qualification via league position look highly unlikely, while only four top-flight teams have secured less points than Newcastle's 13 on their travels.
Even the usually impregnable fortress that is St James' Park has been regularly breached with five defeats from 14 matches, with only Wolves (30) and West Ham (27) conceding more than their 23 home goals.
After losing by the same 3-2 scoreline to Brentford a few weeks ago, Howe would concede that he was “not doing my job well enough at the moment” after a run of one win in eight games.
He was equally blunt after the Everton loss. “In relation to the Premier League, our form has not been good enough for a while,” admitted the 48-year-old. “We know that. We take responsibility for that. It's been really frustrating for us.”
On Wednesday, Howe's side are back at St James' Park to take on an in-form Manchester United who are unbeaten in seven games under interim manager – and Newcastle-born – Michael Carrick, winning six of them, the last of which lifted them up to third place.
It is the start of a crucial run of fixtures across three competitions that sees them face both United and City, Barcelona twice, Chelsea, as well as local rivals Sunderland.
“If you said this four years ago, these are going to be your next run of fixtures in the Champions League, in the FA Cup, you'd have bitten whatever off to be in that position,” Howe said in Tuesday's press conference.
“The team we have is a very good team, but we need to defend better collectively, and that is on us as a whole team.
“I've no doubt that players have gone into games tired and fatigued and maybe just one or two per cent off, and that's all you need at this level to not deliver your best. We've been slightly unlucky with a few injuries that have really impacted us.”
While league results have been problematic, the same cannot be said of cup competitions. The club's League Cup defence was ended only at the semi-final stage by Manchester City.
They take on City again on Saturday with a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals up for grabs, having dismantled top-four chasing Aston Villa 3-1 away in the previous round.
Over in the Uefa Champions League, Newcastle secured a last-16 battle with Barca having thrashed Qarabag 9-3 over two legs in the play-off, and are the tournament's top scorers this season with 26 goals.
It shows the brutal nature of modern football that Howe's position can be questioned after these cup runs, having already guided the club to finishes of fourth, seventh and fifth, two Uefa Champions League campaigns and their first domestic trophy for 70 years.
But there have been obvious issues this season and a section of the support on Tyneside, albeit a minority at the moment, are questioning whether the manager has taken them as far as he can.
Howe's position was clearly not helped by the Alexander Isak transfer saga dragging out through all last summer, while multiple striker targets decided against becoming the Swede's replacement before joining other clubs - including Benjamin Sesko to Wednesday's opponents Manchester United.
Those who did arrive have also been a problem with only defender Malick Thiaw proving an unqualified success after moving from AC Milan for a bargain £30 million.
Midfielder Jacob Ramsey (£40m from Aston Villa) has struggled for fitness and form, while winger Anthony Elanga (£55m from Nottingham Forest) has been a huge disappointment.
Up front, Yoanne Wissa (£50m from Brentford) missed the start of the season through injury and has managed just three goals. Nick Woltemade (£73m from Stuttgart) made a decent start up front in Wissa's absence, including scoring in four successive games in September and October.
But the 1.98m-tall forward has found the back of the net just once since his double against Chelsea on December 20, although Howe has been playing the 24-year-old in a deeper midfield role of late with Anthony Gordon playing as the central attacker.
After the Everton loss, Newcastle's all-time top scorer Alan Shearer gave a brutal assessment of Woltemade's performances on Match of the Day, describing them as “nowhere near good enough”, and that the Germany international had produced “no goals, no assists, no shots, no touches in the opposition box” over his past two games.
“There’s no doubt that it’s a conundrum for Howe as to where and how he gets the best out of him,” Shearer said of the player who is a doubt for Wednesday's match due to illness. “There is a player in there, but he’s a player who is really, really struggling.”
Ahead of facing Man United, Howe says the team is ready for the pivotal games ahead: “We have to be positive, try to relish the games, can’t play with fear, need to go and attack … and be as positive as we can.”
