On the one hand we have Kinnear and Pardew trying to convince us that our squad is currently strong enough and deep enough to finish top 10 in the EPL, while on the other we clearly struggled against a side sitting in 19th place in the old 4th Division.

As a bit of therapy I went through all 14 players who played last night to analyse what exactly they showed us, taking away the comfort blanket of the fact that the scoreline was a very flattering 2-0.

They both clearly have ability but have basic faults as football players, neither of them can head the ball or shoot cleanly at goal.

It doesn’t mean they are hopeless but they are very basic handicaps for strikers who both stand well over 6ft tall.

His crossing is generally terrible and like most other Newcastle players he doesn’t look to pick anybody out, preferring just to launch it into the area or hit the first man.

Against Morecambe Newcastle struggled to create chances until Ben Arfa came on and I can’t see Fulham coming with as negative an attitude as Fat Sam’s Hammers, so if Newcastle don’t score then I see only one result…

Alan Pardew; “I said to the players, we are live on Sky, so go and show how good you are.”

It wasn’t a classic but it is all about getting to the next stage.

The question though is who stood out for you?

Alan Pardew has ironically called on last season’s League Cup finalist Curtis Good to make his first team debut for United in this Capital One Cup fixture, good luck and hopefully the first of many for the young Aussie.

Alan Pardew has been in combative mood this week as the pressures of early season pile up at his door. Here he speaks about overcoming the challenges thrown at him.

While getting through is the main thing, it would be nice if the fringe players could do it in some style as well.

It will be the first time Morecambe’s 6,400 capacity will have been full and the 1,800 travelling fans will rightfully expect more than just a new stadium to cross off their list.