As the saying goes; just when you think there's no buses coming, two come at once. With yet another derby defeat and a surprisingly disappointing loss at Old Trafford (though not exactly unexpected) bookending Christmas with misery for the Magpies, the team showed up for an impressive home victory over Everton, and now it seems that the manager might be on his way out.
According to widespread reports, Alan Pardew has emerged as the front runner for the Crystal Palace job after Neil Warnock became the latest casualty of the Londoners' trigger happy chairmen. Those might have proved as unsubstantiated as they were last time the link emerged if it wasn't for the fact that the manager didn't show for post-match interviews after the Everton game.
Further rumours have suggested that John Carver - who stood in for him - was gagged by the press officer and told not to answer any questions about the Palace link, and that Pardew's deal with Palace is all but done. For now, it's very much still wait and see, but if and when the manager leaves, the following names are being suggested by Paddy Power as the most likely to replace him.
Inevitably, some of them are utter garbage...
12. Frank De Boer
Rating: 7/4
Prodigiously talented as a player, successful as a manager and capable of polishing youthful talents into top European ones with big price-tags. He also knows two of Newcastle's current squad, and might know what to do with Vurnon Anita. Come home Frank, you're already an adopted Geordie.