It was an unhappy reunion for Newcastle United against former manager Alan Pardew, as Crystal Palace heaped more pressure on the Geordie's with a commanding 5-1 victory.
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren faulted his players attitude during the defeat, branding the performance as below the standard required.
McClaren criticises players' attitude
After another crushing defeat for the black and whites, tension ran high after the game as McClaren criticised his players for a lacklustre performance.
Newcastle went down 5-1 to Palace at Selhurst Park, a game in which their bitter rivals Sunderland won 1-0 last Monday. This was the Eagles biggest Premier League win to date, and the Magpies boss labelled the defeat as 'not the standard we expect'.
Rumours will be running wild now about whether McClaren's job is safe, and who might replace him if it isn't. Only time will tell, but now Newcastle have to focus on improving for next weeks visit of the rejuvinated Liverpool.
Newcastle fall into relegation zone
The defeat to Palace sends Newcastle 19th in the table, with Bournemouth moving ahead of them after they secured a point against Everton. That leaves Newcastle two points from safety, with a goal difference of -16 - the worst in the league.
It's not an ideal situation at all for Newcastle, and after leaving it until the final day last season to avoid relegation, they won't want a repeat of that.
Things don't any easier either for the Geordie's, with games against Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton in the coming month.
Armstrong strikes lucky a Coventry
Whilst Newcastle were struggling against Crystal Palace on Saturday, loanee Adam Armstrong scored his 13th goal of the season for Coventry City keeping them top of League 1.
Calls for the young striker to be recalled from his loan are ringing among fans, with Armstrong in a rich vein of form. His pace and quality in front of goal has been exactly what Newcastle have missed. If the issue isn't sorted out in January, we could see Armstrong back.