Them Up the Road - In Trouble or what!!!

More woe for SounessGraeme Souness remains a man under pressure after he watched his Newcastle United side put in another disappointing display that ended in a 2-0 defeat on their travels to Bolton.
How he must be praying Michael Owen is delivered gift-wrapped to St James' Park in the next few days after another wretched performance that exposed all the frailties of a squad shy of both numbers and confidence.
Goals from El-Hadji Diouf and Stelios Giannakopoulos, who looks bound for Liverpool, eased Bolton to their first three points of a season that had previously accrued a draw and a defeat.
Newcastle's attacks were so blunt they would have struggled to cut through a loaf of bread let alone a Bolton defence in no mood to concede.
Devoid of ideas in a combative midfield that lacks a creative spark in Emre Belozoglu's absence, Newcastle resorted to long balls to the head of Alan Shearer - a veteran force that cannot help but be dispirited by his current service.
Newcastle had started the game brightly and were it not for an astutely positioned Gary Speed on five minutes, would have taken the lead when Lee Bowyer swivelled from ten yards and beat Jussi Jaaskelainen but not his former team-mate on the Bolton line.
Thereafter, Bolton's high energy play took over and were it not for the infectious enthusiasm provided by Scott Parker's relentless work rate, Souness' woes could have worsened.
Bolton too have not looked at their sharpest in front of goal this term and it would be a full 25 minutes before they created a chance of their own, when Stelios whipped in a devilish ball that Diouf just failed to meet.
Crosses into the heart of Newcastle's backline always looked the likeliest route to goal and when Diouf broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, it was no surprise that the ball was delivered from out wide.
Nicky Hunt's overlap took him to the edge of Newcastle's box and, after exchanging passes with Stelios, his cross from the right exposed a static Newcastle defence to allow Diouf to head in from close range at the far post.
Souness will have urged his charges to show greater exertion at the break but what he received was a carbon copy of the first half; punchless in attack and with a soft centre at the back.
It took Bolton just ten minutes to double their advantage and heap the misery on Souness, with Stelios' likely farewell to The Reebok Stadium being celebrated with a goal.
When Diouf's clever control kept the ball in play down Newcastle's left, the Senegal international had a criminal amount of time to pick out Speed with his cross and from the Welshman's flick, Stelios was on hand to stab home from a yard.
With Bolton in command and playing with a stylish swagger that belies their dour reputation, a previously peripheral Jay-Jay Okocha stepped out from the shadows and could have added a third but his outlandish drive swerved just wide.
Speed then saw his corner cleared off the line by Stephen Carr, and then from the resulting set-piece, Diouf should have added his second but his header was pulled wide.
Rolling back the years in the final ten minutes, Shearer let fly with a 25-yard strike but Jaaskelainen was equal to it and with it went Newcastle's chances of an unlikely comeback.