When footballers surrender the habit of doing even the basics right, you know a team is in trouble. By that rationale, Newcastle United and manager Alan Pardew would appear to be in very deep trouble indeed. This was not a performance to place alongside the capitulation at Southampton just over a fortnight ago. It may be a while before we see the like of that again. At times last night Newcastle kept the ball and spent time in Stoke City’s half. They created half-chances. Right at the death, they could even have equalised. How Jack Colback lifted the ball on to the crossbar from only six yards perhaps even he doesn’t know. Stoke striker Peter Crouch rises above the Newcastle defence to direct a header into the net . Peter Crouch celebrates his early strike against Newcastle on Monday night . STOKE CITY: (4-2-3-1): Begovic 6; Bardsley 6, Shawcross 6.5, Wilson 6.5, Muniesa 7; Whelan 6, Nzonzi 6.5; Diouf 5.5 (Arnautovic 23mins 6.5), Adam 6.5 (Ireland 60mins 6), Moses 6.5 (Assaidi 81mins 5.5); Crouch 6.5 . GOALS: Crouch 16 . BOOKED: Bardsley . NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1): Krul 6; Janmaat 4.5, Williamson 5, Coloccini 5, Dummet 6; Colback 6, Tiote 5.5; Sissoko 5, Cabella 5 (Ameobi 74mins 6), Gouffran 5 (Obertan 67mins 6); Riviere 5 (Cisse 45mins 6). BOOKED: Colback . REFEREE: Craig Pawson 6.5 . MAN OF THE MATCH: Victor Moses . One of the big giveaways when you watch bad teams, though, is how easily they concede possession and what they do when they don’t have the ball. On both those scores, Newcastle were utterly wretched again last night. Peter Crouch’s winning goal in the first half was a fine header. It happened because Newcastle made weak challenges and showed a lack of commitment in the air. Subsequently, Stoke capitalised on careless Newcastle passing to break regularly on Tim Krul’s goal. At times forward Victor Moses must have felt he was participating in some kind of training drill. Speaking on the BBC, pundit Phil Neville summed it up beautifully. ‘Every time Newcastle have a set piece, you feel that Stoke are going to break away and score,’ said Neville. Had Stoke been more ruthless they would have buried Newcastle, but the fall-out is the same — the visitors stay joint bottom and poor Pardew slips closer to the unemployment line. How much longer the Newcastle manager’s misery will go on, only owner Mike Ashley can be aware. What is beyond doubt is that Pardew’s travails are painful to watch. His employer seems not to care for him, his players have forgotten how to play for him and his club’s supporters — or at least a huge portion of them — have had enough of him. Last night, this result had an air of inevitably about it. So bad had Newcastle been at Southampton that nobody blinked when Crouch headed Stoke into the lead after quarter of an hour. Newcastle fans vent their anger at the club's owner Mike Ashley during Monday's game at Stoke . Newcastle fans hold up placards calling for manager Alan Pardew to be sacked . Newcastle supporters display a banner calling for the removal of manager Alan Pardew . Newcastle United fans hold up a banner portraying Alan Pardew as Pinocchio with the word Hopeless underneath . Newcastle had actually been marginally the better team until then. In an instant, though, Stoke broke to score and the tone of the game was set. It was a fine goal from Stoke’s point of view. The cross from the left by the lively Moses was a good one and Crouch’s leap was impressive as he headed the ball past Krul from ten yards. From a Newcastle point of view, though, there was culpability everywhere. Right back Daryl Janmaat had two opportunities to tackle Moses before the cross arrived but was simply too weak or perhaps lacking in zeal. Fans young and old called for the head of Pardew during defeat at Stoke City on Monday night . Newcastle manager Pardew acknowledges the travelling fans after the final whistle . Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was at the Britannia Stadium to watch side lose to Stoke . Ashley had told a reporter that he would sack Pardew if Newcastle lost at Stoke but later claimed the jibe was a 'tongue in cheek' MINS PLD    KM       MILES . Stoke City                           111.0      69.0 . Peter Crouch       90            12.1        7.5 . Steven N'Zonzi     90            11.7        7.3 . Glenn Whelan     90            10.8        6.7 . Newcastle United             116.9     72.6 . Jack Colback       90           12.8        8.0 . Daryl Janmaat     90            11.9       7.4 . Paul Dummett      90            11.2        6.9 . When Moses did deliver, Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini utterly failed to compete in the air with Crouch. The Stoke player was able to rise a good six inches above his marker and that made scoring the goal much simpler. It was a dreadful moment for Newcastle and one wondered how bad it would get from that point. Indeed, had referee Craig Pawson spotted Yoan Gouffran’s foul on Moses in the penalty area soon after, the contest may have been over by the time the first-half rain had stopped. Pardew’s team lacks discipline and suffers from lapses in concentration. It is a deadly combination and almost undid them on two or three more occasions before the interval. Had Stoke made some better decisions of their own they would have profited but the closest they came was when Crouch applied a poor touch to a Moses pass and shot wide. Substitute Marko Arnautovic then drove a low effort against Newcastle defender Paul Dummett. At the other end, Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic saved low from Janmaat as half time approached but the other side of the interval brought little change in the overall pattern. Arnautovic was unfortunate to see a right-foot shot cannon off the far post in the 48th minute while Moses should have done better than allow Krul to block when two Newcastle defenders fell over each other to gift him a chance on the hour. Stoke’s profligacy subsequently kept Newcastle in the game and Colback could have snatched something when Gabriel Obertan’s cross reached him at the death. All he could manage, though, was to snatch at the chance and it was typical of Newcastle’s night. As he left the field, Pardew applauded the Newcastle fans. They did not respond in kind. Victor Moses' heat map shows how he was threat wide on the left - click here for more heat maps and stats in matchzone . Yoan Gouffran of Newcastle United battles for the ball with Peter Crouch of Stoke City . Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam goes down under the challenge of Cheick Tiote . Newcastle defender Paul Dummett heads the ball under pressure from Marko Arnautovic of Stoke City .
Pressure on Newcastle manager Alan Pardew cranked up after his side were beaten at Britannia Stadium .
Ahead of the match Magpies owner Mike Ashley - who the club insist was joking with the comment - said Pardew would be 'finished' if it ended in defeat .
Peter Crouch headed in the winner from a cross by the lively Victor Moses in the 15th minute .
Stoke should have been awarded a penalty in the first half when Yoan Gouffran bundled over Moses .
Jack Colback missed great chance to grab later equaliser when the ball dropped to him right in front of goal, but he could only fire it against the bar .
When footballers surrender the habit of doing even the basics right, you know a team is in trouble. By that rationale, Newcastle United and manager Alan Pardew would appear to be in very deep trouble indeed. This was not a performance to place alongside the capitulation at Southampton just over a fortnight ago. It may be a while before we see the like of that again. At times last night Newcastle kept the ball and spent time in Stoke City’s half. They created half-chances. Right at the death, they could even have equalised. How Jack Colback lifted the ball on to the crossbar from only six yards perhaps even he doesn’t know. Stoke striker Peter Crouch rises above the Newcastle defence to direct a header into the net . Peter Crouch celebrates his early strike against Newcastle on Monday night . STOKE CITY: (4-2-3-1): Begovic 6; Bardsley 6, Shawcross 6.5, Wilson 6.5, Muniesa 7; Whelan 6, Nzonzi 6.5; Diouf 5.5 (Arnautovic 23mins 6.5), Adam 6.5 (Ireland 60mins 6), Moses 6.5 (Assaidi 81mins 5.5); Crouch 6.5 . GOALS: Crouch 16 . BOOKED: Bardsley . NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-2-3-1): Krul 6; Janmaat 4.5, Williamson 5, Coloccini 5, Dummet 6; Colback 6, Tiote 5.5; Sissoko 5, Cabella 5 (Ameobi 74mins 6), Gouffran 5 (Obertan 67mins 6); Riviere 5 (Cisse 45mins 6). BOOKED: Colback . REFEREE: Craig Pawson 6.5 . MAN OF THE MATCH: Victor Moses . One of the big giveaways when you watch bad teams, though, is how easily they concede possession and what they do when they don’t have the ball. On both those scores, Newcastle were utterly wretched again last night. Peter Crouch’s winning goal in the first half was a fine header. It happened because Newcastle made weak challenges and showed a lack of commitment in the air. Subsequently, Stoke capitalised on careless Newcastle passing to break regularly on Tim Krul’s goal. At times forward Victor Moses must have felt he was participating in some kind of training drill. Speaking on the BBC, pundit Phil Neville summed it up beautifully. ‘Every time Newcastle have a set piece, you feel that Stoke are going to break away and score,’ said Neville. Had Stoke been more ruthless they would have buried Newcastle, but the fall-out is the same — the visitors stay joint bottom and poor Pardew slips closer to the unemployment line. How much longer the Newcastle manager’s misery will go on, only owner Mike Ashley can be aware. What is beyond doubt is that Pardew’s travails are painful to watch. His employer seems not to care for him, his players have forgotten how to play for him and his club’s supporters — or at least a huge portion of them — have had enough of him. Last night, this result had an air of inevitably about it. So bad had Newcastle been at Southampton that nobody blinked when Crouch headed Stoke into the lead after quarter of an hour. Newcastle fans vent their anger at the club's owner Mike Ashley during Monday's game at Stoke . Newcastle fans hold up placards calling for manager Alan Pardew to be sacked . Newcastle supporters display a banner calling for the removal of manager Alan Pardew . Newcastle United fans hold up a banner portraying Alan Pardew as Pinocchio with the word Hopeless underneath . Newcastle had actually been marginally the better team until then. In an instant, though, Stoke broke to score and the tone of the game was set. It was a fine goal from Stoke’s point of view. The cross from the left by the lively Moses was a good one and Crouch’s leap was impressive as he headed the ball past Krul from ten yards. From a Newcastle point of view, though, there was culpability everywhere. Right back Daryl Janmaat had two opportunities to tackle Moses before the cross arrived but was simply too weak or perhaps lacking in zeal. Fans young and old called for the head of Pardew during defeat at Stoke City on Monday night . Newcastle manager Pardew acknowledges the travelling fans after the final whistle . Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was at the Britannia Stadium to watch side lose to Stoke . Ashley had told a reporter that he would sack Pardew if Newcastle lost at Stoke but later claimed the jibe was a 'tongue in cheek' MINS PLD KM       MILES . Stoke City 111.0      69.0 . Peter Crouch       90 12.1        7.5 . Steven N'Zonzi     90 11.7        7.3 . Glenn Whelan     90 10.8        6.7 . Newcastle United 116.9     72.6 . Jack Colback       90 12.8        8.0 . Daryl Janmaat     90 11.9       7.4 . Paul Dummett      90 11.2        6.9 . When Moses did deliver, Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini utterly failed to compete in the air with Crouch. The Stoke player was able to rise a good six inches above his marker and that made scoring the goal much simpler. It was a dreadful moment for Newcastle and one wondered how bad it would get from that point. Indeed, had referee Craig Pawson spotted Yoan Gouffran’s foul on Moses in the penalty area soon after, the contest may have been over by the time the first-half rain had stopped. Pardew’s team lacks discipline and suffers from lapses in concentration. It is a deadly combination and almost undid them on two or three more occasions before the interval. Had Stoke made some better decisions of their own they would have profited but the closest they came was when Crouch applied a poor touch to a Moses pass and shot wide. Substitute Marko Arnautovic then drove a low effort against Newcastle defender Paul Dummett. At the other end, Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic saved low from Janmaat as half time approached but the other side of the interval brought little change in the overall pattern. Arnautovic was unfortunate to see a right-foot shot cannon off the far post in the 48th minute while Moses should have done better than allow Krul to block when two Newcastle defenders fell over each other to gift him a chance on the hour. Stoke’s profligacy subsequently kept Newcastle in the game and Colback could have snatched something when Gabriel Obertan’s cross reached him at the death. All he could manage, though, was to snatch at the chance and it was typical of Newcastle’s night. As he left the field, Pardew applauded the Newcastle fans. They did not respond in kind. Victor Moses' heat map shows how he was threat wide on the left - click here for more heat maps and stats in matchzone . Yoan Gouffran of Newcastle United battles for the ball with Peter Crouch of Stoke City . Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam goes down under the challenge of Cheick Tiote . Newcastle defender Paul Dummett heads the ball under pressure from Marko Arnautovic of Stoke City .
Alan Pardew would appear to be in very deep equalised. How Jack Colback lifted the ball on to into the net . Peter Crouch celebrates his early Victor Moses . One of the big giveaways when you Peter Crouch’s winning goal in the first half was Pinocchio with the word Hopeless underneath . The cross from the left by the lively Moses was a Monday night . Newcastle manager Pardew whistle . Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was at the Britannia Stadium to watch side lose to Stoke . Pardew if Newcastle lost at Stoke but later penalty area soon after, the contest may have death. All he could manage, though, was to snatch at the chance and it was typical of Newcastle’s and stats in matchzone . Yoan Gouffran of