Another bewilderingly bad performance from Newcastle saw them deservedly on the wrong end of a 1-4 defeat that was every bit as painful as last month's Monday night mauling at Leeds.

Seeking their first-ever Premier League home win at the CBS Arena, Frank Lampard's side had started positively before Lukas Hornicek was punished for failing to collect a pass when Sidiki Cherif tumbled over as the goalkeeper sought to claim the rebound.

Jack Rudoni netted the resultant penalty after just six minutes and although the Magpies came to dominate the remainder of the half, their attempts at finding an equaliser were in equal parts haphazard and unconvincing.

That was epitomised by centre forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo, whose pace twice got him into scoring positions - only for both efforts to be blocked when goals looked inevitable. Our in-game description of him as a belated Miggy Almiron replacement may be harsh, but the Belgian seems to have similar issues in adjusting to this league as the Paraguayan thus far.

Such was the collective poorness of United's first half display that interval changes looked inevitable, only for an unchanged side to return and promptly concede again almost immediately.

Less than three minutes had elapsed when a throw-in from the Coventry right was taken with Joe Willock off the pitch for treatment, ending up with Sidiki Cherif firing into the corner of the net.

That prompted the introduction of Amar Dedic, Bazoumana Toure and Joelinton; the Brazilian's first appearance of the season seeing him bring much-needed presence and bite within midfield - home players visibly backing off him. 

The goal that looked to have got the lilac-clad Magpies back in the game arrived from the most unlikely of sources; Sven Botman's left boot connecting with an unstoppable shot from distance with 20 minutes of normal time left.

However no equaliser came and United's first-ever defeat at the CBS Arena moved a stage closer in the 81st minute after errors from Lewis Hall, Joelinton and Thiaw gave Ellis Simms a chance to shoot.  

Brandon Thomas-Assante then struck a post from distance before Coventry's first top-flight home win since 2001 was sealed by teenager Stephen Mfuni, who further exposed the visiting defence.

Conceding that goal saw Newcastle match their previous heaviest top-flight loss to City - the infamous 1-4 Highfield Road reverse in 1999 - when the Magpies went down to ten men at 0-2.

As one long-suffering fan said at full time tonight, the knives would be out for Eddie Howe after these two 1-4 losses. That's not the case for his successor, despite the negative reaction from many of the away supporters who stuck it out until full time.  

Victory tonight would have elevated United into fourth, but the manner of this defeat  - alongside unconvincing displays in games that we won - raises further doubts as to precisely what this version of Newcastle United actually amounts to.

A reluctance to rely on summer signings Bamba, Toure and Steur thus far has been compounded by what looks at this point in time like misplaced trust in Willock and Murphy, leaving us in the bugger's muddle of a midfield that offers no protection to the defence and little assistance to the attack.

Lacking any cohesive pattern of play, we seem particularly ill-suited to the style of long forward balls played in the vague direction of the corner flags, tempting full backs into unwise forays and inviting counter attacks. Botman may have put his colleagues further up the field to shame with his finish tonight, but he's no more of a goalscorer than he is a playmaker.

Attempting to repeat the hard luck stories after the Elland Road misadventure won't wash this time round. Jaissle's muddled Magpies were humiliated here by a rather less talented Coventry outfit than Leeds were. It doesn't bear thinking the damage a good team might inflict on us with these tactics.

There's a credibility issue those fans who struggle to match the manager's stated philosophy with the reality of what once again unfolded disastrously before their eyes here. Talking a good fight is one thing, but failing to send out a side that embodies that is something rather more alarming.

Far from the promised poise and pressing is an incoherent mess when we're found continually wanting in composure and common sense. There needs to be more to coaching and leadership than the arm-waving and smart suits that we've seen at pitchside so far. Never mind how poor our defence was, scoring just once against a City side that were completely open down the middle almost defies logic.

As Coventry favourites The Specials once sang, "stop your messing around...." More of this against Villa at Gallowgate this coming Saturday will leave "the people getting angry."

Biffa