Shearer had planned to pair Ameobi and Martins here with Owen sitting behind them, but the Martins news saw him deploy Danny Guthrie as an additional midfielder and move Owen up front with Shola, making a first return to the side he made six appearances for in a loan spell last season.

The fact that Ameobi failed to provoke any response from the home crowd tells a tale familiar to Toon fans of yet another ineffectual outing, when his most memorable contribution was to forget his marking responsibilities and gift Abdoulaye Faye a free header against his former club.

(The phrase "flying in training" now joins "the spirit in the camp is brilliant" at the top of the "damned with faint praise" cliche hit parade).

And with Michael Owen never more than a peripheral figure as he extended his scoreless run to seven games, Newcastle entered the final quarter of this vital game lacking both a cutting edge and a focus to their attack - and it has to be said, looking likely losers.

However Shearer chose Andy Carroll from the trio of forwards named on the bench that he'd watched in reserve team action earlier in the week - the Gateshead-born 20 year-old scoring twice on a night when Nile Ranger played alongside him and Alan Smith continued in his new midfield anchor role.

And Carroll didn't disappoint, sending a header just wide of the post from Ryan Taylor's cross soon after coming on. Within ten minutes of his arrival though, the ball was in the back of Sorensen's net and the whole mood seemed to have lifted on the bench, on the field and most crucially in the stands.

That the goal arrived via a long throw was pleasing, given the liking that the home side have for their chucking specialist Rory Delap, who took around 30 seconds to compose himself, wiping the ball with a towel as Potters fans chanted "Rory's gonna get ya". Had the referee added the wasted time on we'd have been playing until the pubs shut....

(The Times subsequently claimed that Delap wasted 10 minutes and 14 seconds of the game, taking 25 throw ins at an average time of 24.6 seconds) 

The substitute wasn't finished there though, Carroll making two excellent clearances in his own box in the closing stages to help out our three man centre block of Beye, Bassong and Edgar. Duff and Ryan Taylor meanwhile were deployed as left and right wing backs.

Behind after an opening 45 minutes when they'd given their fans nothing to shout about, the expected aerial bombardment from City caused us all sorts of problems. Ryan Taylor meanwhile was subjected to a bombardment of a different type - a missile hurled from the home section narrowly missing him before being pocketed by referee Chris Foy.

Backed by their noisy fans, City tried to force what would have been a clinching second goal in the opening stages of the second half and twice saw efforts blocked near to the goal line. 

The tide only began to turn when Jonas Gutierrez replaced Guthrie just after the hour mark and he and Damien Duff began to run at the Stoke defence - in stark contrast to the pedestrian trundlings of messrs Butt and Nolan that wouldn't pose a threat to a ladies XI.

The equaliser was deserved in the sense that we scored during our best period of the game, when the Potters looked caught in two minds about defending their lead or going in search of further goals.

Holding out for a point completed a reasonable afternoon when the mackems, Hull and Blackburn had all earlier lost, that Tigers reverse at Boro a good result only if we can win the Tyne-Tees bunfight.

As it is though, we've taken a point on the road that not many gave us a chance of securing here and hopefully coming from behind will inject some belief into the players. Let's just hope that Iain Dowie doesn't start with his old self-coined 'bouncebackability' line again.... 

The effect of another week of Shearer's influence on the squad also cannot be underplayed, as a belated disciplinary clampdown starts to take hold and people get forcibly dragged out of their own personal comfort zones.

Next up is a visit to White Hart Lane, where a rejuvenated United could prosper against a football team who will allow us some space to play, as opposed to the talent of our recent "Big Four" opponents and today's storm troopers.

It's on home turf though where our destiny will ultimately be decided, with games against two fellow relegation candidates and a Fulham side who have belatedly discovered some away form.

Regardless of our own reservations and the undoubted shortcomings of the squad both individually and collectively (let's not forget Carroll missed half the season with a needless injury) it's time to suspend criticism and present a united front.

Certainly Shearer won't be cutting off his nose to spite his face. Despite being the sort of bloke that you wouldn't want beside you in a leek trench, coaxing any sort of a performance and/or goals from Martins could be the difference between staying up and going down. 

The difference now is that there's a certain sense of wrongs being righted at this club - a confidence that finally after a season of drifting, someone is now in place with the power and influence to impose order and discipline; demanding respect from so-called professionals. Or else.

You may be able to get away with playing lip service to the fans via bland platitudes and badge-kissing, but deceiving the man from Gosforth is a different matter. 

And even if we don't pull it off, when looking to next season and beyond, knowing someone is in there capable of ruthlessly changing both our philosophy and our personnel should be more than a crumb of comfort. Assuming it stays like it is in the brochure...

Biffa