A team struggling for form, a club without a cohesive sporting direction. Several late signings in January made in a bid to escape the threat of relegation and a manager newly installed, with the mandate of overseeing an instant gelling of new faces and underperforming regulars – despite having been out of work beforehand for just over a year.
It doesn’t paint the prettiest of pictures – and it also doesn’t refer specifically to one team or the other ahead of Tuesday night’s crucial meeting between Newcastle United and Everton.
