West Brom 1 Newcastle United 3 - analysis

Albion's timing could hardly have been worse for Roy Hodgson.

The Baggies boss chose this weekend to set out his stall for his Hawthorns future and his England aspirations.

Yet his players chose yesterday to turn in one of their most abject 45-minute displays since he took charge over a year ago.

An emphatic defeat to a red-hot Newcastle will do little to puncture the bubble of positivity surrounding Hodgson and his side after an impressive month of victories that preceded a mini-stumble in their last three games.

But just when Hodgson might have wanted his players to add some weight to his joint pre-match media messages, they tripped up in spectacular style.

On Friday he used the issue of Ben Foster's future to deliver his strongest message yet about the robust recruitment that will be needed keep him in the Midlands.

And 24 hours later he offered his most candid views on his England ambitions since Fabio Capello's sudden departure left the FA with a vacancy to fill.

But yesterday his players were woefully short of the levels that have made their experienced gaffer so highly-prized at his club and genuinely talked-about as a possible manager of his country.

One poor game should barely leave a scratch on a coaching CV constructed over three solid decades in countless corners of the globe, yet in an age where the last result does more to shape public opinion than ever before, he could have done with a leg-up from his troops all the same.

For all their clear strides in Hodgson's first year at the helm, Albion found themselves outplayed yesterday by a side whose superior resources allow them to pluck the tastier morsels from the same transfer table at which Albion aspire to dine.

With the elusive Hatem Ben Arfa tormenting the hosts throughout, the serene Yohan Cabaye pulling the strings and the magnificent Papiss Cisse virtually unplayable, every moment of carelessness from Hodgson's men – and there were plenty – was ruthlessly punished.

The build-up to kick-off was an impressive one for Albion, with t-shirts to show support for stricken Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, the return of young vocalist Emily Badger to herald the teams' arrival with The Lord's My Shepherd, and a touching minute's applause in honour of late Hawthorns hero Ray Barlow.

Yet Hodgson's men could not match the rousing pre-match events with a similar show of togetherness in the opening half and were staring down the barrel of a Newcastle gun inside 12 minutes.

A shot over Tim Krul's crossbar from Youssouf Mulumbu in the opening seconds was a deceptive way to begin a 45-minute walkover that would see a lethargic, sluggish Baggies blown away by a Magpies team operating with the kind of style and swagger that befitted their impressive placing in the thick of the race for Europe.

The home crowd watched with surprise as their side's defence was carved open with ease on six minutes with a fabulous pass from Jonas Gutierrez finding Ben Arfa, who crossed from the left for an unmarked Cisse to sweep home the opener.

And surprise became bemusement six minutes later as a Baggies defence that had been miserly in recent weeks went missing again.

Cabaye's delicious volleyed pass inside his own half sent Ben Arfa racing forward on the break and he exchanged simple passes with Cisse before stepping too easily away from Jonas Olsson to finish.

The calmer moments midway through the half at least offered Baggies fans a semblance of hope.

And had Marc-Antoine Fortune headed under the crossbar instead of over it on 27 minutes, momentum might have shifted.

But 11 minutes before the interval the game was up as the Magpies' pace, power and movement proved too much for Albion again and Demba Ba and Ben Arfa combined to tee-up Cisse for his second.

The introduction of Shane Long as one of two half-time substitutes helped the Baggies improve markedly after the break.

The hard-working Long got his rewards on 52 minutes when he pounced on a collision between Mike Williamson and Tim Krul and bundled home the loose ball.

And for a few brief moments after Long's strike, Newcastle looked a little rattled and the Baggies were a shade brighter.

But Alan Pardew's impressive side weathered that minor storm and Baggies keeper Ben Foster had to make two fine saves, first from Cisse and then from Ben Arfa, to prevent further damage.

By the time they stumbled past full-time with 10 men following James Morrison's worrying injury, they and their gaffer were grateful to escape with respectability intact.

By Steve Madeley