Newcastle relegated on final day

Aston Villa 1 Newcastle 0. Alan Shearer's Newcastle lost at Villa Park yesterday and were relegated from the Premier League after 16 years following a disastrous season that saw three changes of management and just seven wins. Their season was summed up by David Edgar's sending-off in stoppage time for a second bookable offence.

Gareth Barry's 38th-minute shot was deflected into Newcastle's net by Damien Duff, and after another passionless performance from the men in black and white, they were unable to pull back the goal that would have ensured their Premier League survival, given Hull's defeat by Manchester United.

Michael Owen came on as a substitute during the second half, but he scarcely touched the ball and was unable to inspire the team. Owen is likely to be one of the big names who will join the exodus out of St James's Park. Alan Shearer was phlegmatic in defeat and relegation, identifying problems across the season as causing the Geordie giant's demise.

"We have not been relegated today," Shearer said. "We have been relegated over the whole season because we haven't been good enough. We haven't given those magnificent supporters enough to shout about. We have let them down. But the simple fact is that big mistakes have been made and we're now paying the price for that."

WHAT THEY ARE SAYINGKevin McCarra, the Guardian: "Newcastle United's single impact lay in the emphatic proof that they no longer belong in the top flight. In the unlikely event that the sight of justice being done is any consolation, visiting fans would have headed for home with a clear appreciation that this outcome was fitting for a club that had been misdirected for too long. Impassioned speeches about a rebirth ahead will be hindered by the realisation that crisis must continue unless financial affairs can somehow be addressed. The gap between aspiration and achievement is extreme."

Oliver Kay, the Times: "In the end, they went peacefully, which is as much as you would wish for anyone who has suffered as Newcastle United and their supporters have over the course of a calamitous campaign. There was no great drama, no agonising twist of fate, merely a meek acceptance that their time was up and a quiet refusal of the lifeline that had been offered by events on Humberside." ·