Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has labelled the malaise currently engulfing the club as "a mess from top to bottom.''
The Magpies are deep in the relegation mire despite a significant outlay last summer and in the January transfer window, sitting 19th in the Premier League and one point from safety.
A 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday appeared to be the final straw for a mutinous St James' Park crowd, as supporters turned on under-pressure head coach Steve McClaren.
"He's [McClaren] in massive trouble, he has to take his fair share of the blame but the whole club is a mess from top to bottom," Shearer, who was at the helm during an ill-fated stint as manager when the club were last relegated from the top-flight in 2009, said on BBC's Match of the Day programme.
"We've seen statements from the chief executive, from the fitness coach saying how fit the players are, from the manager, from the captain and from the players backing the manager.
"Well if that's a performance to say 'we're backing the manager,' then they really are in trouble. There are no statements of intent on the pitch where it really matters and that's the problem.''
McClaren, who was given a vote of confidence by his players in a statement before the Cherries clash, said he has no intention of resigning his position.
But Shearer also questioned the team selection against Bournemouth, with multi-million pound striker Aleksandar Mitrovic dropped to the bench in favour of Emmanuel Riviere. While Mitrovic has only scored five times since his arrival last summer, Riviere has just one top-flight goal in nearly two seasons in the north-east.
Shearer added: "The team lacks character, leaders. You've got a £15 million striker that you paid for in the summer, [the team] can't score goals, he's sat on the bench. That tells you where the problems lie at Newcastle: everywhere.''