It's the three Ronnies - a good night from him as Toon tumble

Having seen 'his' team undressed by Manchester United and a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick in a second half that laid Newcastle's problems bare, the club's caretaker manager provided a sensible blueprint for the way forward.

Pearson said: "There needs to be foundations put in place for this club to be stable over a long period of time.

"It's difficult for me to be as frank as I'd like to be because of my loyalties to the club. In the industry we work in, the trade-off between short term and long term, getting that balance right, is very difficult.

"But there's going to be a long way to go before this club gets back up there. People have to understand that. I remember when there was speculation about Sir Alex Ferguson having two games left at United and here we are 21 years later and he's doing very well.

"You do need some good fortune and you certainly need support. I've been part of a regime under Sam Allardyce where we hoped we could weather the storm and come out the other side because, when you're trying to effect change, there are going to be certain setbacks. It's not always a smooth line of improvement.

"Unfortunately, it hasn't happened, but that doesn't mean I don't wish good things for Newcastle because they're potentially a very big club."

It was common sense from a common sense football man. Pearson has been at St James' Park long enough to know how things work. Or how they do not work. Whether the next manager is given time to enforce sensible and judicious change remains to be seen.

Newcastle were unfortunate to come up against the League's form team, perhaps its best team.

But there are problems throughout this Newcastle side, some that Allardyce must shoulder the blame for and some that he must not.

A static central midfield devoid of pace and passing range is the heart of the problem, along with defenders Jose Enrique and Claudio Cacapa who look unsuited to the Barclays Premier League, and two strikers Mark Viduka and Michael Owen who — for different reasons — also look out of place. Allardyce bought Viduka when his best days were behind him. He is immobile to the extent that he is virtually static.

And he inherited Owen when the England striker had decided he did not want to be at the club. Owen last week told associates he feels 'trapped' at Newcastle. It shows.

For 45 minutes his side scrapped, harried and hustled. But they folded once Cristiano Ronaldo scored from a free-kick four minutes after the interval.

Newcastle gave the ball away in their own penalty area to allow Carlos Tevez to score shortly after and then again in the centre of the field with 20 minutes left, enabling Tevez to slide Ronaldo through for his second and United's third goal.

A super pass from Wayne Rooney — to think he once considered moving to Newcastle himself — saw Rio Ferdinand volley expertly past Shay Given with five minutes left and Newcastle capitulated as Ronaldo completed his first United hat-trick two minutes from time. Tevez 'scored' the sixth with a strike that hit the bar and crashed down but did not appear to cross the line.

Alan Smith's disappointment at the final blow saw him sent off for aiming abuse at referee Rob Styles but it was the reaction of his colleagues at the final whistle seconds later that was more telling.

Only Steven Taylor made the effort to applaud the travelling fans. That says everything for the players that Allardyce's successor will inherit.

Had Allardyce stayed, he would have made a success of the job. Those who know him are painfully aware that Premier League has lost one of its best managers.

At Old Trafford they know the value of loyalty, patience and stability. Three years ago United did not look terribly good — but look at them now.

Ronaldo took the glory and his influence on his team's season has been profound. There were equally telling performances from Rooney, Tevez and Michael Carrick. Ronaldo said: "I have had the match ball signed and I will take it home. But this is for the team."