For 87 minutes on Saturday lunchtime, United were as shoddy as at any point over the season. But in the final five minutes, the lads somehow managed to find an ability to pass, shoot and attack and almost grabbed an undeserved victory at the City of Manchester Stadium. Here’s what the rags had to say about it…

Manchester City and Newcastle ground out a goalless draw that would have done neither of the Premiership strugglers any favours.

Substitute Bernardo Corradi and Joey Barton came closest to breaking the deadlock for City.

Barton had a low drive drift wide and half-volley tipped over by keeper Steve Harper, while Corradi headed wide twice and had a toe-poked effort saved.

Newcastle’s Kieron Dyer had a shot blocked by Micah Richards at the death.

For those who ventured to Eastlands, with particular reference to the ones who travelled from the North East, they must have wondered whether staying in bed would have been the better option following a turgid first half.

Both City and the Magpies have enjoyed better periods in their history and judging by their performances on Saturday, it will be a while before they see another.

Graham Poll found himself back in the headlines again after disallowing a Georgios Samaras goal that would have given Manchester City a deserved win.

The World Cup official, already in the spotlight following the high-profile dismissals of John Terry and James McFadden in the past seven days, cut City’s celebrations short when he spotted Bernardo Corradi pulling Stephen Carr inside the Magpies’ box midway through the second half.

It appeared a debatable call and proved to be crucial given Samaras turned the ball home after Richard Dunne had nodded Joey Barton’s corner goalwards and left City cursing more bad luck.

The hosts, who are still unbeaten and yet to concede a goal at home, should have wrapped up the points anyway but Barton and Corradi wasted good chances.

However, they might also be thankful a late Newcastle rally did not see the Magpies fly off with the points as Kieron Dyer and Antoine Sibierski both went close before James Milner was left waiting in vain for a pass in the final second when completely unmarked in the middle of the City area.

The result does little to ease the pressure on Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder, whose side have now gone eight games without a win and look set for a long winter battle to pull themselves clear of trouble.

Newcastle United halted their run of three consecutive away Premiership defeats following a goalless draw at Manchester City.

The Citizens controlled much of the contest with Joey Barton twice going close for the home side although The Magpies finished in the ascendancy.

Newcastle never looked like scoring but came alive in the closing stages and nearly claimed all three points at The City of Manchester Stadium.

The Magpies should have stolen the points at the death but Richards was on hand to block substitute Kieron Dyer’s shot after great play by Emre.

[Micah] Richards had little difficulty in adding to his growing reputation against a Newcastle side who offered precious little threat in attack.

But the Toon almost stole the points with a late flurry. Richards made a great block to deny sub Kieron Dyer a last-gasp winner.

The only other thing to get excited about in a desperately poor contest was yet another headline-grabbing decision by Graham Poll.

The Hertfordshire official would find it hard to take a back seat in a taxi never mind a Premiership match.

City could claim they deserved all three points after carving out the better chances. Barton and Paul Dickov forced Steve Harper to pull off outstanding saves. while the City skipper squandered another glorious opportunity.

Goal-shy substitute Corradi also wasted three good chances as the game opened up in the final quarter.

Newcastle almost nicked it as Dyer’s introduction finally gave them some purpose. His one-two with Emre to set up the shooting chance blocked by Richards was a rare moment of quality.

Scott Parker also fired just wide and Dunne deflected over a drive from Dyer, who also failed to spot the unmarked James Milner in acres of space in another break-out.

ALBERT LUQUE is fast becoming one of the greatest transfer follies in Newcastle’s history.

Fifteen months ago, Newcastle signed a £10.5million cheque to buy the Spanish international, and handed him a contract worth another £10m in wages.

On Saturday, as Newcastle clocked up 10 hours and 10 minutes without a goal in open play in the Premiership, Luque was only deemed good enough to be left back on Tyneside, axed from the first-team squad.

And rated so low by boss Glenn Roeder that instead, a half-fit, Shola Ameobi was asked to put his immobile body on the line before going off for a clearly much-needed hip operation.

In the wasteful world of Newcastle and their growing list of multi-million transfer flops, it seems certain that Luque will now become another expensive foreign write-off - first loaned out, then quietly sold at knockdown price.

There are hints that he is lazy in training, lacks the aggression for the Premiership, and has not settled since moving from Deportivo La Coruna.

Yet an alternative view, is to ask why he has not been given a run of games, and a chance to adjust to the British game, even if he is not the long-term answer to their problems.

Newcastle managed just two shots on target but escaped with a point, remaining locked in the relegation zone with a trip to Arsenal next week.

Their last league goal came seven hours and 10 minutes ago, an Ameobi penalty against Bolton.

The one bright spark was Kieron Dyer who came on as a sub to liven up the attacking options and was denied a late winner by Micah Richards’ goal-line clearance with his backside.

In a dreary game that only came alive during injury time, neither Newcastle nor City gave any convincing evidence that sudden revivals are imminent.

The spending by Newcastle chairmen of £220 million on their hobby over the past 10 years borders on the private indulgence of self-appointed African dictators. The Tyneside population are, however, merely still starved of passion fulfilment, an ailment they have stoically if noisily endured for half a century.

There was never the distant sign of a cure in this encounter with Manchester City that was goal-less and too frequently clueless. The lunchtime scheduling produced not so much a Sky as a sky-high event: the ball was often lost up among the floodlights.

A Vesuvius of a club yearning in vain for eruption, Newcastle on this form are inexorably heading for relegation. This is hardly the fault of manager Glenn Roeder, who arrived to discover there were funds for nothing much beyond ordering the wreaths.

His only purchase of note has been Damien Duff. Not so long ago an exhilarating sight at Stamford Bridge, Duff, substituted on the hour, is now drifting among Newcastle’s flotsam. With Michael Owen injured, Shola Ameobi about to have an operation and James Milner a shadow of the youngster who once thrilled at Leeds, the notion of Newcastle scoring the goals that will avert the drop is distant indeed.

In the face of this, the undaunted spirit of Tyneside followers is a tribute as much to Englishmen as to their home town: a refusal to acknowledge decline, to surrender to ill fortune, to lose both hope and humour. I feel proud that I speak the same tongue as they do.

You take what you can from fare this barren. While Glenn Roeder and Newcastle United grasped at an away point, the avoidance of defeat and possible supporter unrest, Stuart Pearce and Manchester City seized on the performance of Micah Richards, called into the England squad on Friday. Neither manager mentioned the unsatisfactory standard of the game overall or their identical recent league record: one goal each in the last five.

Pearce certainly talked a better game than the one his side played. Richards was one of the few pluses of the afternoon and, with Gary Neville withdrawing from Steve McClaren’s squad yesterday, he may win his first cap in Amsterdam against Holland on Wednesday, aged 18 years and four months.

Emre Belezoglu and Dyer had just combined in the best move of the match and a minute later Nicky Weaver made his first save, from Scott Parker. Newcastle had belatedly realised City were as fragile as they were themselves. But with Obafemi Martins injured, Shola Ameobi appearing when clearly unfit and Giuseppe Rossi instructed, presumably, not to play by his employers Manchester United, Newcastle did not look like a threat.

Roeder said that the £9m Albert Luque was not even included in the 18-man party that travelled down from Tyneside eight days after he scored the only goal in Palermo. This felt like a defining absence for the 28-year-old Catalan winger, yesterday linked with a loan move to Barcelona, in January. Luque is one of the problems Roeder has inherited, as is an unbalanced squad. City, however, did not possess the guile or power to tip Newcastle over to what would have been a fifth defeat in six.