poor performance by the tynesiders. 22 November 2012: A 1–1 draw with Marítimo secures Newcastle a place in the knockout phase of the Europa League. 25 November 2012: A terrible performance sees Newcastle lose 2–0 at Southampton. 28 November 2012: Newcastle lose a 1–0 lead to Stoke City, by whom they were eventually defeated 2–1, the club's fourth consecutive defeat. This is their worst start to a Premier League season since their 2008–09 campaign in which they were ultimately relegated to the Championship. 3 December 2012: An awful run of form is ended in a fantastic night at home to Wigan Athletic. A Demba Ba double and Gaël Bigirimana's first goal for the club result in a 3–0 victory against the Lancashire outfit, who had Maynor Figueroa sent off for a foul which resulted in a penalty Ba scored for the first of the night. 6 December 2012: Cheick Diabaté's double means Newcastle lose their final Europa League group game and miss out on the chance to finish top of Group D. 10 December 2012: Despite Newcastle's improved performances continuing, they lose 2–1 at Fulham. 15 December 2012: Alan Pardew's side are left 15th after losing 3–1 at home to Manchester City despite another brave performance. 17 December 2012: Pardew cancels Newcastle's Christmas party, claiming the team have not been good enough over the season and calls it a mark of respect to the fans. 22 December 2012: Substitute Shola Ameobi scores an 81st-minute winner to give Newcastle a precious win over Queens Park Rangers, taking the Magpies up to 14th in the league table. 26 December 2012: Newcastle are so close to giving their fans a Christmas present having taken the lead three times against Manchester United at Old Trafford through James Perch, a Jonny Evans own goal and a Papiss Cissé strike, but they lose 4–3 after Javier Hernández's late winner. 29 December 2012: After going behind three times and drawing level every time, a tiring Newcastle are beaten 7–3 at Arsenal thanks to a Theo Walcott hat-trick despite a Demba Ba double and Sylvain Marveaux's first Premier League goal. 31 December 2012: Newcastle and French side Lille agree a fee of £5.5 million for defender Mathieu Debuchy, after the 4–3 loss to Manchester United and 7–3 defeat to Arsenal exposed the gaps in the Magpies' defence. 2 January 2013: Despite Papiss Cissé opening the scoring in the