This winter could provide what should be the triggering event to finally

Newcastle crumpled to a 3-1 home defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, a result which heaps more pressure on boss Steve McClaren. Derek Carr Youth Jersey . But whats going wrong? The loss - Newcastles seventh in their past 10 Premier League games - leaves them stuck in the relegation zone and, although they have a game in hand on the teams around them, a nine point gap to fifth-bottom Swansea means they are effectively in a battle with Norwich, Sunderland and Aston Villa to avoid a drop into the Championship.Newcastles pre-season target was a top eight finish. Instead they are facing relegation. Paul Merson reflects on Newcastles 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth Here, we look at five of their problems…Goal scoring Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored just five times this season For a club renowned for their number nines, Newcastle are desperately lacking a goalscorer this season. Only bottom club Aston Villa have scored fewer goals.Newcastles top scorer is Georginio Wijnaldum with nine - but four of those strikes came in one game against Norwich. The clubs main striker Aleksandar Mitrovic - signed last summer for £13m after impressing in Belgium - has managed just five goals in the Premier League and was dropped to the bench against Bournemouth. Premier League teams - goals scored Rank Team Goals scored T1 Leicester, Man City 52 - - - T18 Newcastle, Swansea 28 20 Aston Villa 22 Meanwhile, Ayoze Perez, who has scored six times, has been in and out of the side, with McClaren questioning his consistency, Papiss Cisse is out with injury and Emmanuel Riviere, who has scored just once since his July 2014 arrival, doesnt seem to be the solution.The Newcastle forwards, though, may point to the fact that the team has created just 232 chances this season - the fourth lowest total in the Premier League. Injuries Striker Papiss Cisse is on Newcastles long injury list Every team has injury problems to deal with but Newcastle have been particularly badly hit, with 11 players currently sidelined, according to physioroom.com. Thats the second highest total among Premier League clubs.Fabricio Coloccini, Cheick Tiote and new signing Andros Townsend were all missed against Bournemouth, while McClaren could certainly do with the goalscoring talent of Cisse.First-choice goalkeeper Tim Krul is another long-term absentee, while Gabriel Obertan and Chancel Mbemba are also among the long list of potential first-teamers in the treatment room.New signings failing to perform January signing Henri Saivet has made just two starts Wijnaldum, Mitrovic, Mbemba and Florian Thauvin were expensive signings last summer and the board backed McClaren with finances in January, bringing in Henri Saivet, Jonjo Shelvey and Andros Townsend. However, none have had the desired impact so far.Wijnaldum is perhaps the pick of the summer recruits, showing in flashes what made him an integral part of PSVs Eredivisie title-winning team last season, while Shelvey has contributed three assists since his January arrival from Swansea. Steve McClaren says the negative chanting from the Newcastle fans was justified The problem for McClaren is that not enough of those big-money signings have performed to the standards Newcastle expected on a regular basis. Only Shelvey averages above 7/10 on WhoScored.coms statistically-based ratings system.Lost support of the fans Newcastle were booed off at St James Park on Saturday The poor results under McClaren - on the back of several seasons of disappointment - have left the St James Park faithful frustrated and angry with the teams current plight. As a result, Newcastles home ground is currently an unhappy home for the clubs players, according to Paul Merson.These fans have to stick with them, the Soccer Saturday pundit said after Newcastles defeat to Bournemouth.After 10-15 minutes, the players went into their shells. They couldnt handle it. Only Shelvey and Daryl Janmaat could. The fans were on their backs. They have to get behind them for the next lot of games.I know its frustrating and they pay a lot of money to go and watch their team but for these games they have to stick with them. Newcastle managers Steve McClaren John Carver Alan Pardew Games 28 20 185 Won 6 3 71 Drawn 6 4 41 Lost 16 13 73 Win % 21.4 15 38.4 Defeats to bottom-half rivals Bournemouth are the latest bottom-half side to beat Newcastle McClaren says Newcastle are now in a mini league of four - but results against teams around them has been a major problem this season.While Newcastle have beaten Tottenham and Liverpool and twice drawn with Manchester United, they have lost to every team in the bottom half at least once this season, with the exception of Norwich.In fact, Newcastle have won 14 points against teams currently in the top half of the Premier League and managed just 10 against teams 11th or below.With Sunderland, Norwich and Swansea to play in their next five fixtures, an upturn in form against their fellow strugglers is imperative for Newcastle. Watch Leicester v Newcastle live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Monday, March 14, from 7pm Also See: Newcastle 1-3 Bournemouth - match report McClaren not walking away Merson: Hard for Toon at home Toon still in drop zone Antonio Brown Youth Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Dave Casper Womens Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth...y-Elite-Jersey/ . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. With free agency underway, the offseason is about to pick up steam. What are the big questions facing all 30 teams? Weve already covered the AL East, NL East and AL Central and now were moving on to the America League West.Who will end up at first base?2016 record: 95-67Prince Fielders career is over, ruined by two neck surgeries in his last three years. Mitch Moreland, who earned a Gold Glove last week, hit 22 homers and drove in 60 runs last season. But the Texas Rangers will probably let him explore free agency, which means the team that finished with the best record in the American League has no idea who will play first base next season.While the Rangers are a big-market team that started last season with a top-10 pay roll, they operate on a budget and general manager Jon Daniels has said its not going to increase much over last years budget. So its unlikely theyre going to sign a player such as Edwin Encarnarcion, who hit .263 with 42 homers and 127 RBIs with an OPS of .886 last season.Theyre much more likely to fill the job from within.In a perfect situation, Joey Gallo would earn the job with a strong spring training. Gallo, a power-hitting third baseman, has been among the Rangers best prospects for several seasons, but he has struggled in limited opportunities with the Rangers. Hes a good enough fielder to easily make the transition to first base, but in 133 big-league at-bats he has struck out 73 times, while hitting just .173. If he can hit .230, the Rangers would probably be willing to give him 500 at-bats and hit him seventh or eighth in the batting order.If not, they could go with a platoon of Jurickson Profar against right-handers and Ryan Rua against left-handers. Neither one of those players will give the Rangers the power theyd ideally want from first base. But they dont cost much and, maybe, they could combine for some decent offensive numbers with 600 at-bats between them.A wild-card option could be signing free agent Josh Hamilton, who was released during the season. Hes a good enough athlete to play first base, though he has never done it. Playing first might help him stay healthy. His knees are probably too balky to play in the outfield anymore. Hamilton can no longer produce MVP numbers, but he might be good enough in a platoon situation to be a one-year stop-gap while the Rangers wait for Ronald Guzman to arrive from the Triple-A. -- Jean-Jacques TaylorHow does the team with the longest playoff absence end that drought?2016 record: 86-76?It has now been 15 seasons without a trip to the postseason after the Mariners fell three wins short of a wild card in 2016. Theres no hedging here: The Mariners had the oldest average position player age in the AL in 2016 and given that Nelson Cruz is entering his age-36 season and Robinson Cano his age-34 season, Seattles window is narrow, especially since its unlikely those two combine for 82 home runs again.That pair helped the Mariners finish third in the AL in runs, the first time they ranked higher than 11th since 2007. Still, there are positions that could use an upgrade or improvement. Shortstop Ketel Marte was a disappointment in his first full season with a .287 OBP and mediocre defense as the Mariners ranked 28th in shortstop wOBA. Does GM Jerry Dipoto still believe in Marte? The Mariners also ranked 24th in OBP at first base. Adam Lind is a free agent, opening the door for Dan Vogelbach, acquired from the Cubs for Mike Montgomery. Vogelbach hit .292/.417/.505 at Triple-A, but is a poor defender and cant run. Finally, the outfield defense ranked 27th in the majors with minus-27 Defensive Runs Saved. Nori Aoki was released (the Astros claimed him), so theyll need a corner outfield replacement.On the pitching side, Edwin Diaz solved the closer problem that infected the team earlier in the season, but the decline of Felix Hernandez means the team now lacks an ace. Once again, theyll be counting on James Paxton and Taijuan Walker, but those two could also become trade bait. -- David SchoenfieldHow to fix the outfield?2016 record: 84-78Yes, theyll need a bounce-back campaign from Dallas Keuchel and a healthy Lance McCullers, but the Astros did rank fourth in the AL in runs allowed, so run prevention is in reasonably good shape with everyone back. The outfield, however, ranked 28th in the majors in wOBA as Colby Rasmus, Carlos Gomez, Jake Marisnick and Preston Tucker all cratered at the plate.The Astros already claimed Nori Aoki off waivers from Seattle and hell get the shot in left field, at lleast as a platoon guy, but hes 35 and the Mariners decided he wasnt worth his $6 million salary. Howie Long Raiders Jersey. . Yulieski Gurriel is now blocked at third base by Alex Bregman, so hes a candidate for left field as well. Marisnick ended up as the primary center fielder after Gomez was released, and though hes a plus defender he hit just .209/.257/.331. If you go with him and Aoki in the outfield, youre not getting much power at two positions.What the Astros really need is a left-handed bat with some power (especially since Luis Valbuena is a free agent). The only good fit in free agency is Dexter Fowler, who isnt a big power bat but is a switch-hitter who can play center field.Oh, the only catchers on the 40-man roster are Max Stassi and Evan Gattis with Jason Castro a free agent. But I guess thats a second big question. -- David SchoenfieldHow will they spend $40-plus million in new cash?2016 record: 74-88?The bad news: The Angels lost 88 games, their most since 1999. The good news: Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson and their combined $40 million in salary are off the payroll. Wilson didnt pitch in 2016 while Weaver went 12-12 with a 5.06 ERA. The rotation, decimated by other injuries besides Wilson, ranked 11th in the AL in ERA.So they need pitching help. But they were just 10th in runs, so they need hitting help as well. Theyve already traded for Cameron Maybin to play left field and picked up Yunel Escobars $7 million team option, so that leaves catcher and second base as positions to upgrade, but heres guessing the Angels pour their resources into pitching.Rich Hill is an obvious candidate, but hes the obvious candidate for every team looking for rotation help. So they may be playing in the take a chance, hope for the best market that includes Andrew Cashner, Derek Holland and Jason Hammel. The bullpen was middle of the pack and could use a lockdown closer, so while spending huge money on Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen doesnt make the most sense, maybe they go for a shorter-term guy like Mark Melancon or Brad Ziegler. -- David SchoenfieldWill the As achieve any clarity in their stadium situation?2016 record: 69-93Yes, this question. Again. Still. But thats because its the question that matters most to the future of the franchise, and its ultimately more interesting than wondering whether or not the As will keep the players association and MLBs other owners off their backs for their dwindling payroll. Theres growing resentment within the industry over the As collecting more than $34 million per year in revenue-sharing despite playing in the big-market Bay Area. Will that revenue stream survive into baseballs new collective bargaining agreement when the old one expires on Dec. 1? And even if the As continue to collect that kind of cash from the other owners, can they even coax useful free agents to come play in the industry-worst facility that O.co Coliseum has degenerated into? Or will they just settle for overpaying the next Billy Butler to try to keep the union and the other owners happy?See, thats depressing. And the only answer to those questions that might please everyone (but the Giants) is for the As to achieve a stadium solution. This winter could provide what should be the triggering event to finally get something done -- the Raiders sewing up their future departure to Las Vegas, a decision on which should come in January. That news could finally set in motion plans to pick between the proposed sites within Oakland and line up the financing to build a baseball-only stadium while theres time to work with As-friendly mayor Libby Schaaf during the next two years shes sure to be in office. The timing is going to be tight for the Wolff and Fisher families that control the franchises future, because losing revenue-sharing money might trigger an ownership shakeup or an outright sale.If you feel cheated by this angle, the most interesting on-field questions for the As involve whether or not they can get Sonny Gray back to what he used to be after an awful 2015 -- although cynics would note thatd just revive his trade value and get him shipped out. And what they do with Marcus Semien? With a wave of infield prospects fronted by Franklin Barreto on the way up, will they move Semien off short? But even those questions wont be answered in spring training, hampering opportunities for the As to swing deals in December. -- Christina Kahrl ' ' '