Barely 24 hours after Southampton were relegated amid debate about worst teams ever to compete in the Premier League came Leicester’s application.
They might be seven points better off than the Saints but they have been downright dismal since the turn of the year and are heading back to the Championship.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, appointed at the end of November, has transformed a poor side into an awful one, and appears increasingly unlikely to make it to the end of the season as the unwanted records pile up around him.
Leicester have lost 22 of 31 Premier League games this season, 15 of 16 since mid-December. They have lost 11 at home in the league for the first time in their 141-year history.
They have conceded 70 but, worst of all, they have become the first in the Premier League era to go eight successive home games without scoring a goal.
Bobby de Cordova Reid was the last to score, in a 2-2 draw with Brighton.
Newcastle boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification by winning at Leicester
Jacob Murphy scored the 19th and 20th goals of his Newcastle career during a one-side game
Ruud van Nistelrooy has transformed a poor Leicester side into an awful one since taking over from Steve Cooper
Little wonder fans who booed them off have had enough.
They were simply no match for Newcastle, still riding their wave of jubilation from the Carabao Cup win last month.
Eddie Howe’s team were three up by half time, two by Jacob Murphy and one by Harvey Barnes, and coasted through the second half as their fans sang about another European adventure, which could well be in the Champions League.
They are up to fifth and in menacing form.
Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope made the first save of the night, tested low at his near post by Jamie Vardy after 10 seconds, but the visitors were ahead inside two minutes, slicing through the painfully thin blue line of defence.
Wilfried Ndidi missed a tackle in midfield and Bruno Guimaraes released Barnes, playing back at the King Power for the first time and warmly applauded when the teams were announced.
Tino Livramento steamed past on the overlap and delivered a fabulous cross with his left foot, converted at the back post by Murphy.
The home crowd groaned knowingly, van Nistelrooy cursed and then things got worse as Newcastle scored again, via an audacious attempt by Fabian Schar from inside his own half.
Murphy, who also bagged a brace in the reverse fixture, netted twice in the first 11th minutes
Newcastle were 3-0 up before half-time thanks to a goal by former Foxes star Harvey Barnes
Leicester fans began leaving the King Power Stadium en masse after Barnes scored goal No 3
The Foxes are nailed-on to join Southampton in being relegated back to the Championship
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Schar nicked the ball from Vardy, saw Mads Hermansen off his line and went for goal.
Everyone froze as the ball sailed over the goalkeeper’s head and thumped against the bar. Everyone except Murphy, who was sprinting forward to seize the rebound and claim his second of the night, despite a clumsy first touch.
Suddenly the seven-goal win required to leap up into fourth did not seem so fanciful and apart from the jubilant Geordies packed into one corner, the mood inside the stadium soured. Leicester fans are sick of seeing their team overwhelmed so easily, offering no resistance.
They jeered Patson Daka for turning back towards his own goal after breaking out of defence to find no team-mates up in support.
Briefly, they rallied, and Pope made another save from Bilal El Khannouss but they conceded a third before half time when Barnes tapped into an open net after Hermansen had saved low to his left from Joelinton.
Before the interval, came a moment to sum it all up when a fizzing drive by Daka struck the inside of one post, spun across the line, struck the other post and rebounded to Pope, who smiled at his good fortune as he gathered the ball while sat on the turf.
A flag went up against Vardy – it might not have counted but it looked tight.
Points safe, Newcastle strolled through the second half in containment mode.
There was no consolation goal for Leicester, Wout Faes went closest with a header from a corner, although there was a debut for exciting 15-year-old Jeremy Monga as if to promise fans better days ahead.
