GRAHAM POLL, chanted the incensed Eastlands crowd, is not fit to referee. That was in between accusing him of unnatural vices after the man from Tring disallowed what the Manchester City supporters considered to be a perfectly fair winner in a game that, for 85 minutes, plumbed new depths of mediocrity.

But Poll had a pretty good game. Irritating at times, but most of the decisions he got right. Certainly, he has more to be proud of than most of the players on show here, some of whom ought to be ashamed to pick up their wages.

City had the best of the opening exchanges and should have taken the lead in the sixth minute. Darius Vassell won a header and the ball bounced nicely for Joey Barton to head past a flat-footed Craig Ramage and run on into the Newcastle penalty area. With only Stephen Harper to beat, Barton slid his shot past the United goalkeeper but wide.

A minute later, Scott Parker’s gentle 25-yard effort came within a couple of feet of embarrassing City goalkeeper Nicky Weaver but, despite a spurious fluidity of formation that saw Damien Duff and James Milner swapping wings regularly, it was a rare moment of attacking invention from the visitors. The problem for the home fans was that City did not have that much more to offer in terms of creativity.

The next chance fell to City, but with the game already degenerating into scrappiness, it was not surprising it should result from a mistake, in this case by Stephen Carr. The full-back’s attempt to clear a Barton corner resulted in an inadvertent flick into the path of Claudio Reyna. The American’s shot was blocked by a sliding Ramage, and, though the ball struck his arm below the elbow, Mr Poll waved away half-hearted appeals for a penalty.

Ramage was also involved in Newcastle’s other attempt on goal in the first half, volleying wildly high from inside the City penalty area when a corner was only half-cleared.

The other incident of note saw Mr Poll book Parker for a foul on Barton, a somewhat harsh decision that may just have been influenced by City manager Stuart Pearce’s intemperate reaction on the touchline a few yards away.

Steven Taylor and Trevor Sinclair also received yellow cards for fouls soon after the break, both perfectly correct, but coming within a minute or so of each other, the incidents served to raise the temperature, as did Barton a few moments later when his volleyed pass picked out Paul Dickov’s run. The forward controlled the ball and cut inside Craig Moore, but his attempt was pushed aside by the diving Harper.

Two double substitutions followed, Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder sending on Kieron Dyer for the England midfielder’s first appearance in the Premiership this season, Pearce turning to Bernardo Corradi, and it was the Italian who initially had the bigger impact. Two good chances fell his way in the next five minutes; the first, from a Barton free kick, he headed straight at Harper, the second, resulting from a penalty-area scramble, he poked into the goalkeeper’s midriff.

Corradi was also the central figure in the game’s biggest incident, when Richard Dunne’s firm header from Barton’s corner was turned into the roof of the net by Greek striker Georgios Samaras.

Unfortunately for City, Mr Poll had spotted Corradi holding Carr’s shirt in the melee — though Carr also had a handful of light blue — and whistled for a free kick instead of a goal. Relieved, Newcastle dominated the final minutes.

Emre, Dyer and Antoine Sibierski all tested Weaver in a spell of such energy that it was impossible to understand why it had taken them 85 minutes to summon it up, and only a fine block from City’s new England squad member Micah Richards prevented Dyer pinching the points.

“My players gave me everything they had and did everything but put the ball in the net. When they did it was chalked off, but if the referee sees an infringement we’ll go along with that and support him in that,” said a magnanimous Pearce, who was ticked off himself by Mr Poll during the second half.

Roeder, who not surprisingly admitted that he was looking forward to being able to bring in new strikers during the transfer window, did at least take some comfort in the reappearance of Dyer.

“So far he’s looked the old Kieron Dyer, not quick, rapid. He needs to stay fit, and we need him to stay fit,” said the beleaguered Newcastle manager.

Star Man: Joey Barton (Man City)

Player Ratings: Man City: Weaver 6, Richards 6, Dunne 6, Distin 6, Thatcher 6, Trabelsi 5, Barton 7, Reyna 5 (Corradi 59min, 5), Sinclair 5, Dickov 5 (Samaras 59min, 5), Vassell 5

Newcastle United: Harper 7, Carr 5 (Solano 75min, 5), Moore 6, Taylor 6, Ramage 5, Duff 4 (N’Zogbia 55min, 5), Parker 6, Emre 5, Milner 5, Sibierski 4, Ameobi 4 (Dyer 55min, 5) Referee: G Poll

Attendance: 40,571

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