Back to the land of white telephone boxes then and an afternoon when whatever magic the FA Cup may still possess was kept well-hidden from view. 

Our first fixture 2009 at least brought an end to our losing run, but two below-strength sides served up an unremarkable 90 minutes, when at times it was debatable who wanted to win less.

Some amber ambivalence from the home side seemed obvious in Brown's selection and the lack of adventure from his players, while United had spent the week paying lip service to the importance competition and ended up fielding what was their only team, weak or otherwise. 

Shay Given took his place to good applause from the away end, no tension evident on either side following the emergence of ghosted comments expressing discontentment with the situation at SJP.

It had been suggested that he could have lost his place for this game in favour of Harper (who is yet to sign a new deal), but whatever notional value gained by stopping Shay being cup-tied would have been offset by the consequent negative reaction from both fans and media to his omission.

To a certain extent the same situation applied to Michael Owen - although an ineligibility for cup duty will hardly deter Mark Hughes from his alleged raids on SJP, given City's Third Round implosion at the hands of Nottingham Forest..... 

Sebastien Bassong had returned from suspension to partner Fabricio Coloccini in central defence, with Steven Taylor at right back and Jose Enrique continuing down the left. United however were forced into a change before half time, Charles N'Zogbia leave the field with a leg injury. Damien Duff switched from right to left with Jonas Gutierrez arriving from the subs bench to patrol the former.

The visitors shaded the early stages, twice going close through Owen and then Andy Carroll's shot. However Given was called into decisive action to pull off a one-handed save to deny Daniel Cousin before the interval.

As expected, Danny Guthrie was repeatedly booed by the home support as a result of the challenge that broke Craig Fagan's leg at SJP last September, with the Newcastle midfielder also being singled out for some rough treatment from the City players.

Hull were left to question match officials for a second successive home game, after a 72nd minute header from Michael Turner was touched onto the goal frame by Duff, before Given grabbed it.

City players appealed as the United 'keeper indicated he'd kept the ball on the right side of his goal line - while TV replays were inconclusive. However home fans were more vociferous in complaining than their own players, which tells its own story.

Nicky Butt's first half booking was his fifth of the season, meaning he will now serve an automatic one match suspension against West Ham. Gutierrez also found his way into Chris Foy's notebook for not retreating from a free-kick to move within one pointless yellow card of his own ban.

The Argentinean winger proving our main threat in the closing stages, but was unable to supply a killer pass for his colleagues and continues to shy away from shooting opportunities.

With time running out and a replay looking inevitable, both sides belatedly rallied and finally brought the crowd to life, as gaps began to appear at both ends of the field. Given made a further another noteworthy stop while Owen took Butt's knockdown first time but volleyed harmlessly over.

No goal came though and while there was satisfaction that Newcastle have now posted clean sheets in four out of their last five away games, we added an extra game to a schedule that is already testing the limits of the first team squad to breaking point and beyond.

For the third successive season we're left requiring a home replay to advance to the Fourth Round, where a low-key home tie against League One sides Millwall or Crewe awaits. 

As a diversion from the business of staying in the top-flight, this tedious tie was remarkably similar to the usual thin fare we're faced with. At least it was slightly cheaper than usual though...

Biffa