Magpie's True Colors will be Shown in the Championship

It's over. It's done. Dead as disco. Finished.

However you want to look at it, the nine month disaster that was the Newcastle United 2015-16 campaign is finally over, and we can now call it like it is: they had no business being in the top flight this season.

They had the longest losing stretch in the Premier League in the 2014-15 campaign at eight games and avoided relegation by a mere four points (remarkable to think they still finished 15th, no less).

However there was hope entering this season, and for good reason too. With additions like Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba to name a few, it looked like moves were being made in the right direction. It appeared they were strengthening up the back line and finding some playmakers who could help the ball find the back of the net.

Well, it didn't quite go as planned, as we all know.

Without the need of delving into all the things that went wrong this season, where do they belong in the second tier? Are the wins against —say— Tottenham (twice!) merely flashes in the pan or is this a team with true talent that has hit a rough stretch?

The reality is that the roughest wakeup call may have yet to come. It could very well come in the form of a finish well outside of the top three next season, and that's a reality Newcastle supporters must be cognizant of.

Honestly, it could go either way, and a lot of it will be the product of what happens in this likely active off-season. Andros Townsend has a relegation clause in his contract, Daryl Janmaat has been linked to big-name clubs in Italy. Wijnaldum could dash as could Ayoze Perez. The list goes on and on.

And, of course, Rafa.

The name that needs not explaining, and could make all the difference in the world once he decides his future at some point in the next two weeks.

In other words, the team we saw beat Tottenham 5-1 today could very well look very different when next season kicks off.

Days like today are an indication that this team massively underperformed this season. But when it happens so often, you can't help but ask, "what if we are just bad?"

Next season should answer that question.