Newcastle

Newcastle United Football Club Overview

Newcastle United is an English Football club who currently plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1892, the club is also known as The Magpies or The Toon. They have won 4 league titles and 6 FA Cups, although their league titles were won before WWII. On a European level, they have won the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 2006 Intertoto Cup. Since their founding year in 1892, they have played their home game at St James’ Park.

Newcastle FC History

In 1892, 2 local sides, Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, merged. In fact, both teams were rivals for several years in the Northern League, but after West End ran into financial problems, East End moved across the city and took over West End’s ground, St James’ Park. Shortly after, they changed their names to Newcastle United and also changed their colours from the original red and white to the now black and white stripes. Prior to WWI, the Magpies went on to win 3 league titles, in 1905, 1907 and 1909. Moreover, they played in 5 FA Cup Finals in 7 years, even if they won just one of them, in 1910. In spite of being one of the best English team at that time, they suffered a 9-1 home defeat against rivals Sunderland in 1908!

The ‘Interwar’ period was very successful for Newcastle. In 1924, The Magpies reached another FA Cup Final: they played against Aston Villa at Wembley, and they won 2-0. 3 years later, in 1927, they captured a 4th league title. Moreover, in 1932, they were back to Wembley to play in another FA Cup Final, but this time against Arsenal. Newcastle would eventually win the final, also known as the "Over The Line" final: in fact, Newcastle equalised after a long ball went over the goal line, but the referee ruled the ball had not gone out of play, even though photographic evidence later showed that the ball had actually crossed the line. Allen scored again in the second half, giving the Magpies a 2-1 victory, and their 3rd FA Cup! In spite of those successes, Newcastle United were relegated in 1934, for the first time in their history. However, in the same season of their relegation, they managed to win 9-2 against Liverpool and also 7-3 against Everton!

Newcastle returned to the First Division in 1948. During the 50s, The Toon won 3 FA Cups within 5 years! In 1951, they defeated Blackpool 2-0. One year later, they beat Arsenal 1-0! Then, in 1955, they won 3-1 over Manchester City. Led by the legendary 'Wor Jackie' Milburn, the Magpies were known all over the country! However, they were relegated again in 1961. Joe Harvey, who had captained the team from 1945 to 1953, came back as the new manager and rebuilt the team. In 1965, Newcastle were crowned Champions of Division 2. In 1968, they qualified for their first European competition. A year later, they won the Inter Cities Fairs Cup (1969), beating the Hungary club Újpest FC in final. Following the European success, Harvey signed new talented players, especially a new centre-forward named Malcolm Macdonald who would eventually become one of United's greatest players. Nicknamed SuperMac, he scored a hat-trick on his home debut against Liverpool, and was the club's top scorer for five seasons in a row, leading the Magpies to the 1974 FA Cup Final and the 1976 League Cup Final. However, Newcastle lost both times, respectively against Liverpool and Manchester City.

Back in Division 2, at the beginning of the 80s. Harvey had left the club, and the team was trying desperately to find a new manager. It was Arthur Cox, helped by striker Kevin Keegan, who put the Magpies back on track, in First Division, where they remained until another relegation in 1989. In 1992, Keegan returned to the club as manager, in a time when Newcastle were struggling to stay in Division 2. They survived by wining their last 2 games of the season. In the 1992-1993 season, The Toon won their first 11 league games before losing 1-0 against Grimsby Town, only 2 wins short of the English league record of 13 consecutive wins. They were promoted to the Premier League after a 2-0 win against Grimsby Town, and were crowned Division 1 (ex-division 2) Champions. The following year, in their first season back to the top-flight, they finished 3rd, led by top scorer Andy Cole! Sky Television even renamed Newcastle ‘the Entertainers’.

In 1995, Keegan signed new players such as David Ginola and Les Ferdinand. They managed to secure a 2nd place finish, only 4 points behind Manchester United! On July 30, 1996, Alan Shearer moved to the team for a then world record fee of £15 million! The following season, the Toon finished once again in 2nd.

In 1997, Keegan was replaced by Kenny Dalglish. In the first season under his guidance, the Magpies reached the FA Cup Final, but they lost against Arsenal. However, they qualified for the Champions League, after finishing 4th in the Premier League! Dalglish was sacked and replaced by Ruud Gullit after several unsuccessful transfer deals. Under Gullit’s guidance, the team managed to reach another FA Cup Final: once again, they lost, that time against Manchester United. However, Gullit was sacked at the end of the season, being replaced by ex-England manager Sir Bobby Robson. His first home game was a stunning 8-0 victory against Sheffield Wednesday! In his first season, he led the team to an Intertoto Cup Final against French club Troyes AC, which they lost on away goals after a 4-4 draw at home. He also signed new players such as Laurent Robert and Craig Bellamy, who helped the Magpies securing a place in the Champions League after finishing in 4th place. In the first group stage, Newcastle lost their first three matches. However, they managed to qualify for the second tour, wining against Juventus, Dinamo Kiev and Feyenoord. They would eventually be knocked out by Barcelona, despite a 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Despite finishing 5th in the Premiership, Robson was fired at the end of the 2003/204 season, having failed to qualify the team for the Champions League.

Graeme Souness was appointed as manager, but was fired on February 2006, despite signing Michael Owen for a record £17 million! Ex West Ham manager Glen Roeder was put in charge. After guiding the team from 14th place to 7th place, Roeder was given the job on a permanent basis with a two year contract. The same season, Alan Shearer became the club's highest ever goal-scorer with 206 goals and announced his retirement from professional football. Roeder left the club at the end of the 2006-2007 season, and replaced by Sam Allardyce, who was sacked on January 9, 2008, after less than eight months in charge.

Several candidates were named to replace Allardyce. On January 16, 2008, Kevin Keegan announced his come-back as manager. Keegan is very popular through the Toon Army (Newcastle fans): on the day of his nomination, 20,000 extra tickets were sold for their FA Cup 3rd Round replay against Stoke City within a couple of hours! His first match in charge was a draw with Bolton!

Club Rivalries

Sunderland

Newcastle's deepest rivalry is with Sunderland. The derby between the 2 teams is known as The Tyne-Wear derby. The first meeting in official competition took place in 1888, it was an FA Cup tie. In 1996, when Sunderland joined Newcastle in the English Premier League, Newcastle fans were bans from Sunderland's Roker Park on safety and security grounds. In response, Newcastle did exactly the same ban for the return game at St James' Park.Rivals, reasons for rivalries, and rivalry history.

Stars of the Current Squad

Shay Given is an Irish goalkeeper who started his professional career in 1993. He joined Newcastle for a fee of £1.5 million in 1997. During his first few years, he was in competition with Steve Harper for the goalkeeper’s position. In the 2001-2002 season, he played in every Premiership games and was named in the PFA Premiership Team of the Season. Given also played on an international level with the Republic of Ireland National Team. He competed in the 2002 World Cup, even if his team were eliminated by Spain after a penalty shoot-out. So far, he has earned 86 caps with his national team. By the end of the 2005/06 season, Shay had only missed two Premiership games for United in five seasons. He is the 4th most-capped players in the team’s history with 434 appearances.

Michael Owen is an English striker. He started his professional career in 1997 with Liverpool. When he left Liverpool in 2004 to join Real Madrid, he had an impressive record of 118 goals in 216 appearances! Moreover, he was named Ballon d’Or in 2001! He spent only one season in Spain, before joining his current club Newcastle. Over 20,000 fans were present at St James’ Park for Owen's official unveiling as a Newcastle player. However, Owen has had several serious injuries since 2005: so far, he has played only in 38 games, scoring 15 goals. He also plays for the England National Team and has been capped 88 times for England, scoring 40 goals.

Obafemi Martins is a Nigerian striker. He started his professional career in 2002 with Internazionale. In 2005, he signed a long-term contract with Internazionale and was worth €2.5 million annually. In spite of his success with the Italian Team – he scored 28 goals in 88 league games – he moved to Newcastle United for €15 million in 2006, signing a five year deal. He scored his first goal on September 17, 2006. So far, he has appeared in 59 games and has scored 18 goals. He is also a regular in the Nigeria National Team and has a personal record of 13 goals in 21 games!

Coach: Kevin Keegan is a former forward. He played for the Toon from 1982 to 1984 and made 78 appearances, scoring 48 goals! He also managed them from 1992 to 1997, leading them to a 2nd place in the Premier League in 1996. He then managed Fullham, the England National Team and Manchester City, before returning to Newcastle in January 2008. . Keegan is very popular through the Toon Army (Newcastle fans): on the day of his nomination, 20,000 extra tickets were sold for their FA Cup 3rd Round replay against Stoke City within a couple of hours!

Club Legends

Malcolm Ian Macdonald is a former forward. Nicknamed "Supermac", he started his professional career in 1968 with Fullham. He then moved to Luton Town before joining the Magpies in 1971 for £180,000. He scored a hat-trick on his home debut against Liverpool! He scored 95 goals in 187 appearances before he joined Arsenal in 1976. He also played for the England National Team from 1972 to 1976, making only 14 appearances. On April 16, 1975, in a game against Cyprus, he scored all five goals in a 5-0 victory, a record that still stands today! However, he never recovered from a knee injury and announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 28.

Jackie Milburn, also known as 'Wor Jackie', was a Centre Forward. He joined Newcastle United in 1943, in response to the club's advert for trials in the North Mail Newspaper. Milburn's Stripes found themselves 3-0 down at half time, but then being switched to centre forward in the second half, Milburn scored six times as his side turned around the deficit to win 9-3! Of course, Newcastle quickly signed him up! In fact, he played in 397 games and scored 200 goals in 14 years! Moreover, he led the Toon to win 3 FA Cups within 5 years (1951, 1952, 1955). Milburn died at the age of 64, over 30,000 people went to his funeral! Moreover, a statue was raised on Newcastle's main thoroughfare in his honour.

Alan Shearer is a former striker who started his professional career in 1988 for Southampton. He then moved to Blackburn Rovers in 1992 and won the Premier League in 1995. He joined Newcastle in 1996 for £15 million, making Shearer the world's most expensive footballer at the time, and spent the rest of his career with the Toon. He was the top scorer of the club every year, except in the 1997-1998 and 2000-2001 seasons. He holds the Premier League goal-scoring record with 260 goals. Moreover, he scored a total of 206 goals in all competitions, making 405 appearances! Shearer was also a key player in the England National Team from 1992 to 2000, earning 66 caps and scoring 30 goals. On April 22, 2006, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Team Honours

• League Titles (4): 1904-05, 1906-07, 1908-09, 1926-27
• FA Cups (6): 1910, 1924, 1932, 1951, 1952, 1955
• FA Charity/Community Shield: 1909
• Inter Cities Fairs Cup: 1969
• Intertoto Cup: 2006

Club Management

Life President: Sir John Hall

Chairman: Chris Mort

Head Coach: Kevin Keegan

Assistant manager: Arthur Cox

Uniforms

Home: black and white striped shirt, black shorts

Away: light blue shirt with black trim, light blue shorts

Stadium

Since their founding year in 1892, Newcastle United have played their home game at St James’ Park. It has a capacity of 52,387 seats. On April 2, 2007, the club announced a £300million plan for the development of the stadium and surrounding areas: they want to increase the capacity to 60,000, as well as include a major conference centre, hotels and luxury apartments.

Sponsors

• Northernrock
• Adidas

Important Links

• http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10278,00.html (Official team site)
• http://www.premierleague.com/ (Official league site)
• http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/OnlineTicketSales/0,,10278,00.html (Official ticket site)
• http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Stadium/0,,10278,00.html (Stadium home page)
• http://newcastleunited.rivals.net/teams/pgclubhome.aspx?clubid=55, http://www.toon-army.co.uk/, http://www.newcastle-online.com/ (Fans Site)

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_united
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Newcastle_United_F.C.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_United_F.C._records
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shay_Given
• http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Profiles/0,,10278,00.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Owen
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obafemi_Martins
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Keegan
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Macdonald
• http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HeroesDetail/0,,10278~224469,00.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne-Wear_derby