Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club, based in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, that plays in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
– the top flight of
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of
Newcastle East End and
Newcastle West End. The team play their home matches at
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Park ...
in the centre of Newcastle. Following the
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
's requirement that all Premier League clubs have
all-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
s, the ground was modified in the mid-1990s and currently has a capacity of 52,305.
The club has been a member of the Premier League for all but three years of the competition's history, spending 90 seasons in the top flight as of May 2022, and has never dropped below English football's second tier since joining the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1893. Newcastle have won four
League titles, six
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
s and a
FA Charity Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...
, as well as the
1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The eleventh Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1968–1969 season. The competition was won by Newcastle United over two legs in the final against Újpest FC
Újpest Football Club () is a Hungarian professional association football, f ...
and the
2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup
The 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the first edition after a major change of the competition format. There were only three rounds instead of five, and eleven tournament co-winners qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup (instead of ...
, the
ninth-highest total of trophies won by an English club. The club's most successful period was between 1904 and 1910, when they won an FA Cup and three of their League titles. Their last major domestic trophy was
in 1955 (though their last major trophy was
in 1969) and more recently the club have been League or FA Cup runners-up on four occasions in the 1990s. Newcastle was relegated in 2009, and again in 2016. The club won promotion at the first time of asking each time, returning to the Premier League, as Championship winners, in 2010 and 2017.
Newcastle has a long-standing rivalry with nearby
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, with which it contests the
Tyne–Wear derby
The Tyne–Wear derby, also known as the North East derby, is a local derby between the association football clubs Sunderland and Newcastle United. The derby is an inter-city rivalry in North East England with the two cities of Sunderland and Ne ...
since 1898. The team's traditional kit colours are black-and-white striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. Their crest has elements of the city
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
, which features two grey
hippocamps. Before each home game, the team enters the field to "
Local Hero", and "
Blaydon Races
"Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in a style deriving from music hall. It is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle Falcons rugby club, a ...
" is also sung during games.
[Anthony Bateman (2008). "Sporting Sounds: Relationships Between Sport and Music". p. 186. Routledge] The 2005 film ''
Goal!'' featured Newcastle United, and many credit the film with raising the club's popularity among players and fans.
The club was owned by
Mike Ashley from 2007 until 2021, who succeeded long-term chairman
Sir John Hall. The club is the
17th-highest revenue producing club in the world in terms of annual revenue, generating
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
169.3 million in 2015. Newcastle's highest placing was in 1999, when they were the fifth-highest revenue producing football club in the world, and second in England only behind
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
.
On 7 October 2021,
the club was bought for £300 million by a consortium led by the
sovereign wealth fund
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such ...
of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
.
History
1881–1903: Formation and early history
![Newcastle United FC League Performance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Newcastle_United_FC_League_Performance.svg)
The first record of football being played on
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as published i ...
dates from 3 March 1877 at
Elswick Rugby Club. Later that year, Newcastle's first football club, Tyne Association, was formed. The origins of Newcastle United Football Club itself can be traced back to the formation of a football club by the Stanley Cricket Club of
Byker
Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...
in November 1881. This team was renamed
Newcastle East End F.C.
Newcastle East End Football Club was an English football club which briefly played in the Northern League and the FA Cup in the late 19th century. Their entire history was played out during the Victorian era in Newcastle upon Tyne until eventua ...
in October 1882, to avoid confusion with the cricket club in
Stanley, County Durham
Stanley is a former colliery town and civil parish in County Durham, North East England. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street and Consett, the town lies south west of Gateshead.
Stanley was formerly divided into three distinct set ...
. Rosewood F.C. of Byker merged with Newcastle East End a short time later. In 1886, Newcastle East End moved from Byker to Heaton. In August 1882,
Newcastle West End F.C. formed from West End Cricket Club, and in May 1886 moved into
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Park ...
.
The two clubs became rivals in the
Northern League. In 1889, Newcastle East End became a professional team, before becoming a limited company the following March.
Newcastle West End, on the other hand, was in serious financial trouble and approached East End with a view to a takeover. Newcastle West End was eventually dissolved, and a number of its players and backroom staff joined Newcastle East End, effectively merging the two clubs, with Newcastle East End taking over the lease on St James' Park in May 1892.
With only one senior club in the city for fans to support, development of the club was much more rapid. Despite being refused entry to the
Football League's First Division at the start of the
1892–93 season, they were invited to play in their new
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. However, with no big names playing in the Second Division, they turned down the offer and remained in the Northern League, stating "gates would not meet the heavy expenses incurred for travelling".
In a bid to start drawing larger crowds, Newcastle East End decided to adopt a new name in recognition of the merger.
Suggested names included 1892 Newcastle, Newcastle Rangers, Newcastle City and City of Newcastle, but Newcastle United was decided upon on 9 December 1892, to signify the unification of the two teams.
The name change was accepted by the Football Association on 22 December, but the club was not legally constituted as Newcastle United Football Club Co. Ltd. until 6 September 1895.
At the start of the
1893–94 season, Newcastle United were once again refused entry to the First Division and so joined the Second Division, along with
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Woolwich Arsenal.
They played their first competitive match in the division that September against Woolwich Arsenal, with a score of 2–2.
Turnstile numbers were still low, and the incensed club published a statement stating, "The Newcastle public do not deserve to be catered for as far as professional football is concerned". However, eventually figures picked up by
1895–96, when 14,000 fans watched the team play
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
. That season
Frank Watt became secretary of the club, and he was instrumental in promotion to the First Division for the
1898–99 season. However, they lost their first game 4–2 at home to
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
and finished their first season in 13th place.
1903–1937: First glory years and war years
![FACupFinal1905NewcastleVilla](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/FACupFinal1905NewcastleVilla.jpg)
In
1903–04, the club built up a promising squad of players, and went on to dominate English football for almost a decade, the team known for their "artistic play, combining team-work and quick, short passing". Long after his retirement,
Peter McWilliam
Peter McWilliam (21 September 1879 – 1 October 1951) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played at left-half for Inverness Thistle F.C., Inverness Thistle, Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United and Scotland national football ...
, the team's
defender at the time, said, "The Newcastle team of the 1900s would give any modern side a two goal start and beat them, and further more, beat them at a trot." Newcastle United went on to win the League on three occasions during the 1900s;
1904–05,
1906–07 and
1908–09.
In 1904–05, they nearly did the double, losing to
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
in the
1905 FA Cup Final. They were beaten again the following year by
Everton in the
1906 FA Cup Final. They reached the final again in 1908 where they lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers. They finally won the FA Cup in 1910 when they beat
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. They lost again the following year in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
.
The team returned to the
FA Cup final in 1924, in the second final held at the then new
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. They defeated
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, winning the club's second
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
.
Three years later, they won the First Division championship a fourth time in
1926–27, with
Hughie Gallacher
Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 624 senior games, Gallacher scored 463 goals, playing senior league football for Airdrieonians, Newcastle United, Chelsea, ...
, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the club's history, captaining the team. Other key players in this period were
Neil Harris,
Stan Seymour
George Stanley Seymour (16 May 1895 – 24 December 1978) was a footballer who played for Newcastle United then became manager, vice-chairman and director of the club. Born in Kelloe, Seymour is one of the club's all-time greats, and was known ...
and
Frank Hudspeth. In 1930, Newcastle United came close to relegation, and at the end of the season Gallacher left the club for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, and at the same time
Andy Cunningham became the club's first team manager. In
1931–32, the club won the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
a third time. However, a couple of years later, at the end of the
1933–34 season, the team were relegated to the Second Division after 35 seasons in the top. Cunningham left as manager and
Tom Mather
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
took over.
1937–1969: Post-war success
![Newcastle United F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Newcastle_United_F.C._1960.jpg)
The club found it difficult to adjust to the Second Division and were nearly further relegated in the
1937–38 season, when they were spared on goal average. However, when World War II broke out in 1939, Newcastle had a chance to regroup, and in the War period, they brought in
Jackie Milburn
John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was a football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly ...
,
Tommy Walker and
Bobby Cowell
Robert Cowell (5 December 1922 – 11 January 1996) was an English football defender. During his football career he only played for one club, Newcastle United. Despite his success with Newcastle he failed to win any caps for the England nati ...
. They were finally promoted back to the First Division at the end of the
1947–48 season.
During the 1950s, Newcastle won the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
three times in five years, beating
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in 1951, Arsenal in 1952 and
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
in 1955. However, after this last FA Cup victory the club fell back into decline and were relegated to the Second Division once again at the end of the
1960–61 season under the management of
Charlie Mitten. Mitten left after one season in the Second Division and was replaced by former player
Joe Harvey
Joseph Harvey (11 June 1918 – 24 February 1989) was an English football player and later manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager, and, as of 2022, the last to win a major ...
. Newcastle returned to the First Division at the end of the
1964–65 season after winning the Second Division title.
Under Harvey, the club qualified for European competition for the first time after a good run in the
1967–68 season and the following year won the
1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final
The 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final was the final of the eleventh Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was played on 29 May and 11 June 1969 between Newcastle United of England and Újpesti Dózsa of Hungary. Newcastle won the tie 6–2 on aggregate.
R ...
, triumphing 6–2 over two legs against Hungary's
Újpest
Újpest (; german: Neu-Pest, en, New Pest) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary i ...
in the final.
1969–1992: Bouncing between divisions
Harvey bought striker
Malcolm Macdonald
Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle U ...
in the summer of 1971, for a club record transfer fee of
£180,000 (equivalent to £2,265,000 in 2021).
He was an impressive goal scorer, who led United's attack to Wembley in their
1974 FA Cup Final
The 1974 FA Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United on Saturday, 4 May 1974 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1973–74 FA Cup, the 93rd season of England's primary cup competiti ...
defeat at the hands of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.
The club also had back to back triumphs in the
Texaco Cup
The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions.
It wa ...
in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
and
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. Harvey left the club in 1975, with
Gordon Lee Gordon Lee may refer to:
*Gordon Lee (comic store owner) (1958–2013), American comic book store owner charged with distributing obscene materials
*Gordon Lee (congressman) (1859–1927), U.S. congressman from Georgia
*Gordon Lee (footballer) (193 ...
brought in to replace him. Lee took the team to the
1976 Football League Cup Final
The 1976 Football League Cup Final took place between Manchester City and Newcastle United on 28 February 1976 at Wembley Stadium. It was the sixteenth final and the tenth Football League Cup final to be played at Wembley. Manchester City won the ...
against
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
, but failed to bring the trophy back to Tyneside. However, he sold Macdonald to Arsenal at the end of the season, a decision of which Macdonald later said "I loved Newcastle, until Gordon Lee took over". Lee left for Everton in 1977, and was replaced by
Richard Dinnis
Richard R. Dinnis (born 11 December 1942) is an English former football coach and player.
Dinnis played semi-professionally as a centre-half. Little is known of his playing career, but he signed with Bishop Auckland in 1961 after a successful t ...
.
United dropped once again to the Second Division at the end of the
1977–78 season. Dinnis was replaced by
Bill McGarry
William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was an England international association footballer and manager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager.
A right- ...
, and then he was replaced by
Arthur Cox. Cox steered Newcastle back to the First Division at the end of the
1983–84 season, with players such as
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999.
In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...
,
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland Waddle (born 14 December 1960) is an English former professional football player and manager. He currently works as a commentator.
Nicknamed "Magic Chris", football journalist Luke Ginnell wrote that Waddle was "widely ackn ...
and ex-
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
captain
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
the fulcrum of the team. However, with a lack of funds, Cox left for
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
and Keegan retired. With managers such as
Jack Charlton
John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...
and then
Willie McFaul
William Stewart McFaul (born 1 October 1943), known as Willie or Iam McFaul, is a Northern Irish former football player and now coach. He spent most of his career with Newcastle United.
McFaul was born in Coleraine. He joined Newcastle Unit ...
, Newcastle remained in the top-flight, until key players such as Waddle, Beardsley and
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...
were sold, and the team was relegated once more in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
. McFaul left the managerial post, and was replaced by
Jim Smith. Smith left at the start of the
1991–92 season and the board appointed
Osvaldo Ardiles
Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 FIFA World Cup as part of the Argentina national team. He now runs his ...
his replacement.
John Hall John Hall may refer to:
Academics
* John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic
* John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal
* John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
became the club's chairman in 1992, and replaced Ardiles with Keegan, who managed to save the team from relegation to the Third Division. Keegan was given more money for players, buying
Rob Lee
Robert Martin Lee (born 1 February 1966) is an English former professional footballer and sports co-commentator.
As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and West Ham United. His time at St ...
,
Paul Bracewell
Paul William Bracewell (born 19 July 1962) is an English former professional football player and manager.
Bracewell played as a midfielder. He was a member of the Everton side that won the League title in 1985 and 1987 as well as the Europe ...
and
Barry Venison
Barry Venison (born 16 August 1964) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
As a player was a defender from 1981 to 1997. He played for Sunderland, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Galatasaray and ...
. The club won the
First Division championship at the end of the
1992–93 season, earning promotion to the then new
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
.
1993–2007: Into the Premier League
![Kevin Keegan 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Kevin_Keegan_2.jpg)
At the end of their first year,
1993–94 season, back in the top flight they finished in third, their highest league finish since 1927.
The attacking philosophy of Keegan led to the team being labelled "The Entertainers" by
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
.
Keegan took Newcastle to two consecutive runners-up finishes in the league in
1995–96 and
1996–97, coming very close to winning the title in the former season which included a
4–3 game against Liverpool at Anfield – often considered the greatest game in Premier League history – which ended with a defining image of the Premier League with Keegan slumped over the advertising hoarding. The success of the team was in part due to the attacking talent of players like
David Ginola
David Ginola-Ceze (born 25 January 1967) is a French former professional footballer who has also worked as an actor, model and football pundit.
A former forward, Ginola played football for ten seasons in France before moving from Paris Saint-Ger ...
,
Les Ferdinand
Leslie Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at Queens Park Rangers.
A striker, his playing career included notable sp ...
and Alan Shearer, who was signed on 30 July 1996 for a then List of most expensive association football transfers, world record fee of £15 million.
Keegan left Newcastle in January 1997 and was replaced by Kenny Dalglish, however the club endured a largely unsuccessful season with a 13th-place finish in the 1997–98 FA Premier League, failure to progress beyond the group stages of the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League despite beating FC Barcelona, Barcelona and group winners FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv at
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Park ...
as well as coming from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 with Valery Lobanovsky's team in Ukraine and defeat in the 1998 FA Cup Final. Dalglish was replaced as manager early in the following season by Ruud Gullit.
The club once again finished 13th in the league and lost the 1999 FA Cup Final. Gullit fell into disagreements with the squad and chairman Freddy Shepherd, and quit the club four games into the 1999–2000 Newcastle United F.C. season, 1999–2000 season with the team bottom of the table to be replaced by Bobby Robson.
![Bobby Robson Cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Bobby_Robson_Cropped.jpg)
A title challenge emerged during the 2001–02 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2001–02 season, and Newcastle's fourth-place finish saw them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The following season, Robson guided the team to another title challenge and finished third in the League, and the second group stage of the Champions League,
after being the first team to have progressed past the first group stage after losing their first three games. Newcastle finished fifth in the league at the end of the 2003–04 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2003–04 season, and exited the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, but despite this Robson was sacked in August 2004 following a series of disagreements with the club.
![Newcastle Utd v Celtic - Alan Shearer Testimonial (4)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Newcastle_Utd_v_Celtic_-_Alan_Shearer_Testimonial_%284%29.jpg)
Graeme Souness was brought in to manage by the start of the 2004–05 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2004–05 season. In his time at the helm, he broke the club's transfer record by signing Michael Owen for £16.8 million. Souness also took Newcastle to the quarter-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup with Alan Shearer winning the tournament's golden boot as well. However, he was sacked in February 2006 after a bad start to the club's 2005–06 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2005–06 season. Glenn Roeder took over, initially on a temporary basis, before being appointed full-time manager at the end of the season. Shearer retired at the end of the 2005–06 season as the club's all-time record goal scorer, with 206 goals.
Despite finishing the 2005–06 season in seventh, Roeder's fortunes changed in the 2006–07 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2006–07 season, with a terrible injury run to the senior squad, and he left the club by mutual consent on 6 May 2007. After the 2006–07 season, and inside the Premier League era, Newcastle United were now the fifth most successful Premiership club in terms of points gained.
Sam Allardyce was appointed Roeder's replacement as manager on 15 May 2007.
2007–2021: Mike Ashley era
On 7 June, Freddy Shepherd's final shares in the club were sold to
Mike Ashley and Shepherd was replaced as chairman by Chris Mort on 25 July. Ashley then announced he would be delisting the club from the London Stock Exchange upon completion of the takeover. The club officially ceased trading on the Stock Exchange as of 8am on 18 July 2007 at 5p a share.
Allardyce departed the club on in January 2008 by mutual consent after a bad start to the 2007–08 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2007–08 season, and Kevin Keegan was reappointed as Newcastle manager. Mort stepped down as chairman in June and was replaced by Derek Llambias, a long-term associate of Ashley. Newcastle finished the 2007–08 season in 12th place, but as the season drew to a close, Keegan publicly criticised the board, stating they were not providing the team enough financial support.
In September 2008, Keegan resigned as manager, stating: "It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want".
Former Wimbledon F.C., Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear was appointed as his replacement, but in February 2009, due to his heart surgery, Alan Shearer was appointed interim manager in his absence. Under Shearer, the club were relegated to the Football League Championship at the end of the 2008–09 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2008–09 season, the first time the club had left the Premier League since joining it in 1993.
Following their relegation, the club was put up for sale in June 2009, with an asking price of £100 million. Chris Hughton was given the manager job on a caretaker basis before taking over full-time on 27 October 2009. On the same day, Ashley announced that the club was no longer for sale.
![Newcastle United - Championship winners](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Newcastle_United_-_Championship_winners.jpg)
Hughton led Newcastle to win the 2009–10 Football League Championship, securing automatic promotion on 5 April 2010 with five games remaining, and securing the title on 19 April; Newcastle were promoted back to the Premier League after just one season away.
Under Hughton, Newcastle enjoyed a strong start to the 2010–11 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2010–11 season, but he was sacked on 6 December 2010. The club's board stated that they felt "an individual with more managerial experience [was] needed to take the club forward." Three days later, Alan Pardew was appointed as manager with a five-and-a-half-year contract. Despite some turbulence, Newcastle were able to finish 12th at the end of the season, with one particular highlight being a 4–4 home draw against Arsenal F.C., Arsenal that saw Newcastle come back from four goals down to claim a point.
The start of the 2011–12 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2011–12 season was very successful as they went on to enjoy one of their strongest openings to a season, playing 11 consecutive games unbeaten. Newcastle eventually secured a place in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, 2012–13 Europa League with a fifth-place finish, their highest league position since the Bobby Robson days. Further honours were to come as Pardew won both the Premier League Manager of the Season and the LMA Manager of the Year awards.
In the following season Newcastle made few acquisitions in the summer and suffered injuries over the season. As a result, the first half of the season was marred by a run of 10 losses in 13 games, which saw the club sink near the relegation zone. The Europa League campaign was largely successful with the team making the quarter-finals before bowing out to 2013 UEFA Europa League Final, eventual finalists Benfica. Domestically, Newcastle struggled, and stayed up after a 2–1 victory over already-relegated Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers on the penultimate game of the season.
![Rafael Benítez](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Rafael_Ben%C3%ADtez.jpg)
The 2014–15 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2014–15 season saw Newcastle fail to win any of their first seven games, prompting fans to start a campaign to get Pardew sacked as manager before an upturn in form saw them climb to fifth in the table. Pardew left for Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace in December. On 26 January 2015, his assistant John Carver (footballer), John Carver was put in charge for the remainder of the season but came close to relegation, staying up on the final day with a 2–0 home win against West Ham, with Jonás Gutiérrez, who beat testicular cancer earlier in the season, scoring the team's second goal.
On 9 June 2015, Carver was sacked and replaced by Steve McClaren the following day. On 11 March 2016, McClaren was sacked after nine months as manager, with Newcastle in 19th place in the Premier League and the club having won just six of 28 Premier League games during his time at the club.
He was replaced by Spaniard Rafael Benítez on the same day, who signed a three-year deal,
but was not able to prevent the club from being relegated for the second time under Ashley's ownership.
Newcastle returned to the Premier League at the first attempt, winning the Championship title on 7 May 2017 with a 3–0 win against
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
. On 16 October 2017, Mike Ashley put Newcastle United up for sale for a second time. The team finished the season with a 3–0 win over 2016–17 Premier League, the previous year's champions
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, finishing tenth in the league, their highest finish in four years. The 2018–19 Newcastle United F.C. season, following season saw a 13th-place finish, despite being in the relegation zone in January. As such Ashley came under increased scrutiny for his lack of investment in the squad and apparent focus on other business ventures. Benitez left his position on 30 June 2019 after rejecting a new contract.
On 17 July 2019, former Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was appointed as manager on a three-year contract. Bruce oversaw 13th and 12th-placed finishes during his first two seasons in charge, both of which being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021–present: Saudi-led era
On 7 October 2021, after 14 years as owner, Ashley sold the club to a new consortium for a reported £305 million, making them the richest football club in the world. The consortium was made up of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners.
On 20 October 2021, Bruce left his position by mutual consent, after receiving a reported £8 million payout. Eddie Howe was appointed as Bruce's replacement a few weeks later on 8 November 2021. Howe guided the club to an 11th place finish after a run of 12 wins in their final 18 games, and became the first team in Premier League history to avoid relegation after failing to win any of their first 14 games.
On 30 May 2022, the club announced they had reached an agreement of a compensation fee with Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion to appoint Dan Ashworth as the new Sporting Director; the appointment was confirmed on 6 June 2022. On 15 July 2022, the club brought in Darren Eales, from Major League Soccer, MLS side Atlanta United FC, Atlanta United, as the club's new Chief Executive Officer - acting as a "key member of the club's leadership structure".
On 21 August 2022, Newcastle United W.F.C., Newcastle United Women moved to the club's ownership for the first time, after a formal restructuring.
Club identity
The club's home colours are a black and white striped shirt. Shorts and socks are usually black with white trim, though white socks are sometimes worn under some managers who consider them "lucky". Newcastle's colours at the outset was generally the home kit of
Newcastle East End F.C.
Newcastle East End Football Club was an English football club which briefly played in the Northern League and the FA Cup in the late 19th century. Their entire history was played out during the Victorian era in Newcastle upon Tyne until eventua ...
, comprising plain red shirts with white shorts and red socks. In 1894, the club adopted the black and white striped shirts, which had been used as the reserve team's colours. These colours were chosen for the senior team because they were not associated with either of the two teams United were merged from. They played in grey shorts until 1897, and between 1897 and 1921, they played in blue shorts before adopting the black shorts they play in now.
United's away colours have changed a number of times over the years. They played in white shirts and black shorts from 1914 until 1961, and then white shorts until 1966. They then played in yellow shirts and blue shorts for the
1967–68 season, but from 1969 to 1974 played in all red with an all blue third kit. In 1974, they returned to a yellow shirt, which they played with various coloured shorts until 1983. They played in all grey from 1983 to 1988, before once again returning to the yellow kit until 1993. Since 1995, the away kit has changed frequently and has not been the same for more than a single season.
Through former owner Mike Ashley, the club also had a relationship with the Sports Direct retail chain which he founded.
On 4 January 2012, Virgin Money UK, Virgin Money, which had just bought Northern Rock, signed a two-year deal to sponsor Newcastle United.
In January 2010, Puma AG, Puma became the official supplier and licensee of replica merchandise for Newcastle. The deal meant Puma supplied the team kit, replica kit and training equipment for the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons.
The current club crest was first used in the 1988–89 Newcastle United F.C. season, 1988–89 season. The crest includes elements from the
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the city of
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
the two sea horses representing Tyneside's strong connections with the sea, the castle representing the city's keep. The city's coat of arms were first embroidered on the team's shirts in 1969 and worn as standard until 1976.
A scroll at the bottom featured the city's motto in Latin; ''fortiter defendit triumphans'' which translates into English as "triumphing by brave defence." From 1976 until 1983, the club wore a specific badge which was developed to wear in place of the city's coat of arms. The design was of a circular shape, which featured the club's name in full, it contained a magpie standing in front of the River Tyne with the historic keep of Newcastle in the background.
A more simplistic design followed in 1983, featuring the initials of the club's name, NUFC with the small magpie used in the previous crest within the horizontally laid "C," this logo was relatively short lived and was discontinued after 1988.
[
On 16 May 2013, Newcastle released the away shirt for the 2013–14 season which for the first time featured the Wonga.com logo, which attracted criticism from many Newcastle supporters; the shirt was navy blue with light blue bands. The shirt received mixed reviews from Newcastle supporters, who described the shirt as both "awesome" and "bland", as quoted in the Newcastle daily ''Evening Chronicle''.] In July 2013, Newcastle striker and practising Muslim Papiss Cissé refused to wear any official kit or training wear with reference to Wonga.com, subsequently failing to travel to the team's 2013 pre-season tour of Portugal. The matter was later resolved. Wonga collapsed in administration in 2018.
On 15 May 2017, the home shirt for the 2017–18 season was revealed, featuring the logo of new sponsors Fun88. The shirt was shown to include a gold and silver commemorative crest to mark the club's 125th football season, based on the city's coat of arms. It was also announced that the kit would feature red numbers for the first time since the 1992–93 season. Previous kit sponsors include Scottish & Newcastle, Newcastle Breweries (1980–86), De Vere Group, Greenall's Beers (1986–90), McEwan's, McEwan's Lager and Newcastle Brown Ale (1990–2000), NTL Incorporated, NTL (2000–03), Northern Rock (2003–12), Virgin Money (2012–13) and Wonga.com (2013–17).
Newcastle United's current kit manufacturers are Castore (brand), Castore, in a deal that started in 2021. Previous kit manufacturers include Bukta (1974–75, 1976–80), Umbro (1975–76, 1980–93), ASICS Corporation, Asics (1993–95), Adidas (1995–2010) and Puma SE, Puma (2010–21). Other current team sponsors include Fun888, Parimatch, Carling, Monster Energy, eToro, BoyleSports, Dr. Cinik Hair Hospital, TOMKET, Volkswagen, Pulman, Cybit and Energy Impact Limited.
Newcastle United's current sleeve sponsor is noon.com, in a deal that started in 2022. Previous sleeve sponsors include MRF Tyres (2017–18), StormGain (2019–20), ICM.com (2020–21) and Kayak (company), Kayak (2021–22).
Stadium
Throughout Newcastle United's history, their home venue has been St James' Park, the oldest and largest football stadium in North East England, as well as the sixth-largest football stadium in the United Kingdom. It has hosted 10 international football matches at senior level, the first in 1901 and the most recent in 2005. It was used as a venue for both the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Football had been played at St James' Park as early as 1880, the ground being occupied by Newcastle Rangers, before becoming the home of Newcastle West End F.C. in 1886. Its lease was then bought by Newcastle East End F.C.
Newcastle East End Football Club was an English football club which briefly played in the Northern League and the FA Cup in the late 19th century. Their entire history was played out during the Victorian era in Newcastle upon Tyne until eventua ...
in 1892, before they changed their name to Newcastle United. At the turn of the 20th century, the ground's capacity was given as 30,000 before being redeveloped between 1900 and 1905, increasing the capacity to 60,000 and making it the biggest stadium in England for a time. For most of the 20th century, the stadium changed very little, despite various plans for development of the ground. The old West Stand was replaced with the Milburn Stand in 1987, the Sir John Hall Stand replacing the Leazes End in 1993, and the rest of the ground renovated making the ground a 37,000 capacity all-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
. Between 1998 and 2000, double tiers were added to the Milburn and Sir John Hall stands to bring the venue up to its current capacity of 52,354. There were plans to build a new 90,000 seater stadium in Leazes park, just behind St James' with Newcastle Falcons taking over St James' Park, but due to protests the plans were dropped. St James' Park currently seats 52,354 people, but former club owner Mike Ashley had said he would consider taking the roof off The Gallowgate end and adding another 6,000 seats, taking the total capacity to 58,420, but only if the team managed to finish in the top six places of the Premier League.
In October 2009, Ashley announced that he planned to lease the name of the ground in a bid to increase revenue, and in November the stadium was temporarily renamed sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium. This name was only supposed to be used until the end of the 2009–10 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2009–10 season, but lasted until November 2011. On 10 November 2011, the club officially changed the name of the stadium to the Sports Direct Arena, although this was an interim name to showcase the sponsorship capabilities of the stadium. The company, owned by Ashley, was not paying anything for the deal.
On 9 October 2012, payday loan company Wonga.com became Newcastle United's main commercial sponsor and purchased the stadium naming rights but restored the St James' Park name.
Since 1982, the stadium is served by St James Metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro. The station is decorated in a black and white colour scheme, with archive photographs of the club's players.
The club's current training ground is located at Darsley Park, which is north of the city at Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Benton. The facility was opened in July 2003 and is also used by the Newcastle Falcons rugby team.
Ownership
Newcastle United was set up as a private company limited by shares on 6 September 1895. The club traded in this way for much of the 20th century, dominated by McKeag, Westwood and Seymour family ownership, until April 1997, when John Hall John Hall may refer to:
Academics
* John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic
* John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal
* John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
, who bought 72.9% of the club for £3 million in 1991, floated the club on the stock exchange as a public limited company, with less than half the shares sold to the Hall family and the majority holding going to his business partner Freddy Shepherd. Later that year, Hall stepped down as chairman and was replaced by Shepherd, with the Hall family represented on the board by John's son Douglas. In December 1998, after buying a 6.3% stake in the club for £10 million, the media group Virgin Media, NTL had considered a full takeover of the club. This was later dropped after the Competition Commission, established in April 1999, expressed concerns about football clubs being owned by media companies.
In 2007, businessman Mike Ashley purchased the combined stakes of both Douglas and John Hall, 41% share in the club, through a holding company St James Holdings, with a view to buy the rest. Upon purchasing this share, he appointed Chris Mort as chairman, while gaining more shares, owning 93.19% of the club by 29 June 2007. This figure reached 95% on 11 July 2007, forcing the remaining shareholders to sell their shares.
After completing the purchase of the club, Ashley had announced that he planned to sell the club on three occasions. The first occurred after fan protests over the resignation of Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
on 14 September 2008, when Ashley stated, "I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do." However, he took it off the market on 28 December 2008 after being unable to find a buyer. On 31 May 2009, it was reported that Ashley was attempting to sell the club again. On 8 June 2009, Ashley confirmed that the club was up for sale at an asking price of £100 million. By the end of August 2009, the club was back off the market. On 16 October 2017, Newcastle United announced that Ashley had once again put the club up for sale, reporting that he hoped that a deal could be concluded by Christmas 2017.
Saudi-led takeover
In April 2020, it was widely reported that a consortium consisting of Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, was finalising an offer to acquire Newcastle United. The proposed sale prompted concerns and criticism, such as arguments considering it sportwashing of Saudi Arabia's Human rights in Saudi Arabia, human rights record, as well as ongoing piracy of sports broadcasts in the region.
In May 2020, two Conservative Party (UK), Conservative MPs called upon the government to scrutinise aspects of the deal, with Karl McCartney calling for the sale to be blocked, and Giles Watling calling upon the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to hold an oral evidence session regarding sports piracy in Saudi Arabia. In May 2020, ''The Guardian'' reported that the Premier League had obtained a report from the World Trade Organization (published publicly the following month), which contained evidence that Saudi nationals had backed beoutQ – a pirate broadcaster carrying the BeIN Sports (Middle East TV network), beIN Sports networks in the region since the Qatar diplomatic crisis. In June 2020, ''The Guardian'' reported that Richard Masters (football), Richard Masters, who appeared in front of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, had hinted possible takeover of Newcastle United. However, the MPs warned it would be "humiliating" to allow a Saudi Arabian consortium to take charge given the country's record on piracy and human rights.
In July 2020, ''The Guardian'' reported that Saudi Arabia's decision to ban beIN Sports broadcast from operating in the nation, had further complicated the takeover of Newcastle United. On 30 July 2020, Saudi Arabia announced its withdrawal from the Newcastle deal, stating "with a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club". The group also stated that the "prolonged process" was a major factor in them pulling out. The collapse of the takeover was met with widespread criticism from Newcastle fans, with Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah accusing the Premier League of treating fans of the club with "contempt" and subsequently wrote to Masters for an explanation.
Despite the consortium's withdrawal, disputes over the takeover continued. On 9 September 2020, Newcastle United released a statement claiming that the Premier League had officially rejected the takeover by the consortium and accused Masters and the Premier League board of "[not] acting appropriately in relation to [the takeover]", while stating that the club would be considering any relevant legal action. The Premier League strongly denied this in a statement released the next day, expressing "surprise" and "disappointment" at Newcastle's statement.
On 7 October 2021, the Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media confirmed that they had officially completed the acquisition of Newcastle United.
An investigation in May 2022 by ''The Guardian'' claimed that the British government of Boris Johnson was involved in Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle United. In April 2021, it was revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had warned Johnson in a text message, stating that the Premier League’s “wrong” decision would impact on UK-Saudi diplomatic relations. Following the warning, Johnson had appointed his special envoy for the Gulf, Edward Lister, to take up the case. It was later reported that Johnson’s extensive efforts also involved the Minister of Investment Gerry Grimstone, Baron Grimstone of Boscobel, Lord Gerry Grimstone, who held discussions with the Premier League Chairman Gary Hoffman (businessman), Gary Hoffman and Saudi representatives well-connected with MBS’ office. However, the UK government and Johnson said they were not involved in the Saudi takeover. After Premier League’s approval, Hoffman informed the 20 English Football clubs that there was extensive pressure from the government. However, he said the decision was not influenced by it. A separate report revealed that despite the US’ conclusion that Jamal Khashoggi’s Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, assassination was ordered by Saudi’s Prince Mohammed, he was able to avert the owners’ and directors’ test of the Premier League. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a campaign group, has accused the Saudi government of using football, motor racing and golf for “sportswashing”, Josh Noble, a sports editor for the Financial Times, writes. HRW defines "sportswashing" as “an effort to distract from its serious human rights abuses by taking over events that celebrate human achievement”.
Social responsibility
Newcastle United established the Newcastle United Foundation in summer 2008, which seeks to encourage learning and promote healthy living amongst disadvantaged children, young people and families in the North East region, as well as promoting equality and diversity. The Foundation's manager Kate Bradley told charity news website The Third Sector, "Children look up to players as their heroes, and anything they say is instantly taken on board. If Newcastle defender Steven Taylor tells them not to eat a Mars bar for breakfast, they'll listen." In 2010, the charity taught over 5,000 children about healthy living.
The Foundation's commitment, along with a similar foundation run by West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion, the unique relationship that Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
has with Acorns Children's Hospice and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur has with SOS Children's Villages UK, are some leading examples of commitment in the highest level of football to responsibility and change in the communities in which they work and who enrich them through their support and ticket sales. The work of these clubs, and others, is changing the way professional sport interacts with their communities and supporters.
In December 2012, the club announced that it had become the world's first carbon positive football club.
Supporters and rivalries
The Newcastle United Independent Supporters Association is the Supporters' groups, official supporter's group for the club. Through its chairman Frank Gilmore, a local public house, pub manager,[www.chroniclelive.co.uk](_blank)
TV's red card, 17 September 2002
Fans angry as Bowyer allowed to stay at Newcastle after fight, Northern Echo archive, first published 4 April 2005 the group has been quoted in the press with regard to events at Newcastle United since 2002. Supporters of Newcastle United are drawn from all over the North East England, North East and beyond, with supporters' clubs in some countries across the world. The club's nickname is The Magpies, while the club's supporters are also known as the ''Geordies'' or the ''Toon Army''. The name ''Toon'' originates from the Geordie pronunciation of town. In a 2004 survey by Co-operative Financial Services, it was found that Newcastle United topped the league table for the cost incurred and distance travelled by Newcastle-based fans wishing to travel to every Premier League away game. The total distance travelled for a fan to attend every away game from Newcastle was found to be equivalent to a round-the-world trip. In the 2009–10 Newcastle United F.C. season, 2009–10 season, when the club were playing in English football's second tier, the Football League Championship, the average attendance at St James' Park was 43,388, the fourth-highest for an English club that season. At the end of the 2011–12 Premier league season, Newcastle United held the third-highest average attendance for the season, at 49,935. This figure was only surpassed by Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, the only two clubs in the Premier League with larger stadiums at the time.
The club's supporters publish a number of fanzines including ''True Faith'' and ''The Mag'', along with NUFC.com, which was established in 1996. They set up Newcastle United Supporters Trust in September 2008, aiming to "represent the broad church of Newcastle United's support." In addition to the usual English football chants, Newcastle's supporters sing the traditional Tyneside song "Blaydon Races
"Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in a style deriving from music hall. It is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle Falcons rugby club, a ...
." Prior to each home game the team enters the field to " Local Hero", written by Newcastle supporter Mark Knopfler, founder of Dire Straits. Traditionally, Newcastle's main rivals are Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, against whom the Tyne–Wear derby
The Tyne–Wear derby, also known as the North East derby, is a local derby between the association football clubs Sunderland and Newcastle United. The derby is an inter-city rivalry in North East England with the two cities of Sunderland and Ne ...
is competed, along with Middlesbrough F.C, with whom they compete in the Tyne-Tees derby.
In 1998, The Police founder and Newcastle fan Sting (musician), Sting wrote a song in support of Newcastle, called “Black and White Army (Bringing The Pride Back Home)”. In 2015, some Newcastle fans boycotted games in protest of club management by Mike Ashley, and they were supported by famous club fans like Sting and Jimmy Nail.
Records and statistics
As of the 2019–20 season, Newcastle United have spent 88 seasons in the top-flight. They are eighth in the Premier League records and statistics#All-time Premier League table, all-time Premier League table and have the ninth-highest total of major honours won by an English club with 11 wins. The holder of the record for the most appearances is Jimmy Lawrence, having made 496 first team appearances between 1904 and 1921. The club's top goal scorer is Alan Shearer, who scored 206 goals in all competitions between 1996 and 2006. Andy Cole holds the record for the most goals scored in a season: 41 in the 1993–94 Newcastle United F.C. season, 1993–94 season in the Premier League. Shay Given is the most capped international for the club, with 134 appearances for Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic of Ireland.
The club's widest victory margin in the league was in the 13–0 win against Newport County A.F.C., Newport County in the Second Division in 1946. Their heaviest defeat in the league was 9–0 against Burton Wanderers F.C., Burton Wanderers in the Second Division in 1895. The club's longest number of consecutive seasons in the top flight of English football was 32 from 1898–99 until 1933–34.
Newcastle's record home attendance is 68,386 for a First Division match against Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on 3 September 1930. The club's highest attendance in the Premier League is 52,389, in a match against Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
on 6 May 2012. Newcastle lost the game 2–0. The highest transfer fee received for a Newcastle player is £35 million, from Liverpool for Andy Carroll in January 2011, while the most spent by the club on a player is £63 million, for Alexander Isak from La Liga side Real Sociedad in August 2022.
Players
Current squad
Loaned Out
Reserves and Academy
Notable players
Player of the Year
Source
Newcastle United F.C.
Club officials
Current backroom staff
First Team
Under-23 and Under-18
Scouting Team
Board of Directors
Honours
:Source:
Domestic
League
*Premier League, First Division/Premier League (Tier 1)
**Winners (4): 1904–05 Football League First Division, 1904–05, 1906–07 Football League First Division, 1906–07, 1908–09 Football League First Division, 1908–09, 1926–27 Football League First Division, 1926–27
**Runners-up (2): 1995–96 FA Premier League, 1995–96, 1996–97 FA Premier League, 1996–97
**Football League Championship, Second Division/Championship (Tier 2)
**Winners (4): 1964–65 Football League Second Division, 1964–65, 1992–93 Football League First Division, 1992–93, 2009–10 Football League Championship, 2009–10, 2016–17 EFL Championship, 2016–17
Cups
*FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
**Winners (6): 1909–10 FA Cup, 1909–10, 1923–24 FA Cup, 1923–24, 1931–32 FA Cup, 1931–32, 1950–51 FA Cup, 1950–51, 1951–52 FA Cup, 1951–52, 1954–55 FA Cup, 1954–55
**Runners-up (7): 1904–05 FA Cup, 1904–05, 1905–06 FA Cup, 1905–06, 1907–08 FA Cup, 1907–08, 1910–11 FA Cup, 1910–11, 1973–74 FA Cup, 1973–74, 1997–98 FA Cup, 1997–98, 1998–99 FA Cup, 1998–99
*EFL Cup, League Cup/EFL Cup
**Runners-up (1): 1975–76 Football League Cup, 1975–76
*FA Community Shield, FA Charity/Community Shield
**Winners (1): 1909 FA Charity Shield, 1909
**Runners-up (5): 1932 FA Charity Shield, 1932, 1951 FA Charity Shield, 1951, 1952 FA Charity Shield, 1952, 1955 FA Charity Shield, 1955, 1996 FA Charity Shield, 1996
*Sheriff of London Charity Shield
**Winners (1): 1907 Sheriff of London Charity Shield, 1907
European
*Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
**Winners (1): 1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 1968–69
*UEFA Intertoto Cup
**Winners (1): 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, 2006
Other honours
*Texaco Cup
The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions.
It wa ...
**Winners (2): 1973–74 Texaco Cup, 1973–74, 1974–75 Texaco Cup, 1974–75
*Anglo-Italian Cup
**Winners (1): 1973 Anglo-Italian Cup, 1973
See also
* Newcastle United W.F.C.
References
Sources
Books
*
External links
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*
{{Authority control
Newcastle United F.C.,
Sport in Newcastle upon Tyne
Football clubs in England
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Association football clubs established in 1892
Former English Football League clubs
FA Cup winners
Premier League clubs
Football clubs in Tyne and Wear
1892 establishments in England
Public Investment Fund
Reuben Brothers
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winning clubs
UEFA Intertoto Cup winning clubs