During the 1989–90 season, Newcastle United participated in the Football League Division Two. After the disappointment of the previous season's relegation, the manager Jim Smith again dabbled in the transfer market, offloading the captain

Kenny Sansom Kenneth Graham Sansom (born 26 September 1958) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. An England international, he played for clubs such as Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers, ...

, the former captain

Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager. As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Watfo ...

, Denmark's Frank Pingel,

Rob McDonald Robert Roderick McDonald (born 22 January 1959) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker or midfielder for Hull City, SC Cambuur, FC Wageningen, Willem II Tilburg, FC Groningen, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Clube de Por ...

and the promising youngsters Michael O'Neill and

Darren Jackson Darren Jackson (born 25 July 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played predominantly as a forward. Jackson played for several clubs in Scotland and England, including Newcastle United, Dundee United, Hibernian, Celtic ...

. With new signings including their former player Mark McGhee, the team started the season with an emphatic 5–2 win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

at St. James' Park that saw another new signing,

Micky Quinn Michael Quinn (born 2 May 1962) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio presenter for TalkSPORT. As a player he was a centre forward from 1979 until 1996. He most notably played in the Premier League for Coventry City, a ...

, score four times on his debut. After a promising start, the team struggled until Smith signed the Scotland skipper,

Roy Aitken Robert Sime "Roy" Aitken (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He made over 480 league appearances for Celtic, and later played for Newcastle United, St Mirren and Aberdeen. Aitken also made 57 international ...

, who instilled steel into a lightweight midfield of ball players Kevin Brock,

Kevin Dillon Kevin Brady Dillon (born August 19, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Johnny "Drama" Chase on the HBO comedy series '' Entourage'', Bunny in the war film ''Platoon'', and John Densmore in the musical biopic ''The Doo ...

and John Gallacher. United regained their momentum with a change of formation that saw Bjorn Kristensen switched to sweeper and the team returned to the top of the table, only to be overtaken by Leeds and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. Left to compete in the promotion play-offs after finishing third, they lost to their local rivals Sunderland in the semi-finals. It was a disappointing end to a season that also saw unrest from the fans and talk of take-overs.

League table

Appearances, goals and cards

:''(Substitute appearances in brackets)''

Coaching staff

External links

Newcastle United Football Club - Fixtures 1989-90Season Details - 1989-90 - toon1892
{{DEFAULTSORT:1989-90 Newcastle United F.C. season Newcastle United F.C. seasons Newcastle United