Newcastle United F.C.
- For the Australian club, see Newcastle United Jets.
| File:Newcastle United crest.png | |||
| Full name | Newcastle United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Magpies, The Toon | ||
| Founded | 1892 | ||
| Ground | St James' Park Newcastle upon Tyne England | ||
| Capacity | 52,387[1] | ||
| Chairman |  Freddie Shepherd | ||
| Manager | Glenn Roeder | ||
| League | FA Premier League | ||
| 2005–06 | Premier League, 7th | ||
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Newcastle United Football Club (also known as The Magpies or The Toon) are an English professional football team based in Newcastle upon Tyne. They play in the FA Premier League and are historically the seventh most successful club in English football.[2] This takes into account all results since the beginning of English league football in 1888.
The club formed in 1892 after the merger of two local clubs, Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has since played at St James' Park, the old Newcastle West End ground in the city. Newcastle United supporters refer to themselves as the "Toon Army", ("toon" being the pronunciation of "town" in the local geordie dialect). Newcastle's traditional local rivals are Sunderland, with whom they have contested the Tyne-Wear derby since 1898.
History
- For more details on this topic, see History of Newcastle United F.C..
In November 1881, the Stanley Cricket Club of South Byker decided to form an association football club, to play during the winter after the Cricket season had ended. They won their first match 5-0 against Elswick Leather Works 2nd XI. Just under a year later, in October 1882, they changed their name to Newcastle East End FC to avoid confusion with the cricket club in the town of Stanley, County Durham. Meanwhile, across the city, another cricket club began to take an interest in football and in August 1882, they formed Newcastle West End FC. West End played their early football on their cricket pitch, but later moved to St James' Park.
The region's first league competition was formed in 1889 and the FA Cup began to cause interest. Ambitious East End turned professional in 1889. West End, however, did not fare so well; in Spring 1892, West End approached East End with a view to a takeover, the directors having decided that the club could no longer continue.
Ultimately, it was decided that West End's players and most of its backroom staff would join East End. East End also took over the lease on St. James' Park, this effectively merged the two rival clubs together. By December 1892, they decided to give the club a new name and a new image. At a public meeting, several new names, including Newcastle Rangers and Newcastle City, were suggested, before all agreed on Newcastle United. The FA agreed to the name change on 22 December, but the new title was not legalised until 6 September 1895, when Newcastle United Football Club Co. Ltd. was constituted.
Early League and FA Cup Champions
Newcastle United went on to lift the League Championship on three occasions during the 1900s; 1905, 1907 and 1909. They were the best team in the land. Although it was not all roses, during the 1908-09 season, English football saw them record what is still a record home defeat in the top flight; they were beaten, 9-1 by rivals Sunderland, who count the result as their record win. Newcastle also reached five FA Cup Finals in seven years (winning only in 1910 against Barnsley F.C. in a replay at Goodison Park away from the regular FA Cup Venue of Crystal Palace).
After World War I, they won the League a fourth time during 1927. The team returned to the FA Cup final in 1924, it was only the second ever final at Wembley stadium, they defeated Aston Villa. Famous players during this period included the likes of; Hughie Gallacher, Neil Harris, Stan Seymour and Frank Hudspeth.
More FA Cup success: 1950s
During the 1950s, United lifted the FA Cup trophy on three occasions within a five year period. In 1951 they defeated Blackpool 2-0, a year later Arsenal were beaten 1-0 and in 1955 United defeated Manchester City 3-1. The Magpies had a high profile, and so did their players; 'Wor Jackie' Milburn and Bobby 'Dazzler' Mitchell in particular.
An old war horse returned to revitalise the Magpies in the shape of Joe Harvey, who had skippered the club to much of their post-war success. He teamed up with Stan Seymour to rebuild United and the Black'n'Whites returned to the elite as Second Division Champions in 1965. United then became very much an unpredictable side, always capable of defeating the best, but never quite realising their potential.
Success in Europe
Joe Harvey's side qualified for Europe for the first time in 1968 and surprised many the following year by lifting the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (which two years later became the UEFA Cup), beating the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Feynoord and Real Zaragoza along the way, before triumphing over two legs against Hungary's Újpest FC in the final. United possessed a solid eleven, and Newcastle's tradition of fielding a famous Number 9 at centre-forward since its earliest years continued, as big Welshman Wyn Davies was prominent along with the likes of Bryan 'Pop' Robson, Bobby Moncur and Frank Clark.
In the years that followed European success, manager Harvey brought in a string of talented entertainers who thrilled the Gallowgate crowd. Pleasers like Jimmy Smith, Tony Green and Terry Hibbitt and a new centre-forward by the name of Malcolm Macdonald. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was one of United's most popular figures. He had an impressive goalscoring tally, which led United's attack to Wembley twice, in 1974 and 1976, against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the League Cup. But on each occasion the Magpies failed to bring the trophy back to Tyneside.
By the start of the 1980s, United had declined dramatically and were languishing in the Second Division. Gordon Lee had replaced Harvey as boss, yet he in turn soon gave way to Richard Dinnis and then Bill McGarry. But it was Arthur Cox who steered United back again to the First Division with ex-England skipper Kevin Keegan the focus of the side, having joined the Magpies in 1982.
With managers such as Jack Charlton, Willie McFaul and Jim Smith, Newcastle remained in the top-flight until the team was relegated once more in 1989.
Newcastle rise back up
Later, Kevin Keegan returned to Tyneside to replace Ossie Ardiles as manager on a short term contract in 1992, taking what he claimed to be the only job that could tempt him back into football. United were struggling at the wrong end of Division Two; Sir John Hall had all but taken control of the club and he needed a minor miracle to stop the Magpies from tumbling into the Third Division for the first time in their history. Survival was confirmed by winning both of their final two league games, at home to Portsmouth and away to Leicester City, the latter to a last minute own goal, although as it transpired, Newcastle would have survived even if they had lost at Leicester .
The 1992-93 season saw a dramatic turn around in the club's fortunes. They won their first eleven league games before a 1-0 home defeat against Grimsby Town ended the run, two games short of the English league record of 13 consecutive wins. Playing an exciting brand of attacking football Newcastle became Division One champions with a 2-0 away win, coincidentally at Grimsby, and gained promotion to the Premier League.
The Premiership Years
Under Keegan, Newcastle continued to succeed even at the higher level. Impressing people with their attacking flair, they finished a commendable third in 1993-94, in their first season back in the top flight. The season was characterised by attacking football and high scoring matches, notably an early season game against Sheffield Wednesday, winning 4-2. The attacking philosophy of Keegan led to Newcastle becoming labelled by Sky television as "The Entertainers".
The following season Newcastle finished 6th, after the shock mid-season sale of top striker Andy Cole to Manchester United in a deal publicly valued at £7 million (this comprised Man United giving Newcastle £6 million plus Keith Gillespie, although accounts later revealed his book value as only being £250,000).
The 1995-96 season would see major team-strengthening, David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and others joining the squad. The team came close to winning the FA Premier League, but despite being 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Manchester United, Newcastle had a terrible run of form and lost out. One match in particular stands out, the 4-3 defeat at Liverpool, which is often voted the best game ever in the first 14 years of the English Premier League.
The following season saw Newcastle finish in second place again, despite the signing of Alan Shearer (A then world record transfer fee of £15 million). However the blow of a second successive failure to win the Premiership was softened as Newcastle defeated Manchester United in a famous 5-0 victory on October 24, 1996.
Keegan resigned in January 1997, and was replaced by Kenny Dalglish, who it was felt would help solidify the team defensively. In their first season under his guidance, Newcastle entered the Champions League, and reached the 1998 FA Cup Final, defeated 2-0 by Arsenal at Wembley. However, Dalglish's cautious brand of football proved unpopular with supporters used to Newcastle's previous swashbuckling style; more importantly this careful style was not producing results. Newcastle lost their entertainers tag. Several unsuccessful transfer deals along with a poor start to the 1998-99 season led to Dalglish being sacked.
Ruud Gullit, mostly famous for being a trophy winning manager with Chelsea a few years previously, was put in charge promising to bring back 'sexy football' to Newcastle. The team again started promisingly, and reached the FA Cup final that season. Unfortunately, this time around they were to lose to Manchester United. Gullit also made some high profile mistakes in the transfer market (notably, Spanish defender Marcelino and Croatian forward Silvio Maric bore the brunt of supporters frustrations). Gullit also fell out with several senior players, firstly by refusing to give long time midfield stalwart Robert Lee a squad number and then by dropping talisman Alan Shearer for the home game against bitter rivals Sunderland; this was seen as a very unpopular decision by the fans especially since the result was a humiliating 2-1 defeat. After a dreadful start to the 1999-00 season, and increasing pressure from the club's supporters, Gullit resigned.
Veteran ex-England manager, and local boy, Sir Bobby Robson was brought in to replace Gullit. His first job, unthinkable a few years previously, was to ensure Newcastle's survival in the Premiership. This was achieved, at the expense of stylish football, but with Lee and Shearer back onside. That said, Robson's first home match in charge was remarkable, Newcastle beating Sheffield Wednesday 8-0, with Shearer scoring five. Over the next few seasons Robson built up an exciting young squad. Players such as Kieron Dyer (a Gullit signing), Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert ensured the team were capable of once again punching their weight in the league. A Championship challenge emerged over the months of the 2001-02 season, and Newcastle achieved qualification for the lucrative Champions' League. They were once again dubbed the entertainers. They also reached the quarter finals of both domestic cup competitions.
The 2002-03 season saw another championship challenge. In their first premiership match of the season they went to the top of the premiership, after a 4-0 win against West Ham United. Newcastle won both their Champions League qualifiers, but lost their opening three matches in the group. They had a remarkable fight back winning their remaining three games in the group, including beating eventual finalists Juventus. They qualified for the second group stage after Craig Bellamy got the winner against Feyenoord. Newcastle lost their opening two games in the second phase against Inter Milan, and Barcelona. They won their next two, and then drew 2-2 against Inter, but should of won. Newcastle were defeated by Barcelona, and they went out of the competition. The performance in the Champions League put Newcastle back among the best teams in Europe. They finished their Premiership campaign third to put Newcastle back in the qualifying stages of the Champions league the following season. They retained their badge as the entertainers.
In 2003-04 Newcastle crashed out of the Champions league in the qualifyers, in a penalty shoot out. This put them into the UEFA Cup. Newcastle had a bad start in the premiership, but turned it around and were fighting for the champions league places. Their home form was good, but they drew to many matches away, and lost out to Liverpool for the champions league, and had to settle for a UEFA Cup place, finishing fifth. Newcastle reached the semi final of the UEFA Cup. They still retained their entertainers tag, because they still played attacking, and flowing football, and were still everyones favourite other team.
Recent times
After nearly five years in charge, Sir Bobby Robson was dismissed on 30 August 2004 following a poor start to the 2004-05 season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. Graeme Souness was appointed as Robson's successor two weeks later.
Graeme Souness replaced Sir Bobby Robson as manager on 13 September 2004, two days after the Magpies' match against Souness' former club Blackburn Rovers. After initial good results, the team soon became mired in the bottom half of the table, remaining there until December when they reached the top half of the table for the first time that season. Newcastle lost their tag as the entertainers. They finished a dissapointing and suprising 14th, however, they reached the quarter final of the UEFA Cup, and the semi final of the FA Cup. During his time in charge, Souness had notable disagreements with what were seen as key players, most notably Craig Bellamy in January 2005. After Bellamy publically called Souness a liar live on Sky Sports News, it was clear the club was not big enough for both of them and Bellamy was forced to leave on loan to Celtic, an unpopular decision with many fans. However, later that year, during August 2005, the club signed Michael Owen for a record £17 million from Real Madrid. Unfortunately, injuries meant Owen played only ten matches for Newcastle in his first six months at the club.
Newcastle started the new season poorly, and in February 2006 Souness was sacked following a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City. Former West Ham manager, Glenn Roeder (who was Newcastle United's Youth Academy Director) was given the Caretaker Manager role, assisted by Club Captain, Alan Shearer. In Roeder's first game in charge against Portsmouth on 4 February 2006, Alan Shearer scored his 201st goal for Newcastle, overtaking Jackie Milburn as the club's highest ever goal-scorer. His tally later reached 206 in a match against rivals Sunderland, on 17 April 2006 - a game in which he also suffered a serious knee injury, forcing his retirement three games earlier than planned.
Roeder was appointed as caretaker-manager to help Newcastle United from the relegation battle, after this appointment, Newcastle United ended in 7th place in the league, which earned the club a UEFA Intertoto Cup place, and back in Europe. Newcastle also reached the quarter final of the FA Cup Roeder was appointed as Newcastle manager on a permanent basis, on a two year contract. His first major signing was Damien Duff from Chelsea for £5 million. On August 24 2006 he completed his second major signing Obafemi Martins from Internazionale for £10.1 million. On August 31, he signed Giuseppe Rossi on loan from Manchester United until January 1 and Antoine Sibierski from Manchester City on a one year deal. On September 1, Roeder also brought in former player Olivier Bernard on a free transfer, after his release from the Rangers.
 | This article documents a current sporting event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. Initial news reports, scores, or statistics may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
In August 2006, the Magpies won their first trophy since 1993 - the Intertoto Cup, as a result of being the Intertoto qualifier to go furthest in the subsequent UEFA Cup. However, their start to the Premiership campaign was dismal and they looked in real danger of relegation in November 2006 - none more so than after an embarrassing 1-0 home defeat to newly promoted Sheffield United, after which around 300-500 fans staged a protest outside the club's Milburn Reception, in favour of chairman Freddie Shepherd to leave the club.
However, since then Newcastle's form has picked up, helped in part by the return from injury of Shay Given, Kieron Dyer and forward Obafemi Martins. There have also been excellent performances from many of the youth players, particularly Paul Huntington and David Edgar, who have been more than eligible deputys for their injured teammates during a season in which Newcastle has faced one of its worst ever injury crises, at one time having 14 first team players injured.
Newcastle easily secured qualification for the next round of the UEFA Cup finishing on top of what had been labelled the "Group of Death" ahead of Celta Vigo, Palermo, Fenerbache and Eintracht Frankfurt. They were drawn to face Belgian side S.V. Zulte-Waregem in the next knock-out round.
After a spell of victories and encouraging results, Newcastle returned to the bottom half of the table after back-to-back defeats over the Christmas period. To start the New Year, Newcastle managed an encouraging 2-2 draw against league leaders Manchester United, a game remembered for stunning long range goals from James Milner and 19-year-old Canadian defender David Edgar (who was making his home debut), and a 3-2 away victory against Tottenham Hotspur, signalling a positive start to 2007.
Despite this, they embarassingly crashed out of the FA Cup after a disastrous 1-5 defeat at home to Birmingham City. In the league, this was followed by a 2-2 home draw to relegation battlers West Ham United. After the last two disappointing results Newcastle bounced back, beating Aston Villa 3-1. Although their sporadic results continued with a disappointing loss in London going down 2-1 against Fulham.
The next match was a visit from third-placed Liverpool. Newcastle overcame the odds to record a dramatic 2-1 victory after falling behind to Craig Bellamy's goal. Midfielder Nolberto Solano, scored the winning goal, a penalty. After safely negotiating their way into the last 16 of the UEFA cup with 3-1 and 1-0 wins against S.V. Zulte-Waregem, Newcastle's inconsistent form continued with a 1-0 loss away to Wigan.
Colours
Newcastle originally wore red and white stripes when the East End and West End clubs unified, continuing the tradition of the defunct Newcastle East End. To avoid confusion with their neighbours Sunderland, Newcastle changed to their now familiar black and white stripes in 1904. Ever since then, this basic colour design of the home kit has remained steadfastly unchanged, although the sock colour has occasionally changed from black to white over the years - notably during the Ruud Gullit era, who believed white was lucky. They have also sometimes worn white shorts when playing other stripe-wearing teams who also wear black shorts.
Conversely, Newcastle's change or away colours have beeen very inconsistent, with no one particular colour being more consistently recognisable than others. In the 1970s and 1980s, the change kits were mostly yellow and green, quite similar to Norwich City's home kit - these colours are often seen on Malcolm Macdonald. Since the 1990s, the away strip has often been some shade of blue. Other common away colours are all black, all white, yellow or grey. The most unusual away colour is arguably the maroon and blue horizontal hoop colours from the 1996-97 season. These colours later returned for the 2006-07 season.
In the past few years Newcastle's European shirt colours have been all yellow with black shorts and last year all blue. The current European strip is sky blue and black (see bottom right).
Newcastle's shirt sponsors were Scottish & Newcastle Breweries from 1982 - 1986. In 1986, Greenalls took over and ran until 1990 when S & N returned for a ten year stint. In 2000, NTL took over for three years, and then the club was sponsored by Northern Rock. Newcastle's home and away kit is currently manufactured by Adidas and in the past has been manufactured by Admiral, Bukta, Umbro and Asics.
Stadium
- Main article: St James' Park
Newcastle's home stadium is St James' Park, which has been their home since the merger of East End and West End in 1891, though football was first played there in 1880. At the turn of the 20th century the ground could hold 30,000, but this was soon expanded to 60,000 [3]. However, the ground was altered little in the next 70 years, and by the 1980s was looking dated.
The Bradford fire in 1985 prompted renovation, but progress was slow due to financial difficulties. The takeover of the club by Sir John Hall in 1992 resolved these difficulties, and the stadium was redeveloped to comply with the Taylor Report. Later, the club wished to build a new ground in the nearby Leazes Park, however these plans were quashed. In response to this, the club expanded St. James' Park further. Following the completion of the construction in 2000, St James' Park became the club ground with the second highest capacity in England, with 52,387 seats, behind Manchester United's Old Trafford, although it later became the third highest capacity after the completion of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.
Two stands, the Sir John Hall stand and the Milburn stand, have two tiers and are of cantilever construction, whereas the East Stand and the Gallowgate End are roughly half as high, and each have a single tier. This makes the stadium look quite lopsided at times, although it also makes it unique. The Gallowgate End is traditionally home to Newcastle's most vociferous supporters, as it was once the stand with no roof covering.
Supporters
Newcastle fans often refer to themselves as the "The Toon Army" and "Geordies". The Toon name comes from the geordie word for "Town". The term Geordie is less clear cut, it may originate from the "Geordie Lamps" - safer miners lamps developed by George Stephenson. It has been claimed that during the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, King George the second recruited many troops from around the Newcastle area. They were known as George's men, or Geordies men in the local dialect, hence Geordies.
Newcastle's supporters are regarded to be among the most passionate in the country, with consistently large home crowds. The club is based in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, the only major club in the city. It attracts fans from all backgrounds. In recent times, where other clubs have attracted fanbases from all around the world, Newcastle's fanbase is still mostly from the area, with a small percentage from other parts of the country and abroad, particularly Scandinavia[citation needed].
Like all major English football clubs, Newcastle has a number of domestic supporters' clubs. The club's supporters publish fanzines such as The Mag. In addition to the usual English football chants, Newcastle's supporters sing the traditional Tyneside song "Blaydon Races".
Newcastle's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbour, Sunderland, colloquially known as "The Mackems" (a term used by Geordies and Mackems alike and coined in the shipyards from the way Wearsiders pronounce the phrase "make them and take them", referring to the ships built on the Wear). Matches between the two are referred to as Tyne and Wear derby. Newcastle also have a smaller rivalry with Middlesbrough. However this is never as intense as matches between Newcastle and Sunderland. It's generally believed that Middlesborough hold the rivalry in higher regard than their Newcastle counterparts[citation needed].
Some notable Newcastle United fans include Prime Minister Tony Blair, TV 'comedy' duo Ant and Dec, the Emmerdale and former Byker Grove actress Charlie Hardwick, AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, television presenter Gabby Logan, "Auf Wiedersehen Pet" stars Tim Healy and Jimmy Nail, singer Sting, actor Robson Green, Jack Ryder, who played Jamie Mitchell in EastEnders, the late Peter Taylor, author of the Taylor Report into the safety of football stadia, England fast bowler Steve Harmison, actress Honor Blackman, comedian Ross Noble, former "Blue Peter" presenter Katy Hill, sports commentators Brendan Foster (athletics), Iron Maiden gutiarist Jannick Gers, Sid Waddell (darts), John McCririck (horse racing), authors Keith Topping and Malcolm Holt and the late Basil Cardinal Hume, Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in 1999.
Newcastle in popular culture
Newcastle also formed the backdrop to one of the most successful football-related films, Goal! (2005).[4] The film is centred on a young man named Santiago Muñez (played by Kuno Becker), hoping to become a professional football player. He is signed up by Newcastle United and works his way up into the first team. On the last day of the season he scores the goal which qualifies Newcastle for the European Cup. Numerous Newcastle players appeared as themselves in the film, such as Alan Shearer, Kieron Dyer and Patrick Kluivert.
The club was the focus for another film, Purely Belter (2000).[5] It features two teenage Newcastle United supporters desperately trying to get money by any means necessary, in order to afford season tickets for home games played by Newcastle. Alan Shearer makes another cameo appearance; he signs autographs before the boys steal his car.
Statistics and records
Jimmy Lawrence holds the record for the most Newcastle appearances, having played 496 first-team matches between 1904 and 1921 as a goalkeeper. Former captain and left back Frank Hudspeth comes second, having played 472 times, scoring on 37 occasions.
The club's top goalscorer with 206 goals in all competitions is former captain Alan Shearer, who surpassed Jackie Milburn's tally of 200 on 4 February, 2006 against Portsmouth. Milburn had held the record since 1957, his striking partner Len White is the third highest scorer at Newcastle with 153 goals.
Newcastle's record home attendance is 68,386, against Chelsea on 3 September, 1930. The capacity of St James' Park is currently 52,387, so it is unlikely that these records will be broken in the foreseeable future. The highest attendance in the FA Premier League is 52,327, for a 2-0 loss against Manchester United on 28 August, 2005.
Current squad
As of 30 January, 2007 Players in bold have international caps. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
Manager history
Team managers of Newcastle United and the dates they took over. As of January 14, 2007. Only competitive matches are counted.
Frank Watt was the unoffical manager from 1895-1930, and won four First Divison titles and 3 FA Cups.
Honours
- First Division and Premier League[6] titles: 4
- 1904-05, 1906-07, 1908-09, 1926-27
- Second Division titles: 2
- 1964-65, 1992-93
- FA Cups: 6
- 1910, 1924, 1932, 1951, 1952, 1955
- Charity Shields and Community Shields[7]: 1
- 1909
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1
- 1969
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1
- 2006 (first ever overall winner)
- Texaco Cups: 2
- 1974, 1975
- Anglo-Italian Cup: 1
- 1973
Footnotes
- ^ "Modern St James' Park in detail". nufc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-2-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ PremiershipLatest.com
- ^ "The St James' Park Story: Part 1". Newcastle United official website. Retrieved March 9.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Goal!". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Purely Belter". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the FA Premier League.
- ^ The trophy was known as the Charity Shield until 2002, and as the Community Shield since then.
External links
- Official websites
- nufc.co.uk Official club website
- Newcastle United at the FA Premier League official website
- Newcastle United at the UEFA official website
- General fan sites
- News sites
- Newcastle on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Newcastle United news from The Independent
- Newcastle United news from Sky Sports
- Fanzines
