Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football 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 Fo ...

– 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' Pa ...

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 a ...

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 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, 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 football club, based i ...

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, 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 heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, 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. 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 as ...

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

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 publishe ...

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 event ...

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 sett ...

. 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

. 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 populat ...

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. 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

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, 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 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

and 1908–09. In 1904–05, they nearly did the double, losing to Aston Villa in the 1905 FA Cup Final. They were beaten again the following year by Everton in the

1906 FA Cup Final The 1906 FA Cup Final was contested by Everton and Newcastle United at Crystal Palace. Everton won 1–0, the goal scored by Alex "Sandy" Young. Match details Road to the Final References Line-upsBarnsley 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 con ...

. They lost again the following year in the

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. ...

. 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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. They defeated Aston Villa, winning the club's second

. 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, D ...

, 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 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

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

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. They were finally promoted back to the First Division at the end of the 1947–48 season. During the 1950s, Newcastle won the

three times in five years, beating Blackpool in 1951, Arsenal in 1952 and Manchester City 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. ...

, 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 ...

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

. 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 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, 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. 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, Chris Waddle 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 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 188 ...

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 were sold, and the team was relegated once more in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 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 Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

. 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 ...

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

1993–2007: Into the Premier League

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-G ...

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

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

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 The 1997–98 UEFA Champions League was the 43rd season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the sixth since its re-branding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The tournament was won by ...

despite beating

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and group winners

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...

as well as coming from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 with

Valery Lobanovsky Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi ( uk, Вале́рій Васи́льович Лобано́вський ; russian: Вале́рий Васи́льевич Лобано́вский; 6 January 1939 – 13 May 2002) was а Ukrainian football pla ...

's team in Ukraine and defeat in the

1998 FA Cup Final The 1998 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United on 16 May 1998 at the old Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1997–98 FA Cup, the 117th season of the world's oldest football knockout competi ...

. Dalglish was replaced as manager early in the following season by

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...

. The club once again finished 13th in the league and lost the

1999 FA Cup Final The 1999 FA Cup Final was an association football match that took place on 22 May 1999 at the old Wembley Stadium in London to determine the winner of the 1998–99 FA Cup. It was contested between Manchester United and Newcastle United. Goa ...

. Gullit fell into disagreements with the squad and chairman

Freddy Shepherd Freddy Shepherd (29 October 1941 – 25 September 2017) was an English businessman and the chairman of Newcastle United football club from 1997 until 2007. During his time at Newcastle, both as an active assistant to and later replacement of ...

, and quit the club four games into the 1999–2000 season with the team bottom of the table to be replaced by

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

A title challenge emerged during the 2001–02 season, and Newcastle's fourth-place finish saw them qualify for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. 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 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)

Newcastle Utd v Celtic - Alan Shearer Testimonial (4)

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

was brought in to manage by the start of the 2004–05 season. In his time at the helm, he broke the club's transfer record by signing

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...

for £16.8 million. Souness also took Newcastle to the quarter-finals of the

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

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 season.

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 ...

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 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 Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...

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 Christopher Mort is an English lawyer and former chairman of Newcastle United Football Club. Biography Mort is a lawyer for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he is head of their sports and gaming practice. Mort worked for Mike Ashley on h ...

on 25 July. Ashley then announced he would be delisting the club from the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

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 season, and Kevin Keegan was reappointed as Newcastle manager. Mort stepped down as chairman in June and was replaced by

Derek Llambias Derek David Llambias (born February 1957) is an English businessman. His career in the entertainment, bread and leisure industry stretches back more than 31 years, most recently as managing director of the exclusive Fifty Club in London. Newcast ...

, 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 manager

Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (born 27 December 1946) is an Irish former football manager and player. Kinnear played as a defender, spending the majority of his career—ten seasons—with Tottenham Hotspur. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the EFL ...

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 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 Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...

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

Hughton led Newcastle to win the

2009–10 Football League Championship The 2009–10 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format. It started on 7 A ...

, 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 season, but he was sacked on 6 December 2010. The club's board stated that they felt "an individual with more managerial experience asneeded 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 that saw Newcastle come back from four goals down to claim a point. The start of the 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 Europa League with a fifth-place finish, their highest league position since the

days. Further honours were to come as Pardew won both the

Premier League Manager of the Season The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association football award presented to managers in England. It recognises the most outstanding manager in the Premier League each season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the l ...

and the

LMA Manager of the Year The League Managers Association Awards is an annual award ceremony in English football, awarded by the League Managers Association. The most prestigious award is the LMA Manager of the Year award. It is presented to a manager from any division for ...

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 eventual finalists Benfica. Domestically, Newcastle struggled, and stayed up after a 2–1 victory over already-relegated

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

on the penultimate game of the season. Rafael Benítez

The 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 Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in December. On 26 January 2015, his assistant 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 Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an ...

earlier in the season, scoring the team's second goal. On 9 June 2015, Carver was sacked and replaced by

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...

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 Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...

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. 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 the previous year's champions

, finishing tenth in the league, their highest finish in four years. The 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

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 The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billi ...

, RB Sports & Media and

PCP Capital Partners Amanda Louise Staveley (born 11 April 1973) is a British business executive. She is notable chiefly for her connections with Middle Eastern investors. She helped a Saudi consortium take over Newcastle United in a deal completed in October 2021 a ...

. On 20 October 2021, Bruce left his position by mutual consent, after receiving a reported £8 million payout.

Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the head coach of Premier League club Newcastle United. A defender during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...

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 Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

to appoint

Dan Ashworth Dan Ashworth (born 6 March 1971) is an English football director. Currently he is working as sporting director for Premier League club Newcastle United, previously he worked as technical director for West Bromwich Albion and Brighton and Hove ...

as the new Sporting Director; the appointment was confirmed on 6 June 2022. On 15 July 2022, the club brought in

Darren Eales Darren Eales (born 6 August 1972) is an English sports executive who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Premier League club Newcastle United. He was previously a footballer who played both collegiately and professionally in the U ...

, from

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

, 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 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

, 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 Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a 2016 British film * ''Away'' (2019 film), a 2019 animated silent film * ''Away'' (TV series), a 2020 science fiction drama on Netflix Literature * ''Away'' (play), a 1986 play by M ...

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 Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pre ...

retail chain which he founded. On 4 January 2012,

Virgin Money Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South Af ...

, which had just bought Northern Rock, signed a two-year deal to sponsor Newcastle United. In January 2010, 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 season. The crest includes elements from the

of the city of

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 Papiss Demba Cissé (; born 3 June 1985) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 2 club Amiens. He formerly played for the Senegal national football team. Formerly of SC Freiburg, he once held the record of m ...

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 Newcastle Breweries (1980–86), Greenall's Beers (1986–90), McEwan's Lager and

Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale is a brown ale, originally brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development, the 1960 merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the beer natio ...

(1990–2000),

NTL NTL may refer to: Companies * NTL Incorporated and NTL Internet, later Virgin Media, communications media company ** NTL Ireland, later Virgin Media Ireland * Arqiva, UK company formerly ''NTL Broadcast'' and ''National Transcommunications L ...

(2000–03),

Northern Rock Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank i ...

(2003–12),

(2012–13) and Wonga.com (2013–17). Newcastle United's current kit manufacturers are Castore, in a deal that started in 2021. Previous kit manufacturers include

Bukta Bukta is an English sports clothing brand which was founded in 1879 in Stockport, Cheshire, England. It was also, for much of the 20th Century, a leading brand of tents and camping equipment. History E.R. Buck & Sons was founded in 1879, mainly ...

(1974–75, 1976–80),

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 10 ...

(1975–76, 1980–93), Asics (1993–95), Adidas (1995–2010) and Puma (2010–21). Other current team sponsors include Fun888, Parimatch, Carling, Monster Energy,

eToro eToro is an Israeli social trading and multi-asset investment company that focuses on providing financial and copy trading services. Its headquarters are located in Central Israel, and the company has registered offices in Cyprus, the Unite ...

, BoyleSports, Dr. Cinik Hair Hospital, TOMKET, 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 (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

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

. 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 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 A payday loan (also called a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan) is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. The term "payday" in payday loan refers to ...

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 Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...

. 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 Newcastle United Training Centre, more commonly known as "Darsley Park" is the training ground of Premier League club Newcastle United. It lies next door to the Northumberland Football Association base at Whitley Park, North Tyneside, England ...

, which is north of the city at Benton. The facility was opened in July 2003 and is also used by the

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

rugby team.

Ownership

Newcastle United was set up as a

private company limited by shares A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of English law, England and Wales, Northern Irish law, Northern Ireland, Scots law, Scotland, certain Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth c ...

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

, who bought 72.9% of the club for £3 million in 1991, floated the club on the stock exchange as a

public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company whose shares may be fre ...

, with less than half the shares sold to the Hall family and the majority holding going to his business partner

. 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

had considered a full takeover of the club. This was later dropped after the

Competition Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...

, established in April 1999, expressed concerns about football clubs being owned by media companies. AshleyOut2015

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

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 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

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 Sportswashing is a term used to describe the practice of individuals, groups, corporations, or governments using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing. A form of propaganda, sportswashing can be accomplished through hosting spor ...

of Saudi Arabia's

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

record, as well as ongoing piracy of sports broadcasts in the region. In May 2020, two

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MPs called upon the government to scrutinise aspects of the deal, with

Karl McCartney Karl Ian McCartney (born 25 October 1968) is a British politician who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport from July to September 2022. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Lincoln. He was first elected at ...

calling for the sale to be blocked, and

Giles Watling Giles Francis Watling (born 18 February 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton since 2017. Prior to entering politics, he was an actor. Early life and education Born in Chingford to ac ...

calling upon the

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

to hold an oral evidence session regarding sports piracy in Saudi Arabia. In May 2020, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' reported that the Premier League had obtained a report from the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

(published publicly the following month), which contained evidence that Saudi nationals had backed

beoutQ beoutQ was a pirate pay television broadcaster that operated in Saudi Arabia between August 2017 and August 2019. The service consisted of ten satellite television channels that carried rebranded feeds of programming from Qatari broadcaster ...

– a pirate broadcaster carrying the

beIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...

networks in the region since the

Qatar diplomatic crisis The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ship ...

. In June 2020, ''The Guardian'' reported that Richard Masters, who appeared in front of the

, 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

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 " otacting appropriately in relation to

he takeover He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

, 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 ''

'' claimed that the British government of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

was involved in Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle United. In April 2021, it was revealed that Saudi Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...

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 Edward Julian Udny-Lister, Baron Udny-Lister, (born 25 October 1949) is a British special adviser, political strategist and former politician who served as Downing Street Chief of Staff from 2019 to 2021. He originally solely advised on strat ...

, to take up the case. It was later reported that Johnson’s extensive efforts also involved the Minister of Investment Lord Gerry Grimstone, who held discussions with the Premier League Chairman 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 Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (; ar, جمال أحمد خاشقجي, Jamāl ʾAḥmad Ḵāšuqjī, ; 13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a ge ...

’s 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 Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

(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 The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

, 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 West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

, the unique relationship that Aston Villa has with

Acorns Children's Hospice Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a registered charity, offering a network of palliative care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children and their families across the West Midlands region and part of South West England. Acorns has ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

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 official supporter's group for the club. Through its chairman Frank Gilmore, a local pub manager,www.chroniclelive.co.uk
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 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 Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...

'' or the ''Toon Army''. The name ''Toon'' originates from the Geordie pronunciation of town. In a 2004 survey by

Co-operative Financial Services Co-operative Banking Group Limited (originally Co-operative Financial Services) was a UK-based banking and insurance company and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group. Established in 2002, its head office was located at the CIS Tower ...

, 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 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 and Manchester United, 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 chant A football chant or terrace chant is form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their ...

s, Newcastle's supporters sing the traditional Tyneside song "

." Prior to each home game the team enters the field to " Local Hero", written by Newcastle supporter

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

, founder of Dire Straits. Traditionally, Newcastle's main rivals are Sunderland, against whom the

is competed, along with

Middlesbrough F.C Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...

, with whom they compete in the Tyne-Tees derby. In 1998,

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

founder and Newcastle fan 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 James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' ...

Records and statistics

As of the 2019–20 season, Newcastle United have spent 88 seasons in the top-flight. They are eighth in the 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 James Lawrence (16 February 1879 – 21 November 1934) was a Scottish football player and manager. A goalkeeper, he played for Newcastle United between 1904 and 1922. Career Playing career Born in Partick, Lawrence's first club was Partick At ...

, 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 season in the Premier League.

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...

is the most capped international for the club, with 134 appearances for

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. The club's widest victory margin in the league was in the 13–0 win against Newport County in the Second Division in 1946. Their heaviest defeat in the league was 9–0 against 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

on 3 September 1930. The club's highest attendance in the Premier League is 52,389, in a match against Manchester City 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 Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship side Reading. He has played in the Premier League and English Football League for Newcastle United, Preston North End, Liv ...

in January 2011, while the most spent by the club on a player is £63 million, for Alexander Isak from

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

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

* First Division/Premier League (Tier 1) **Winners (4):

, 1908–09, 1926–27 **Runners-up (2): 1995–96, 1996–97 ** Second Division/Championship (Tier 2) **Winners (4): 1964–65,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 2009–10, 2016–17

Cups

**Winners (6): 1909–10, 1923–24, 1931–32, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55 **Runners-up (7):

1905–06 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1973–74, 1997–98, 1998–99 * League Cup/EFL Cup **Runners-up (1): 1975–76 * FA Charity/Community Shield **Winners (1):

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...

**Runners-up (5):

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, 1955, 1996 *

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queens Park also took part in 1899. The ...

**Winners (1):

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

European

* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup **Winners (1): 1968–69 * UEFA Intertoto Cup **Winners (1): 2006

Other honours

**Winners (2): 1973–74, 1974–75 * Anglo-Italian Cup **Winners (1):

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

References

Sources

Books *

External links

* * {{Authority control 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