The number of characters in the field must be at least 4

Newcastle

England

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club that is based within Newcastle upon Tyne, that is part of the Premier League - the top level in English football. The club was established in 1892 through the union between Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End. The club plays match at St James' Park which is situated in the middle of Newcastle. As a result of the Taylor Report's recommendation to ensure that every Premier League clubs have all-seater stadiums, the stadium was renovated in the late 1990s and is currently able to hold the total capacity of 52,305.

The club was part of the Premier League for all but three seasons of the league's history. They played over 90 years in top division until May 2022 and have never fallen down to English football's second division since they joined in the Football League in 1893. Newcastle have been awarded four League titles and Six FA Cups and a FA Charity Shield along with in 1968 and 1969 the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, the ninth most prestigious trophy wins from any English club. The most successful time for the club was from 1904 to 1910 and they also won the FA Cup and three of their League titles. Their last major domestic title was the 1955 FA Cup (though their most recent major trophy was won the one they won in 1969) and, more recently, the club was League and FA Cup runners-up on four occasions during the 90s. Newcastle were knocked out in 2009 and then in 2016. The club was promoted at the very first asking every time, before returning in the Premier League, as Championship champions in both 2010 and 2017.

Newcastle have had a long-running rivalry with the nearby Sunderland and Sunderland, who compete in the Tyne Wear derby since the year. The traditional colours of the club's kit include white and black striped tops with black shorts and black socks. Their crest is inspired by the city's coat of arms that has two hippocamps in grey. Prior to every home game team members enter on the pitch to "Local Hero" and "Blaydon Races" is also played during games. The film of 2005 Goal! included Newcastle United, and many believe that the film helped increase the popularity of the club among supporters and players.

The club was controlled by Mike Ashley from 2007 until 2021 when he succeeded the chairman of the club for a long time, Sir John Hall. The club is ranked 17th in revenue-generating club worldwide by revenue that was EUR169.3 million in 2015. Newcastle's top position was 1999 in 1999, which was when they were the 5th highest income-producing football club in the world and the second highest in England just after Manchester United. On the 7th of October in 2021 Newcastle was purchased for PS300 million through a consortium headed by the sovereign wealth fund.

 

1. History

The story of Newcastle United Football Club, an English professional association football club that is based within Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England It encompasses the entire history of the club from its beginnings to current. The club was formed by a merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End in 1892 and then, the club was admitted into the Football League, which they joined in 1893.

Newcastle is the ninth-highest performing club in history. Newcastle have won English Champions four times (in 1905 (1905, 1907 and 1909) (1905, 1907, 1909, 1909, 1927) and FA Cup winners six times (in 1910 1924, 1924 and 1932, 1951, 1952 and and 1955). The club also took home their 1909 Charity Shield, the 1968-69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and the 2006 Intertoto Cup. Newcastle has made it to the League Cup final once, being as runners-up (in the year 1976). They played in England's top leagues from 1898-1934, 1948-61and 1965-78 1984-89, 1993-2009 the period from 2010 to 2016 and 2017 and are currently in the second division in all other instances.

1.1. 1881–1903: Formation and early history

The first mention of football on Tyneside began on 3 March 1877 , at Elswick Rugby Club. In the same year, the first Newcastle football club, the Tyne Association, was formed. The beginnings to Newcastle United Football Club itself can be traced to the establishment of a club football in 1881 by Stanley Cricket Club of Byker in November 1881. The team was changed to Newcastle East End F.C. in October 1882 to keep away from confusion with the cricket club located in Stanley, County Durham. Rosewood F.C. of Byker was merged together with Newcastle East End a short time later. The year was 1886 when Newcastle East End moved from Byker to Heaton. On August 18, 1882 Newcastle West End F.C. was formed out of West End Cricket Club, and in May 1886, the club relocated into St James Park. The two clubs were rivals and joined the Northern League. The year 1889 was the first time Newcastle East End became an official team before becoming a limited company in March. Newcastle West End, on its own was in financial difficulties which led them to approach East End with a view of a acquisition. Newcastle West End was eventually disbanded, and many of its backroom staff and players became part of Newcastle East End, effectively merging the two clubs together with Newcastle East End taking over the lease of St James' Park in May 1892.

With only one senior team in the city that fans could be a part of, development for the club was faster. Despite being denied entry into the Football League's First Division at the start of the season 1892-93, they were offered a place in their brand new Second Division. With no big names on this Second Division, they turned off the offer and decided to remain playing in the Northern League, stating "gates could not cover the huge costs of travel". In an effort to begin attracted by larger audiences, Newcastle East End decided to change its name to reflect the merger.

Names suggested included Newcastle F.C., Newcastle Rangers, Newcastle City and City of Newcastle, but Newcastle United was decided upon on the 9th of December, 1892 to mark the union both teams. This name was formally approved by the Football Association on 22 December however, it was not officially registered in the name of Newcastle United Football Club Co. Ltd. until 6 September 1895. The start of the season 1893-94, Newcastle United were once again not allowed entry into the First Division and so joined the Second Division, along with Liverpool and Woolwich Arsenal. Newcastle United played their first game in the division in September, against Woolwich Arsenal, which ended with the score being 2-3.

The turnout was still lower, and the angry club issued a statement saying, "The Newcastle public do not merit to be treated in the way soccer concerns". But, the numbers began to pick up between 1895 and 1996, when more than 14,000 people gathered to watch football at Bury. In that season Frank Watt became secretary of the club and played a key role in the promotion up to First Division for the 1898-99 season. They lost their opening match 4-2 at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers and finished their first season with a 13th-place finish.

1.2. 1903–1937: First glory years and war years

In 1903-2004, the club put together a strong group of players. They continued to be the dominant team in English football for more than a decade. The team was famous for their "artistic football, combining teamwork and fast, quick passing". After retiring, Peter McWilliam, the team's defensive player at the time, stated, "The Newcastle team of the early 1900s could give any modern club the chance to start with two goals and beat them. And, still, beat them at an ebb." Newcastle United went on to be the winners of the League at three times in the 1900s: 1904-05 as well as 1906-07 and 1908-09. 1904-05 was when they almost won the double but lost against Aston Villa in the 1905 FA Cup Final. They were again beaten in the next the following year, in 1905 by Everton at the 1905 FA Cup Final. They made it to the final in 1908 but fell in the final to Wolverhampton Wanderers. They eventually were victorious in the FA Cup in 1910 when they defeated Barnsley to win the cup in their final. They were beaten the following year , in the semi-final in the final against Bradford City.

The team was back in their FA Cup final in 1924 and won the final in 1924, the second time that was played at the new Wembley Stadium. They beat Aston Villa, winning the team's third FA Cup. The following year they were awarded the First Division championship a fourth time in 1926 and 1927. Hughie Gallacher, one of the top goalscorers throughout the club's history, as captain of the team. The other key players during the period included Neil Harris, Stan Seymour and Frank Hudspeth. At the end of 1930, Newcastle United came close to being relegated but at the close of the season, Gallacher quit the club in favour of Chelsea as well as at the same the same time Andy Cunningham became the club's first manager. In 1931-32, the team was crowned the FA Cup a third time. However, two years later, towards the conclusion of the 1933-34 campaign the team was relegated back to the Second Division after 35 seasons at the top. Cunningham quit as manager while Tom Mather took over.

1.3. 1937–1969: Post-war success

The club had a difficult time to adapt into their new position in the Second Division and were nearly being relegated during the 1937-38 period, but they were spared on an average. But, after World War II broke out in 1939, Newcastle had a chance to regroup. During the War period they signed Jackie Milburn, Tommy Walker and Bobby Cowell. They were promoted into the First Division at the end of the 1947-48 season. In the 1950s, Newcastle was crowned the FA Cup three times in five years. They beat Blackpool at the time in 1951. They also beat Arsenal during 1952, as well as Manchester City in 1955.

But, following this final FA Cup victory the club declined and were then relegated into the Second Division once again at the conclusion of the 1960-61 campaign under the direction by Charlie Mitten. Mitten quit after a single campaign with the Second Division and was replaced by the former teammate Joe Harvey. Newcastle was relegated to the First Division at the end of the 1964-65 season , after taking home the Second Division title. Under the leadership of Harvey Newcastle, the club qualified for European competition first time following an excellent run in the 1967-68 campaign and then the following year they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final, winning 6-2 in two legs over Hungarians Ujpest at the end of.

1.4. 1969–1992: Bouncing between divisions

Harvey purchased the striker Malcolm Macdonald in the summer of 1971 for the club's record transfer price that was PS180,000 (equivalent to around PS2,265,000 in 2021). Macdonald was an outstanding goal-scorer who helped United's attack reach Wembley in 1974's FA Cup Final defeat at the loss to Liverpool. The club also enjoyed two successive victories during the Texaco Cup in 1974 and 1975. Harvey was dismissed from the club in 1975 and Gordon Lee brought in to succeed him. Lee was the captain of the team in the 1996 Football League Cup Final against Manchester City, but failed to return the trophy to Tyneside. But he did sell Macdonald to Arsenal towards the end of the season. This decision that Macdonald later admitted "I enjoyed Newcastle up until Gordon Lee took over". Lee was sacked by Everton in 1977 and was substituted with Richard Dinnis.

United fell back into the Second Division at the end of the 1977-78 season. Dinnis got replaced with Bill McGarry, and then the team was re-signed by Arthur Cox. Cox led Newcastle into in the First Division at the end of the 1983-84 season featuring players such as Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and former England captain Kevin Keegan the fulcrum of the squad. However, due to a lack of money, Cox went to Derby County and Keegan quit. With managers like Jack Charlton and then Willie McFaul, Newcastle remained in the top tier, until players like Waddle, Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne were dealt with in 1989, and the team was again relegated in 1989. McFaul was dismissed from the managerial position being replaced with Jim Smith. Smith quit at the beginning of the 1991-92 season , and the board named Osvaldo Ardiles to be his replacement.

John Hall became the club's chairman in 1992. He was replaced by Ardiles with Keegan who was able to save the club from being sent in the Third Division. Keegan was offered additional money for players, including Rob Lee, Paul Bracewell and Barry Venison. The team was awarded the First Division championship at the close of the 1992-93 season getting promoted to the newly created Premier League.

1.5. 1992–2007: Into the Premier League

The team's debut season, 1993-94 returning to the top division, they placed third in the league which was their best league position since 1927. The team's aggressive approach of Keegan has led to the team being called "The Entertainers" by Sky Sports.

Keegan has led Newcastle into two straight runners-up finish in the league between 1996-97 and 1995-96, both coming just a few steps away from winning the league in the previous season, which featured a 4-3 match in the final against Liverpool at Anfield that is widely regarded as the greatest match ever played in Premier League history - which culminated in a memorable picture in The Premier League with Keegan slumped on the hoarding of advertisements. The team's success was due in large part to the attacking talents of players such as David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer, who was signed on the 30th of July in 1996 for a record price that was PS15 million.

Keegan quit Newcastle on January 1, 1997, and became replaced Kenny Dalglish, however the Newcastle team had a disappointing season, finishing 13th at the end of the 1997-98 FA Premier League, failure to make it past the group stages of 1997-1998 UEFA Champions League despite beating Barcelona and group winners Dynamo Kyiv at St James Park. They also had the distinction of going from 2-0 down to draw the score 2-2 in the UEFA Champions League with Valery Lobanovsky's squad in Ukraine and losing in the 1998 FA Cup Final. Dalglish became the new Newcastle's manager at the beginning of the next year by Ruud Gullit. The club ended up 14th overall, and was eliminated from at the 1999 FA Cup Final. Gullit had a dispute with the chairman and the team. Freddy Shepherd, and quit the club after four games of the 1999-2000 season , with the team in the bottom half of the table. He was substituted with Bobby Robson.

The title challenge was a reality in the 2001-02 campaign, and Newcastle's fourth-place finish helped them be selected for in the UEFA Champions League. The subsequent campaign, Robson guided the team to another title win and placed with a third place finish in the League and in the second phase in the Champions League, after being the first team to advanced past the group stage following a loss in their first three matches. Newcastle was 5th in league standings at the close 2004 season and was subsequently eliminated from in the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, however Robson was dismissed in August of 2004 after an array of disputes between the team and Robson.

Alan Shearer mosaic during his test match in May 2006. The club's top goalscorer resigned during the month.

Graeme Souness was brought in to oversee the team at the beginning of 2004-05's season. While as manager He broke Newcastle's transfer record when he signed Michael Owen for PS16.8 million. Souness was also able to take Newcastle to the quarterfinals in the 2004-05 UEFA Cup with Alan Shearer winning the trophy in addition. But he was fired in February of 2006 following an unforgiving beginning to the 2005-06 season. Glenn Roeder took over, initially as a temporary manager, before becoming the full-time manager at the close this season. Shearer quit at the close of the 2005-06 season , as the club's record goal scorer, scoring the score of 206 goals.

Although he ended the 2005-06 campaign with a seventh position, Roeder's fortunes changed in the 2006-07 campaign and he suffered a serious injury to the senior team, and he quit the club through mutual agreement on the 6th of May, 2007. Following the 2006-07 season and during the Premier League era, Newcastle United was ranked as the fifth-highest-performing Premiership club, in terms of points earned.

Sam Allardyce was appointed Roeder's manager's replacement on the 15th of May, 2007.

1.6. 2007–2021: Mike Ashley era

On the 7th of June Freddy Shepherd's last shares of the club were sold at the request of Mike Ashley and Shepherd was removed as the chairman Chris Mort on 25 July. Ashley then announced that he will remove the club's listing off the London Stock Exchange upon completion of the acquisition. The club officially stopped trading at the Stock Exchange as of 8 am on the 18th of July at 5p per share.

Allardyce left the club January 8, 2008 through mutual agreement following a poor start to the 2007-08 campaign Then, Kevin Keegan was reappointed as Newcastle manager. Mort quit from the chairmanship in June. He took over by Derek Llambias, a long-term friend of Ashley. Newcastle finished the season in the 12th position however, as the season was drawing to a close Keegan was vocally critical of the board, claiming they weren't giving enough financial backing to the team.

Then, in September of 2008 Keegan quit as manager and stated: "It's my opinion that managers be able to manage and that clubs shouldn't force any manager to manage a player that he doesn't would like". The former Wimbledon director Joe Kinnear was appointed as his replacement. However, on February 9, 2009 following his heart operation, Alan Shearer was appointed interim manager in his absence. Under Shearer the club was eliminated from the Football League Championship at the conclusion of the season 2008-09 which was the first time that the club was not in to the Premier League since joining it in 1993.

Following their demotion The club was offered for auction in June 2009 with a offer in the region of PS100 million. Chris Hughton was given the manager's position on a temporary basis prior to taking over the full-time position on October 27, 2009. On the same day Ashley declared that his club would no more being offered for sale.

Hughton was the team captain who led Newcastle to victory in the 2009-10 Football League Championship, securing an automatic promotion on the 5th of April 2010 with only five games remaining and winning the victory on April 19th. Newcastle were promoted back into the Premier League after just one season without.

Under the leadership of Hughton, Newcastle enjoyed a good beginning to the season 2010-11 However, he was dismissed on December 6, 2010. The board of Newcastle said that "an person with more managerial expertise was required to lead the club to the next level." The next day, Alan Pardew was appointed as manager, with a five-and-a half-year contract. Despite some turmoil, Newcastle were able to finish in the top 12 at the conclusion of the season. the highlight of their season was a draw at home 4-4 against Arsenal which was a game that saw Newcastle recover from four goals behind to take one point.

The season 2011-12 was a huge success and they continued to have one of their best beginnings of the season. They played 11 games in a row without losing. Newcastle finally secured a place for the 2012-13 Europa League with a fifth-place place, which was their highest level of play in the league since Bobby Robson days. More honours would follow as Pardew took home two awards: the Premier League Manager of the Season award and the LMA manager of the year Awards.

The following season Newcastle did not make any acquisitions during the summer, and also was plagued by injuries throughout the course of the season. In the end, the beginning of the campaign was marked by a string of losing 10 times in 13 games. This led to the club falling into the bottom of the table. In the Europa League campaign was largely successful , with the team reaching the quarter-finals , but losing to eventual winners Benfica. In the domestic arena, Newcastle struggled, and kept their hopes alive after a 2-1 win against previously-relegated Queens Park Rangers on the last fixture of the year.

The 2014-15 season was a time when Newcastle lose one of their seven matches, which prompted fans to begin an effort to have Pardew fired as manager, before an improvement in their performance saw them rise to fifth place in the league. Pardew quit for Crystal Palace in December. On January 26, 2015 the deputy John Carver was put in charge for the rest of the season. However, the club nearly lost the league and stayed in the top spot on the final day of the season with an 2-0 win at home in the match against West Ham, with Jonas Gutierrez who was able to beat testicular cancer earlier in the season scoring the second goal of the game.

On the 9th of June, the 9th of June, 2015 Carver was dismissed and succeeded with Steve McClaren the following day. On the 11th of March, 2016 McClaren had been dismissed after just nine months of his tenure as Newcastle's manager, with Newcastle at 19th on the Premier League and the club had won only six out of the 28 Premier League games during his time as manager. The Spaniard who replaced him was Rafael Benitez on the same day, signing an agreement for three years. However, he did not stop the club from being eliminated twice under Ashley's management.

Newcastle made it back to The Premier League at the first attempt, and won the Championship title on the 7th of May 2017 after a 3-0 victory against Barnsley. On the 16th of October, 2017 Mike Ashley put Newcastle United available for sale for the second time. The club finished their season by winning a 3-0 victory over champions Chelsea which saw them finish 10th in the league. This was their best performance in four years. The subsequent season saw a 13th place finish, even though they were within the zone of relegation by January. In the process, Ashley became the subject of more criticism for his inability to investing in the team and apparent focus on his other business ventures. Benitez was dismissed on June 30, 2019 after declining a contract extension.

On the 17th of July, 2019 on 17 July 2019, the former Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was appointed as manager on a 3-year contract. Bruce was responsible for 13th and 12th-placed results in his first two seasons as manager and both were infected by the COVID-19 epidemic.

1.7. 2021–present: Saudi-led era

On October 7, 2021, following 14 years as the club's owner, Ashley sold the club to a new consortium the sum of £305 million making them the wealthiest football team in the world. The consortium consisted from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners. On the 20th of October, 2021, Bruce was dismissed with mutual consent after receiving an estimated PS8 million in compensation. Eddie Howe was appointed as Bruce's replacement later , on November 8, 2021. Howe led the team to the 11th spot after an impressive run of 12 wins in their final 18 matches and was the only team that has ever played in Premier League history to avoid being relegated after not winning in their first 14 games

 

2. Club identity

The colors of the club's home are a white and black stripe-printed shirt. Socks and shorts are typically black and white with white trim although white socks may be used by managers who believe they are "lucky". The Newcastle colours from the beginning were the uniforms of home that was worn by Newcastle East End F.C. consisting of simple red shirts, the white shorts, and white socks. In 1894 the club adopted black and white stripes uniforms, which were previously utilized as the colours of the reserve team. The colours were selected for the senior team as they did not belong to either of the teams United were amalgamated from. They wore grey shorts from 1897 onwards Between 1897 and 1921, they were wearing blue shorts, before switching to black shorts they are wearing currently.

United's away colors have changed several times throughout the time. They wore white shorts and black shirts from 1914 until 1961 followed by white shorts until 1966. Then they played in blue and yellow shorts in the 1967-68 season however, from 1969 until 1974, they played in red, with a blue Third Kit. Then, in 1974 they switched to a yellow t-shirt, that they wore along with different colored shorts up to 1983. They played in grey from 1983 until 1988, then returning to their yellow kit until 1993. Since 1995 the kit for away games has been changed often and has not remained the identical for more than one season. Through the former manager Mike Ashley, the club also had a partnership in The Sports Direct retail chain which Mike Ashley founded.

On January 4, 2012, Virgin Money, which had just purchased Northern Rock, signed a two-year agreement to sponsor Newcastle United. In January of 2010, Puma became the official provider and licensee of replica items for Newcastle. The agreement meant that Puma provided the Newcastle kit with a replica kit as well as tools for training during the 2010-11 as well as the 2011-12 seasons.

The current club's logo was first introduced during the 1988-89 season. The crest features elements from the coat of arm that the city has Newcastle upon Tyne - the two sea horses that represent Tyneside's strong connection to the sea, and the castle representing the city's keeping. The city's coats of arms was first embossed on the team's shirts back in 1969 and remained in use until the year 1976. The bottom of the shirt contained the motto of the city in Latin fortiter defendit triumphans which is translated to English as "triumphing by a brave defense." From 1976 to 1982, Newcastle's club had the badge that was designed to be worn instead of the coat of arms of the city. The design was circular shape and included the name of the club in full as well as the image of a magpie in the middle of River Tyne with the historic keep of Newcastle in the background. A simpler design was introduced in 1983, incorporating NUFC's initials, which were the name of the club, NUFC with the small magpie from the previous logo in an vertically placed "C," this logo was rather short-lived and was discarded after 1988.

On the 16th of May, 2013 Newcastle released their home shirt, for 2013-14. The shirt for the first time , featured the Wonga.com logo. The shirt received critique from many Newcastle supporters. The jersey was blue in the navy and had bands of light blue. The shirt was met with mixed reactions from Newcastle supporters who said the shirt was "awesome" as well as "bland" according to a report within The Newcastle newspaper, the daily Evening Chronicle. On July 13, 2013, Newcastle forward and practicing Muslim Papiss Cisse was not allowed to wear any official gear or clothing in reference to Wonga.com and was later unable to join the team's 2013 preseason tour to Portugal. The issue was eventually resolved. Wonga was dissolved in administration in the year 2018.

On the 15th of May, 2017 the team's home uniform for the season 2017-18 was announced with the logo of the new sponsors Fun88. The shirt was revealed to have an engraved silver and gold emblem to mark the club's 125th football year that is based on the coat of arms for the town. The club also announced that the shirt would sport stripes of red, for the very first time since 1992-93 season. Previous sponsors of the kit are Newcastle Breweries (1980-86), Greenall's Beers (1986-90) McEwan's Beer and Newcastle Brown Ale (1990-2000), NTL (2000-03), Northern Rock (2003-12), Virgin Money (2012-13) and Wonga.com (2013-17).

Newcastle United's present kit makers are Castore as part of a deal which began in 2021. Previous kit manufacturers include Bukta (1974-75, 1976-80), Umbro (1975-76, 1980-93), Asics (1993-95), Adidas (1995-2010) and Puma (2010-21). Other sponsors of the team comprise Fun88, Bet365, Carling, eToro, BoyleSports, AstroPay, TOMKET, Pulman, Perfect Image and Energy Impact Limited.

Newcastle United's current shirt sponsor is noon.com in a partnership which began in 2022. The previous sleeve sponsors comprise MRF Tyres (2017-18), StormGain (2019-20), ICM.com (2020-21) and Kayak (2021-22).

3. Stadium

Through the history of Newcastle United their home is St. James' Park. It is the largest and oldest sports stadium of North East England, as it is the sixth-largest football arena in the United Kingdom. It has played host to 10 international football games at the senior level, with beginning in 1901 in the year 1901 and most recently one in 2005. It was also an arena during two events, 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup. 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The first football match was practiced at St. James Park since 1880. The ground was owned by Newcastle Rangers, before becoming the home of Newcastle West End F.C. in 1886. The lease was purchased in 1886 by Newcastle East End F.C. in 1892, and they switched their logo and changed their name to Newcastle United. The turn of the twentieth century stadium's capacity was listed as 30,000. It was then transformed in the years 1900-1905 expanding its capacity by 60,000 becoming the largest stadium in England at the time. Through the majority of the twentieth century, the venue was changed only a little, despite various plans to expand the stadium.

The original West Stand was replaced with the Milburn Stand in 1987. Then, it was replaced by the Sir John Hall Stand replacing the Leazes End in 1993, and the remainder of the stadium was renovated to make the ground an capacity of 37,000. all-seater stadium. From 1998 to 2000 two stands were constructed on both the Milburn along with the Sir John Hall stadiums to increase the stadium's capacity to its current capacity of 52.354. There were plans to construct an additional 90,000-seat stadium within Leazes park, just behind St James' with Newcastle Falcons taking the place of St James' Park, however, due to opposition the plans were canceled. St James' Park currently has 52,354 seats, however the former owner of the club Mike Ashley had said he might consider cutting the top of The Gallowgate end and adding an additional 6,000 seats, bringing the capacity up to 58,420. But only if the club managed to be in the top six spots in the Premier League.

The stadium was renamed in October 2009. Ashley made it clear that he was planning to let the stadium's name to the stadium in an effort to boost revenues. In November, the stadium was named temporarily sportsdirect.com @ St . James Park Stadium. This name was initially planned to be in use for a short period of time, until the conclusion of the 2009-10 season, however it continued until November. On November 10, 2011 the club officially changed the stadium's name into the Sports Direct Arena, although it was a temporary name to highlight the sponsorship potential for the facility. The company, which is owned by Ashley did not pay any money for the sponsorship deal. On October 9, 2012, the payday loan company Wonga.com became Newcastle United's primary commercial sponsor. They also purchased the stadium's naming rights, however, they returned the St James Park name.

From 1982 onwards, the club has been serviced by the St James Metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro. Station decor is with a the black and white colour scheme, and is decorated with archive photos of the team's players.

The current training facility of the club is located in Darsley Park, which is located north of the city of Benton. The facility opened in July 2003, and is also utilized as a training ground for Newcastle Falcons. Newcastle Falcons rugby team.

A panorama of St James' Park from the Milburn Stand

4. Ownership

Newcastle United was set up as a private corporation limited by shares on the 6th September 1895. The club operated in this manner for the duration of the 20th century. It was dominating by McKeag, Westwood and Seymour family ownership up to April 1997 the time that John Hall, who bought 72.9 percent of Newcastle United with £3 million back in 1991 float Newcastle United through the Stock Exchange as a publicly limited company. The club had less than half of the shares being sold towards the Hall family, and the largest shares going to business associate Freddy Shepherd. In the same the same year Hall was removed as the chairman and was replaced with Shepherd and the Hall family members as board members by his son Douglas. The club was sold to NTL in December of 1998. following purchasing the club a 6.3 percent share of the club's assets for £10 million the media conglomerate NTL was contemplating a complete acquisition of the team. The idea was eventually dropped when the Competition Commission, established in April 1999, voiced concerns over football clubs being controlled by media firms.

In 2007 the Businessman Mike Ashley purchased the combined stakes in both Douglas as well as John Hall, 41% shares in the club through the holding company called St James Holdings, with an intention of buying the remaining. When he bought this share, he named Chris Mort as chairman, and he also gained shares. He owned 93.19 percent of the club on the 29th of June, 2007. The figure was 95% on the 11th July 2007, forcing rest of the shareholders to buy their shares.

Following the completion of the acquisition of the club, Ashley has stated that he would sell the club three times. The first was following protests from fans against Kevin Keegan's resignation. Kevin Keegan on 14 September 2008, at which point Ashley said, "I have listened to your concerns. You want me to go. This is exactly what I am currently trying to accomplish." But, he pulled from the marketplace on December 28, 2008 after failing to find an interested buyer. On May 31, 2009, it was revealed that Ashley tried for the sale of the club a second time. On June 8, 2009, Ashley stated that the team was put up for sale with the offer that was £100 million. In August 2009 the club was from the market. On October 16, 2017 Newcastle United announced that Ashley had put Newcastle United on the market for sale with the hope that a deal would be completed by the time of the Christmas season of 2017.

4.1. Saudi-led takeover

In April 2020 It was widely reported that a consortium made up from Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, was negotiating an offer to buy Newcastle United. The proposal for sale has triggered some concerns and anger including arguments that suggested the sportwashing of the human rights record of Saudi Arabia's record and also the persistent piracy of sports programming within the region.

In May 2020 two Conservative MPs urged the government to examine certain aspects of the agreement including Karl McCartney calling for the sale to be blocked as well as Giles Watling calling upon the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to conduct an oral hearing on the issue of sports piracy within Saudi Arabia. On May 20, 2020 The Guardian reported that the Premier League had obtained a report from the World Trade Organization (published publicly in the month following) that included evidence that Saudi nation members have backed beoutQ, an illegal broadcaster that operates the beIN Sports networks across the region following it was a part of the Qatar diplomat crisis. In June of 2020, The Guardian reported that Richard Masters, who appeared before officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, was rumored to be negotiating a taking over Newcastle United. But, MPs cautioned that it was "humiliating" to let an Saudi Arabian consortium to take control of Newcastle United given their track record regarding human rights and piracy.

In July 2020 The Guardian reported that Saudi Arabia's decision to block beIN Sports' broadcasting in the country made it more difficult to take over by Newcastle United. On the 30th of July, 2020, Saudi Arabia announced its withdrawal from the Newcastle deal, saying "with profound gratitude for Newcastle and the Newcastle locals and for the importance of the club's football team We have made the decision of resigning our desire to purchase Newcastle United Football Club". The company also said it was it was the "prolonged procedure" was a key factor in the decision to withdraw. The disintegration of the takeover was met with widespread condemnation by Newcastle supporters and Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah. Newcastle Chi Onwurah, the Newcastle MP, accusing of the Premier League of treating fans of the club with "contempt" and later wrote to Masters to ask for an explanation.

Despite the consortium's departure and the subsequent dispute, disagreements over the purchase continued. On September 9, 2020 Newcastle United released a statement that claimed they had been informed that the Premier League had officially rejected the consortium's takeover and also accused Masters as well as members of the Premier League board of "[notbeing able to act in a proper manner with regard to the takeover" in addition to saying that the club will consider any legal decision. However, the Premier League strongly denied this in a statement that was released the following day, declaring "surprise" in addition to "disappointment" over Newcastle's announcement.

On the 7th of October, 2021 The Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media confirmed that they had successfully completed the purchase from Newcastle United.

An investigation conducted in April 2022 conducted in the May 2022 issue of The Guardian claimed that the British government of Boris Johnson was involved in the Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United. It was discovered the Saudi King Mohammed bin Salman had warned Johnson via text message, informing him his concern that the premier league's "wrong" decision could affect the relationship between the two countries. After the message, Johnson had appointed his special envoy to his special envoy for the Gulf, Edward Lister, to investigate the matter. The news later revealed that Johnson's tireless efforts included his Minister for Investment Lord Gerry Grimstone, who held talks with Premier League Chairman Gary Hoffman and Saudi representatives who were well-connected to MBS the office of MBS. However the UK government as well as Johnson claimed that they were no part of the Saudi purchase. Following the Premier League's approval, Hoffman told all 20 English Football clubs that there was a lot of demand from government. But, he claimed that it was not affected by that pressure. An additional report revealed that, despite the US conclusion that Jamal Khashoggi's murder was directed by Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed, he was successful in avoiding the directors' and owners testing in the Premier League.

5. Social responsibility

Newcastle United established the Newcastle United Foundation in the summer of 2008. The foundation aims to promote learning and healthy living among youngsters, children and families living in the North East region, as also creating a culture of the concept of equality, diversity and. The Foundation's director Kate Bradley told charity news website The Third Sector, "Children regard players as their idols, and everything they say is immediately taken by the players. When Newcastle player Steven Taylor tells them not to take the Mars bar for breakfast, they'll be listening." In 2010 the charity educated over 5,000 children the importance of healthy lifestyles.

The Foundation's involvement and an identical foundation managed by West Bromwich Albion, the unique partnership that Aston Villa has with Acorns Children's Hospice and Tottenham Hotspur has with SOS Children's Villages UK is an example of a commitment to the highest levels of football to accountability and improvement in the communities where they are active and who benefit the communities through their help and ticket sales. Their work and many others, is changing the way professional sports interact with their fans and communities.

In December 2012 the club announced it was the first carbon-positive football club.

6. Supporters and rivalries

The Newcastle United Independent Supporters Association is the official group of supporters for Newcastle United. With its president Frank Gilmore, a local pub manager The group has been mentioned in the press in relation to the events that take place at Newcastle United since 2002. The fans from Newcastle United are drawn from across all over the North East and beyond, with clubs for supporters in a few countries around the globe. The nickname of the club is The Magpies, while the Newcastle United supporters are also referred to in the form of the Geordies as well as they are known as the Toon Army. The name Toon comes in Toon, which is the Geordie spelling of the town. In a survey conducted in 2004 conducted by Co-operative Financial Services, it was determined the Newcastle United topped the league ranking for the costs incurred and the distance traveled by Newcastle fans who wish to travel to each Premier League away game.

The distance traveled by fans to go to every away game in Newcastle was determined to be the equivalent of an entire world trip. In the 2009-10 football season, in which the club played in English second-tier football which is called the Football League Championship, the average attendance at St James Park reached 43,388, which was the fourth highest attendance of an English club at that time. The end of the Premier League's 2011-12 campaign, Newcastle United held the third highest average attendance of the entire season at 49,935. The figure was only exceeded with Arsenal as well as Manchester United, the only two clubs in the Premier League with larger stadiums at the time.

The supporters of Newcastle United publish several fanzines, including True Faith and The Mag as well as NUFC.com founded in 1996. The group was founded Newcastle United Supporters Trust in September of 2008 with the intention to "represent the diverse community of Newcastle United's supporters." Alongside the standard English football songs, Newcastle's supporters also are known to sing the classic Tyneside tune "Blaydon Races." Before every home game, the team's players take to on the playing field and sings "Local Hero" composed by Newcastle native and fan Mark Knopfler, founder of Dire Straits. The main rivals of Newcastle are Sunderland which is the team against whom the Tyne-Wear derby takes place alongside Middlesbrough F.C, with whom they play in the Tyne Tees derby.

The year was 1998. The Police founder and Newcastle fan Sting recorded song to support Newcastle and Newcastle fans, titled "Black and White Army (Bringing the Pride back home)". In 2015, a group of Newcastle fans decided to boycott games in protest against the club's management by Mike Ashley, and they were backed by famous Newcastle fans such as Sting as well as Jimmy Nail.

7. Records and statistics

The 2019-20 season is the latest year, Newcastle United have spent more than 88 seasons in the top division. They are ranked eighth in the history of Premier League table and have the ninth-highest number of major honors received from an English club with eleven wins. The record holder for longest number of games played is Jimmy Lawrence, having made 496 Premier League appearances between 1904 until 1921. The top scorer of the club was Alan Shearer, who scored more than 206 goals across all competitions between 1996 and. Andy Cole holds the record for scoring the most goals in a season, which was 41 during the 1993-94 season of the Premier League. Shay Given is the most experienced international player for the club, having 134 games for the Republic of Ireland.

The club's biggest margin of victory during the league was the 13-0 win over Newport County in the Second Division in 1946. Their biggest loss within the league came at 9-0 to Burton Wanderers in the Second Division in 1895. The club's longest consecutive season in the upper tier in English soccer was 33 between 1898-99 and 1933-34.

The record attendance at Newcastle's home is 68,386 during the First Division match against Chelsea on the 3rd of September, 1930. The highest attendance for the club for the Premier League is 52,389, in a game with Manchester City on 6 May 2012. Newcastle was defeated by 2-0. The most expensive transfer fee for the Newcastle players is £35 million, which was paid by Liverpool to Andy Carroll in January 2011 The highest amount paid by Newcastle on one footballer was £21 million, which was paid to Miguel Almiron of Atlanta United in January 2019 before the figure was surpassed by the signing from Joelinton of TSG the 1899 Hoffenheim team in July and is thought to be in the vicinity in the region of £40 million.

8. Player of the Year

  • 1976 England Alan Gowling
  • 1977 England Micky Burns
  • 1978 England Irving Nattrass
  • 1979 England Peter Withe
  • 1980 England Alan Shoulder
  • 1981 England Kevin Carr
  • 1982 Republic of Ireland Mick Martin
  • 1983 England Kevin Keegan
  • 1984 England Kevin Keegan
  • 1985 England Peter Beardsley
  • 1986 England Peter Beardsley
  • 1987 England Paul Goddard
  •  1988 England Paul Gascoigne
  • 1989 Scotland John Hendrie
  • 1990 England Micky Quinn
  • 1991 England John Burridge
  • 1992 England Gavin Peacock
  • 1993 England Lee Clark
  • 1994 England Andy Cole
  • 1995 England Barry Venison
  • 1996 England Darren Peacock
  • 1997 England Steve Watson
  • 1998 England David Batty
  • 1999 England Alan Shearer
  • 2000 England Alan Shearer
  • 2001 Republic of Ireland Shay Given
  • 2002 Peru Nolberto Solano
  • 2003 England Alan Shearer
  • 2004 France Olivier Bernard
  • 2005 Republic of Ireland Shay Given
  • 2006 Republic of Ireland Shay Given
  • 2007 England Nicky Butt
  • 2008 Senegal Habib Beye
  • 2009 Cameroon Sébastien Bassong
  • 2010 Spain José Enrique
  • 2011 Argentina Fabricio Coloccini
  • 2012 Netherlands Tim Krul
  • 2013 Italy Davide Santon
  • 2014 England Mike Williamson
  • 2015 Netherlands Daryl Janmaat
  • 2016 Republic of Ireland Rob Elliot
  • 2017 Republic of Ireland Ciaran Clark
  • 2018 England Jamaal Lascelles
  • 2019 Venezuela Salomón Rondón
  • 2020 Slovakia Martin Dúbravka
  • 2021 England Callum Wilson
  • 2022 Brazil Joelinton

9. Board of Directors

Position Staff
Chairman  Yasir Al-Rumayyan
Director  Majed Al Sorour
Director  Amanda Staveley
Director  Jamie Reuben
Sporting Director  Dan Ashworth

10. Honours

Newcastle United F.C. Achievements :

10.1. Domestic

First Division/Premier League (level 1)
  • Champions: 1904–05, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1926–27
  • Runners-up: 1995–96, 1996–97

Second Division/Championship (level 2)

  • Champions: 1964–65, 1992–93, 2009–10, 2016–17

FA Cup

  • Winners: 1909–10, 1923–24, 1931–32, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55
  • Runners-up: 1904–05, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1973–74, 1997–98, 1998–99

Football League Cup

  • Runners-up: 1975–76

FA Charity Shield

  • Winners: 1909
  • Runners-up: 1932, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1996

Sheriff of London Charity Shield

  • Winners: 1907

10.2. European

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

  • Winners: 1968–69

UEFA Intertoto Cup

  • Winners: 2006 (Outright winner)

10.3. Other honours

Texaco Cup

  • Winners: 1973–74, 1974–75

Anglo-Italian Cup

  • Winners: 1973