Newcastle United are a football club based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. They play in the Premier League and their home matches are played at St James' Park, an iconic stadium with a capacity of 52,305.
Newcastle, known affectionately as the 'Magpies' have a support base nicknamed the 'Toon Army'. Newcastle won the English top-flight title in 1904/05, 1906/07, 1908/09, and 1926/27. They also picked up FA Cup wins in 1909/10, 1923/24, 1931/32, 1950/51, 1951/52, and 1954/55.
The most iconic player in recent history to represent the Magpies was Alan Shearer, a boyhood Newcastle fan who won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995 and then joined the Magpies the following year instead of Manchester United and Real Madrid. Shearer is the Premier League's all-time record goalscorer, with 260 to his name.
In 2021, the club became the richest in world soccer following a £300million Saudi-backed takeover.
The Newcastle United squad of 1908
Peter McWilliam, a defender for Newcastle at the time, said long after his retirement: "The Newcastle team of the 1900s would give any modern side a two goal start and beat them, and furthermore, beat them at a trot."
Newcastle won the FA Cup in 1951, beating Blackpool in the final. The following year, they won it again, this time beating Arsenal. In 1955, they saw off Manchester City in the final to lift the trophy once again - their third FA Cup in just five years, seeing the team dubbed the 'Cup Kings' by the club.
Unfortunately, though, the Magpies would have to wait another 14 years before major silverware returned to St. James' Park - even getting relegated from the First Division at the end of the 1960/61 season under Charlie Mitten's management.
In a class field that included the likes of Marseille, Liverpool, Juventus, Chelsea and Rangers, Newcastle were triumphant in their very first appearance in a European competition, beating Hungary's Ujpest 6-2 in a two-legged final.
Willie McFaul took over as manager for the 1985/86 season and replaced Waddle, who departed for Tottenham Hotspur, with a young Paul Gascoigne, who had captained Newcastle to the FA Youth Cup in 1984/85. 'Gazza', as he was affectionately known, made an immediate impact on the first team.
The team of the years which followed became known as "The Entertainers" due to Keegan’s attacking brand of football.
Newcastle's failure in the 1995/96 title race is particularly infamous because of Keegan's notorious Sky Sports interview in which he slammed Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that Newcastle's opponents might roll over too easily against them in the title run-in and said: "I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!"
Keegan left Newcastle in January 1997 and the club endured a difficult end to the 1990s. However, after Bobby Robson took over early in the 1999/2000 season, the Magpies' fortunes took a turn for the better.
The dismissal of Kevin Keegan at the start of the 2008/09 season turned supporters against Ashley and his management team.
On the pitch, the Ashley era was grim for Newcastle United fans, although there had been moments of optimism.
In 2008/09, Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League, with Shearer unable to save them from the drop after being appointed caretaker manager late in the season. He later criticised Michael Owen for what he perceived as a lack of commitment to the cause during this spell.
Benitez was a popular figure among Newcastle United supporters, but he was unable to win the cooperation of Ashley during his spell in charge. He left in 2019 to take on a role at China's Dalian Professional with a record of 62 wins in 146 matches in charge of Newcastle United.
Benitez was replaced by boyhood Newcastle fan Steve Bruce, who was previously the manager of rivals Sunderland.
Bruce steered Newcastle to a respectable 13th in his first season in charge, but remained largely unpopular for a style of play perceived as too negative by many among the Toon Army.
His 1,000th game in management on November 17, 2021, against Tottenham Hotspur ended in a 3-2 defeat, and was his final match in charge of the club.
Newcastle announced that they had parted ways with Bruce on November 20, 2021. In a statement, Bruce said: "I am grateful to everyone connected with Newcastle United for the opportunity to manage this unique football club.
"This is a club with incredible support, and I hope the new owners can take it forward to where we all want it to be. I wish everyone the very best of luck for the rest of this season and beyond."
Former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was announced as the next Newcastle manager on November 8, 2021. The first managerial appointment of the new Saudi ownership.
Newcastle reached the final of the Carabao Cup to face Manchester United in February 2023, but they were unable to end the major trophy drought that has lasted since 1969.
After several failed attempts to buy the club, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed the takeover of Newcastle in October 2021. PFI. with financier Amanda Staveley, fronting the consortium, bought Newcastle from Ashley for £300million.
Despite Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, being listed as chair of PIF, the Premier League approved the takeover after 'assurances' that the Saudi state would not control the club.
Newcastle's main rivals are Sunderland, another historically successful club situated nearby - with Tyne and Wear being the local area named after the rivers that run through Newcastle and Sunderland respectively.
Sunderland have won six top flight titles to Newcastle's four, but have recently spiralled into a period of decline even worse than Newcastle's.
They were relegated to the Championship in 2016/17 and then to League One in 2017/18 - making it the first time the Black Cats have been outside England's top two divisions in their history.
As of 9 January 2021, the head-to-head record in the derby is extremely close. Newcastle have won 53 Tyne-Wear derbies to Sunderland's 51, with 50 draws between the sides.
Newcastle United supporters outside St. James' Park before a match
With crowds regularly exceeding 52,000 for Premier League matches at St. James' Park, the Toon boast one of the largest supporter bases in England.
Newcastle is also a one-club city, meaning that local support is not split between two clubs - expanding the Magpies' fanbase even further in the north east of England.
Rumours had been circulating for years about a potential takeover of the club to take it out of Ashley's hands and in October 2021, he finally sold the club to PIF, who are worth an estimated £250billion.
The Saudi-led consortium, alongside director Amanda Staveley, have left Newcastle fans on cloud nine and have already made major investments in the playing squad since the takeover.
Alexander Isak heads into the international break confident there's more to come from Newcastle, despite their strong Premier League points total.
Alexander Isak scored his first goal of the season to help Newcastle secure a memorable 2-1 Premier League victory over Tottenham on an eventful afternoon at St James' Park.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted he would have liked to have beaten Southampton by more than a goal to nil but had nothing but praise for his backline that kept the Saints at bay the entire match.
Eddie Howe has insisted Newcastle must not be reckless with their spending and 'go down the road of overpaying for players'.
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali will be available for selection from August 28, the club have confirmed.
Newcastle will need to pay "superstar money" if they want to sign England defender Marc Guehi, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has said.
Newcastle have completed the signing of Denmark Under-21s striker William Osula from Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee.
