The History of Newcastle United Football Club
One of the Most Famous Names in English Football
Jan 12, 2009
Newcastle United Football Club formed thanks to the merger of two clubs, Newcastle East End FC and Newcastle west End FC, in December 1892. One of the deals of the amalgamation was the lease on Newcastle West End’s stadium St James Park where the newly formed team would play their games and still do to this day.
Newcastle Were a Dominant Force in the League and FA Cup in the 1900s
Newcastle United became one of the dominant teams in the early 1900’s, winning the League Championship in 1905, 1907 and 1909. They also reached five FA Cup Finals in 1905, 1906, 1908, 1910 and 1911, but only managed to win one of these finals against Barnsley in a replay in 1910. It was another decade before Newcastle United won their second FA Cup by defeating Aston Villa at Wembley stadium in 1924.
Newcastle, also known as The Geordies or Magpies, had to wait to win their fourth League Championship too, not taking the title again until 1927.
Newcastle Enjoyed FA Cup Success Three Times During the 1950s
The pre and post Second World War era brought little joy for The Geordies and it was not until the 1950’s that trophy success was enjoyed again. Newcastle won the FA Cup on three occasions in five years starting with a 2-0 Cup Final defeat of Blackpool in 1951. The following year, 1952, Newcastle retained the trophy, this time beating Arsenal 1-0 in the final. Manchester City was then beaten 3-1 in the Cup Final of 1955, to round off an amazing five years for The Geordies in the competition.
With Newcastle enjoying Cup success, their League fortunes suffered dramatically and the club faced relegation to the Second Division in 1961. The Geordies appointed Joe Harvey as manager and he rebuilt the team, leading them to the Second Division Championship in 1965 and a return to the top tier of English football.
Newcastle qualified to enter European competition in 1969 and went on to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, now known as the UEFA Cup, by beating Hungarian side Ujpest in the Final over two legs.
Newcastle continued to make little impression on the League title in the 1970’s but did reach Wembley twice. Once in the FA Cup but were beaten by Liverpool in 1974, and once in the League Cup, but again suffered defeat to ManchesterCity in 1976.
Kevin Keegan Inspires an Ailing Team Both as Player and as Manager
In 1978, Newcastle suffered relegation again, but in 1982 then manager Arthur Cox persuaded Kevin Keegan to join the club and made him captain. He helped The Geordies return to the First Division with promotion in 1984. The club remained in the top flight until relegation again in 1989.
By 1992 Newcastle were under serious threat of relegation to the Third Division. Then Chairman Sir John Hall tempted Kevin Keegan out of retirement and appointed him as manager. Two wins in their final two games kept Newcastle up and the following year, thanks to Hall’s investment, Keegan led Newcastle to promotion as champions.
By 1996, The Geordies were serious contenders for the Premiership title and paid a then record £15 million to secure the signature of striker Alan Shearer.
After finishing as Premiership runners-up in 1996 and 1997, Keegan resigned citing the pressures of the job for his decision. Kenny Dalglish replaced him,
Newcastle reached the 1998 and 1999 FA Cup finals, but suffered defeat on both occasions.
Former England manager Booby Robson became manager in 2001 and led Newcastle to a fourth place finish, qualifying the club for Champions League football for the first time. However, Robson faced the sack, controversially in 2004.
Michael Owen signed for Newcastle in 2006, but he and a succession of managers have failed to inspire Newcastle to trophy success. The wait for silverware continues to this day.
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