Managing Director Derek Llambias Stadium St James' Park League Cup Third Round | Manager Chris Hughton FA Cup Fourth Round | |
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The Championship 1st (102 points, promoted) | ||
The 2009–10 season was the first time Newcastle United Football Club had played in the Championship following relegation after 16 consecutive years in the Premier League. In the 2009–10 season, they won promotion back to the top division after finishing in first place in the 2009–10 Championship.
Contents
- Season summary
- Chris Hughton
- Team kit
- Chronological list of events
- Appearances goals and cards
- In
- Out
- Loans out
- Competitions
- References
Following the club's relegation, the team's pre-season had been dominated by uncertainty over manager, owner and the players. By the time the season began, caretaker manager Chris Hughton was put in charge, and his position was made permanent in October. Despite a blip in October, the club spent almost all of its season in the top three in the division and some blistering home results saw Newcastle automatically promoted by Easter. They confirmed their promotion as winners of the entire division two weeks later, with the club registering 102 points.
Season summary
The club spent the majority of the pre-season searching for a new owner, and by the start of the season, no successful attempt was made to sell the club, and no players signings were made. Obafemi Martins, Sébastien Bassong, Habib Beye, David Edgar, Damien Duff, Michael Owen, Peter Løvenkrands and Mark Viduka all departed the club.
Alan Shearer announced he was unsure whether he would be continuing as manager due to lack of contact from the club.
An emotional distraction from the club's situation occurred when Sir Bobby Robson died on 31 July 2009, uniting the world of football in tributes to the manager who was fondly remembered by Newcastle United fans as well the many other clubs he managed in his time, including the national side. St James' Park proved to be the leading tribute for Sir Bobby Robson as tributes of flowers, messages and grievances were laid among the stadium. The season went underway managerless with some players futures at the club still in jeopardy, but achieving a draw with West Bromwich Albion on the opening day of the Championship, and a 3–0 victory over Reading, as Shola Ameobi scored and dedicated his hat-trick to the late Sir Bobby Robson.
Several takeover bids were revealed, yet none prevailed. United, however, continued a bright opening start to the season with six games unbeaten at the top of the table, and caretaker boss Chris Hughton collect the Manager of the Month prize for the Championship. The transfer window closed without full-time players signed, although Løvenkrands decided to rejoin on the final day of the transfer window, but Hughton was granted permission to sign players on loan, acquiring Danny Simpson from Manchester United, and Zurab Khizanishvili from Blackburn Rovers. Later in the year, he signed Marlon Harewood on loan from Aston Villa and Fabrice Pancrate on a free transfer.
Chris Hughton
After Kevin Keegan ruled out another return to Newcastle, Chris Hughton became the club's permanent manager on 27 October 2009. He expressed his honour and delight at the role and felt challenged by the aim to take united back to the Premier League. Simultaneously, Ashley once again withdrew the club from sale after again claiming he had been unsuccessful in finding a suitable buyer for the club, despite reducing his asking price to £80 million, also announcing he held deep regret over buying the club. the club confirmed he would invest more money into the club's debt and would work on re-branding the stadium name. Derek Llambias confirmed that St James' Park would not be completely renamed, but linked with a notable sponsorship deal. Fan protests, however, continued on Ashley upon the club's home win against Peterborough United, with banners and chants being demonstrated against his plans before, during and after the match.
The squad, however, continued to produce good results, and by mid-December had established a seven-point lead on top of the Championship table, producing seven wins back-to-back, the first of which the club has produced since 1996 under Keegan. The club still remained top of the league as of January 2010 and had an impressive Peter Løvenkrands hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, but following a loss to title rivals West Brom, the club were knocked out of the competition. The January transfer window saw Marlon Harewood returned to parent club Aston Villa following an injury, Hughton moving to strengthen the club's defence by signing Danny Simpson permanently, Fitz Hall from QPR defender Mike Williamson from Portsmouth, and defender Patrick van Aanholt on a month's loan from Chelsea. He also signed Queens Park Rangers winger Wayne Routledge. A bid for Crystal Palace striker Victor Moses was unsuccessful as Moses opted to move instead to Premier League team Wigan Athletic. Moreover, the club failed to sign Jermaine Beckford from Leeds United nor Sol Campbell on a free deal, who ironically announced expressed interest. The final transfer saw Coventry City striker Leon Best join the club on a 3 1⁄2-year deal.
In March 2010, Kevin Nolan was named the Championship Player of the Year in the Football League Awards.
Worries of the club's promotion ambitions began to surface following allegations of Steven Taylor and Andy Carroll being involved in a fight at the club's training ground, with both said to have been hospitalised following the incident. Carroll returned to the squad the following day to score the winner against Doncaster Rovers, and despite leaving hospital the following day also, after surgery, Taylor was confirmed to miss the rest of the season, despite being in the final stages of recovery from a knee injury, with rumours of also suffering a broken jaw.
The club, however, secured promotion back to the Premier League on 5 April 2010 following Nottingham Forest only managing a 0–0 draw with Cardiff City, leaving the club indefinitely finishing in the top two of the table. Although a win against Sheffield United that evening would have secured the promotion for the club nonetheless, the club defeated Sheffield 2–1 and manager Chris Hughton celebrated with a promotion party after the match with the players celebrating with the fans.
Newcastle United won the Championship League Trophy on 19 April 2010 following a 2–0 victory at Plymouth.
The club finished the final games of the season with a 2–2 draw with Ipswich Town at St James' Park and a final day, 1–0 away win at QPR. The final league table saw Newcastle breaking the 100 points barrier, winning 30 league games, drawing 12 and losing only 4.
Team kit
The team kit for the 2009–10 season is produced by Adidas and Northern Rock will remain as the main sponsor. During the season Northern Rock signed a new contract but dissatisfaction with Mike Ashley saw Adidas terminate their deal after 15 years as sponsors. Puma became Newcastle's new kit makers at the end of the season.
Chronological list of events
Appearances, goals and cards
(Substitute appearances in brackets)In
Out
Loans out
Competitions
Win Draw Loss