Jimmy Lawrence
1904-22
Goalkeeper
496 apps, 0 goals
Lawrence is the clubs record appearance holder who got capped once for Scotland. He won 3 league titles and 1 FA Cup while at the club and upon retiring went to manage in Germany
AUGUST
v Bournemouth 1 (Ibe 38) Newcastle United 2 (Shelvey 2, 10)
A decent start to the season but Bournemouth were the better side. Shelvey who only scores in pairs it seems got us off to the perfect start with a fine volleyed finish and then a powerful free-kick.
--
v
Newcastle United 1 (Davies 89) Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff (van de Beek), Murphy, Almiron (Kovalenko), Davies*, Pellegri (Jimenez)
A win, with a convincing performance that just lacked the goals. Alphonso Davies delighted us with his late goal as he headed in at the back post.
--
v
Newcastle United 2 (Davies 37, Longstaff 54) Arsenal 1 (Fernandinho 83) Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff, Pavon, Almiron (Kovalenko), Davies*, Pellegri (Lincoln)
Hopefully this result is a true indicator as to what level we are at and it is not a one off. Alphonso Davies' finish was a powerful first time effort from a tight angle.
-- v Watford 2 (Hernandez 26, 88) Newcastle United 1 (Pavon 17)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey (Tonali), Longstaff (Kovalenko), Pavon, van de Beek, Almiron, Lincoln (Jimenez)
This was extremely disappointing. Despite taking the lead we really didn't perform well at all and I was happy to be getting a draw but Watford scored late on and consigned us to defeat.
--
SUMMARY
A decent start to the season as we won 3 and lost 1 of our opening 4 games. The performances apart from the Arsenal game weren't really at the required standard but with me bringing in so many young players they are still trying to get to know my system etc.
Alphonso Davies has been the man who has impressed the most with 2 goals and 2 MOM awards but unfortunately he has got an injury and will be out for nearly 2 months.
In other news a few days after the transfer window shut one of my top targets was put on the transfer list and I moved to sign him and he will be revealed in January.
As for the Europa League we have been drawn in a group alongside AZ Alkmaar, Qarabag and Sporting Lisbon.
Frank Hudspeth
1910-29
Defender
472 apps, 37 goals
Hudspeth won 1 cap for England and holds the joint record for longest time served with the club alongside Bill McCracken. He was also captain of the club until Hughie Gallacher arrived.
-- SEPTEMBER
v
West Ham United 1 (Felipe Anderson 23) Newcastle United 1 (van de Beek 56)
Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel , Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff (Kovalenko), Pavon, van de Beek*, Almiron, Pellegri
We went into this game being huge underdogs apparently which was a surprise for me and we were the better team as it turned out but that was only after they had a man sent-off.
--
UEFA Europa League Group C
v Newcastle United 2 (Pellegri 1, 76) Qarabag 0
Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Tonali, van de Beek (Sancet), Murphy, Kovalenko, Sessegnon, Pellegri*
Pellegri wasn't meant to play in this match but Lincoln and Jimenez picked up injuries during the week. McKenna, Furness and Sessegnon made their debuts here.
--
v Newcastle United 3 (Pellegri 7, Almiron 33, Longstaff 44) Swansea City 0
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Dummett, Shelvey (Tonali), Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek, Almiron (Sessegnon), Pellegri*
Newly promoted Swansea didn't stand a chance against us here. Pellegri got his 1st league goal for the club while even Almiron got a goal!
--
Carabao Cup 3rd Round v
Liverpool 1 (Sturridge 43) Newcastle United 4 (Pellegri 6, 28, 45, Pavon 62)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff (Tonali), Murphy, van de Beek, Pavon, Pellegri*
MAGNIFICENT!!!!
Pietro Pellegri was on fire here as he got a hat-trick and assisted the 4th goal. To win 4-1 at Anfield is a magnificent achievement. Liverpool had a strong side out too. They had a man sent-off but we were already 4-1 up at the time.
--
v
Newcastle United 0 Manchester United 1 (Dybala 17) Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff, Pavon, Kovalenko, Almiron (Murphy), Pellegri (Lincoln)
This was a harsh result. Man Utd took the lead and for the first 30min they were on top but after that we battered them but just couldn't find a goal and we deserved at least a point.
--
SUMMARY
We had a good month here. In the league we drew with West Ham, thumped Swansea and undeservedly lost to Man Utd. We are in the top 6 which is what I am expecting for the season so all is going good. In the Europa League we defeated Qarabag but our exploits in the Carabao Cup were the highlight as we thrashed Liverpool 4-1 at Anfield.
A key moment of the season could actually be 2 injuries that happened. Lincoln and Jimenez were due to play against Qarabag but got injured so Pellegri came in, got 2 goals to get off the mark for the club and then went on to score against Swansea and then get a hat-trick against Liverpool.
The stadium expansion is complete and St.James' Park now holds 60,000 people but it comes at a cost as at the moment we are £36m in debt!
Finally in the league there have been some huge wins. Man Utd lost 5-0 to Bournemouth, Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 9-1, Wolves 5-1 and Cardiff City 6-3, Arsenal beat Leicester 7-3, Sheffield United 6-0 and Liverpool 5-0 and Man City beat Brighton 5-0. All this and we are only 7 games into the season!!!!
Clark was part of the side that won the UEFA Fairs Cup in 1969 - the last major trophy that the club has won. He was released as the club thought he was past it but was promptly bought by Nottingham Forest where he went on to win the European Cup in his last competitive game.
--
OCTOBER
UEFA Europa League Group C
v
AZ Alkmaar 1 (Boadu 35)
Newcastle United 2 (Tonali 4, Sessegnon 73)
Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel*, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Tonali, van de Beek (Sancet), Murphy, Kovalenko, Sessegnon, Lincoln (Jimenez)
A good win. I decided to chance it with my backups and they duly rewarded me with a hard fought victory.
--
v
Liverpool 2 (Roberto Firmino 5, van Dijk 58)
Newcastle United 0
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Kovalenko), Almiron, Pellegri (Lincoln)
Back to back defeats in the league and with Spurs away next it could well be 3. Not good. They certainly got their revenge on us here.
--
v
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Rabiot 86) Newcastle United 2 (Longstaff 10, Murphy 68)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff*, Pavon (Murphy), van de Beek (Kovalenko), Sessegnon, Pellegri (Lincoln)
A huge victory!!!!! We took the lead thanks to a trademark Longstaff thunderbolt. Then in the 2nd half Dele Ali got sent-off and then Jacob Murphy came off the bench to score the clincher. Lincoln then unfortunately had a goal disallowed before they pulled a goal back. We then had to hang on big time but we managed.
We reach the next round thanks to a hilarious own goal and a bit of quality from Tonali who is slowly creeping up on Jonjo Shelvey for a place in the starting XI.
--
SUMMARY
Our defeat against Liverpool at the start of this month had us on a downer but it was quickly turned around thanks to a great win over Spurs away. We then beat Southampton which was key as our next fixture is against Man City. We are strolling our Europa League group and will be able to continue to play my backups for the final 3 games which is nice.
We have also reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and have been drawn away against Championship side Burnley which is a decent draw for us.
Individually I need my strikers to score in the league. Pellegri has 6 goals this season (same as Rondon last season and 1 more than Muto lol) but only 1 has come in the league. Lincoln has only scored once in all comps too so that needs to improve.
Shay was signed from Blackbur for £1.5m after a loan spell at Sunderland. He was 34 apps from breaking the club appearance record before he left to join Man City for an initial £5.9m. Currently a goalkeeping coach at Derby County.
--
NOVEMBER
v
Manchester City 2 (Sane 2, Bernardo Silva 86)
Newcastle United 0
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff (van de Beek), Murphy, Almiron, Sessegnon (Davies), Pellegri (Lincoln)
I have no complaints about the result as Man City battered us from start to finish however we had an equaliser disallowed despite it being a shot from Longstaff from outside the area which could have changed things.
--
UEFA Europa League Group C
v
Newcastle United 1 (Lincoln 35pen) Sporting Lisbon 1 (Dost 15)
Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Tonali (Sancet), van de Beek*, Murphy, Kovalenko, Sessegnon (Davies), Lincoln
Although this is our 1st points dropped in the group it was our best performance as we battered Sporting Lisbon and had 27 shots but it was not to be. The draw does however confirm our progress into the knockout stages.
--
v
Newcastle United 2 (Pellegri 59, Shelvey 90) Leeds United 0 Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Dummett, Shelvey, Longstaff (van de Beek), Pavon*, Almiron (Kovalenko), Davies, Pellegri
A comfortable win in the end with the funny part being Isaac Hayden receiving a red card in stoppage time.
--
v
Chelsea 3 (Hazard 46, David Luiz 54, Higuaín 65)
Newcastle United 1 (Davies 53)
Lineup - Woodman, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles, Schar, Dummett (Sessegnon), Shelvey, Longstaff (Sancet), Pavon, van de Beek, Davies, Pellegri
During the international break Dubravka got injured and is out for about a month so it gives Freddie Woodman a chance to impress but he couldn't do much here with the goals that we conceded. Yedlin and Dummett had shocking games.
We go into December with our season in the balance. 4 wins out of our last 10 games sees us just clinging on to the coattails of the teams in the Europa League spots so we need to string a run of results together which will be tough. Having said that we have played all of the top 6 in those 10 games so the fixture list is kinder next month.
I also seen the plans for Brexit - hopefully it wont affect me to much. From what I can gather it would mainly effect young cheap regens from abroad but that would be where my affiliated clubs would come in to play.
Once said to be the best left back in Britain McMichael won 1 FA Cup while at Newcastle and won 40 caps for Northern Ireland
--
DECEMBER
v
Newcastle United 3 (Longstaff 19, Pellegri 32, Sessegnon 69) Leicester City 1 (Riedewald 84)
Lineup - Woodman, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali (van de Beek), Longstaff, Pavon (Murphy), Kovalenko, Sessegnon, Pellegri*
A good win. I have decided to give Tonali a run in the side as he has done well so far this season and has been training well - after al he should be far better than Shelvey in the future. They had Amartey sent-off shortly after we went 2-0 up so it was an easy win.
--
v
Cardiff City 0
Newcastle United 1 (Pellegri 52)
Lineup - Woodman, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles, Schar*, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff (Shelvey), Pavon, Kovalenko (van de Beek), Davies, Pellegri
A poor performance and a very fortunate victory as our goal came when their keeper kicked the ball off Pellegri and the ball rolled into the net.
A great win and performance as we score 4 goals here. Pellegri is on a fine run of form but my AMC position is proving to be difficult as neither Almiron, Kovalenko or van de Beek are impressing.
--
UEFA Europa League Group C
v
Newcastle United 3 (Sessegnon 12, Lincoln 35, Murphy 49) AZ Alkmaar 0 Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Tonali, Shelvey, Murphy*, van de Beek (Almiron), Sessegnon, Lincoln
This game ends the group stage and we end it with 5 wins and a draw. Always nice to see the backups do well.
--
v
Crystal Palace 1 (Townsend 23) Newcastle United 1 (Schar 52)
Lineup - Woodman, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Almiron), Davies (Sessegnon), Pellegri (Lincoln)
Our winning run comes to an end but at least we got a point with Schar scoring for the 2nd game in a row. Kovalenko got an injury before the game and is out for 2 months.
--
Carabao Cup Quarter-Final v
Burnley 0 Newcastle United 2 (Murphy 36, Almiron 74)
Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Shelvey, Sancet, Murphy, Almiron*, Sessegnon (Davies), Lincoln (Jimenez)
We reach the semis with a win against the Championship side. Lincoln really needs to get some goals when given the chance.
That's 11 goals for Pellegri now - the same as my 2 first choice strikers got last season. Lewis Cook got sent-off for them - it seems our opponents get a lot of red cards against us.
--
The corresponding fixture last year saw us lose 3-0 with us scoring 2 own goals so we got sweet revenge here. Scott McKenna finally made his league debut here. This win takes us up to 4th which of course is a Champions League place.
--
v
Newcastle United 3 (Pellegri 17, Sessegnon 31, McKenna 40) Sheffield United 1 (Carruthers 24) Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel, Lascelles (Furness), McKenna, Dummett, Sancet, van de Beek*, Murphy (Clarke), Almiron (Morilla), Sessegnon, Pellegri
The Everton game was just 2 days before this one so I had to field a severely weakened side but we played very well and got the win. Pellegri cant stop scoring while van de Beek impressed with 2 assists.
--
SUMMARY
December was a great month for us as we won all our games apart from when we drew away to Crystal Palace. Pellegri has been banging in the goals and Sessegnon and Davies on the left wing have been getting on the scoresheet regularly too.
We are now 5pts clear in 4th place so we are looking good for the Champions League but that will still be difficult to achieve. Then again if we win the Europa League we will qualify through that avenue and we have Galatasaray in the next round. In the FA Cup we are at home to Everton.
We go into January with a fabulous signing lined up - the only problem is we really don't need him but to get him at such a cheap price I couldn't refuse. I will reveal him now as he will appear in the team sheets next month.
I had actually agreed to sign him in the summer before Pellegri for £36m but I noticed he wasn't a natural striker and I had Davies lined up for the left wing at a 3rd of the price so I cancelled the deal. Then after the transfer window closed he requested a transfer and the asking price was £20m so I jumped right in. Now with Kean, Davies and Sessegnon for the LW I have a headache!
McCracken won 3 league titles and an FA Cup but is most famous for leading the Newcastle defence so well to catch out teams that he inspired the adaptation of the offside rule.
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney (Sessegnon), Tonali, van de Beek, Pavon (Kean), Almiron, Davies, Pellegri*
We kick-off 2020 with a great win and a fantastic individual performance from Pietro Pellegri who gets his 2nd hat-trick of the season. Alphonso Davies reacted to Kean arriving at the club the best way - by scoring a goal.
--
FA Cup 3rd Round
v
Newcastle United 3 (Pavon 5, Pellegri 28, Shelvey 55) Everton 0
Everton went into this game without a manager and we went into this game without a host of players (Almiron and Tonali played but shouldn't have) but we got a great win as our excellent run of form continues.
--
Carabao Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg
v
Manchester City 3 (Icardi 44, Bernardo Silva 51, 55) Newcastle United 2 (Davies 11, Pavon 79)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek, Davies, Pellegri
Not bad. With 2 away goals we have a chance of getting to the final although we haven't won against Man City yet so I am not overly optimistic.
--
v
Arsenal 2 (Rodriguez 9pen, Forsberg 35)
Newcastle United 1 (Kean 78)
I went into this game knowing we would get beat and we surely did although my young (6 teenagers) weakened team went toe to toe with Arsenal who move within 4pts of us. We even finished the match with 10 men as Kean went off injured after he scored and he will be out for about a month.
--
v
Newcastle United 2 (Pellegri 7, Pavon 27) Watford 1 (Strinic 69) Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali*, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Almiron), Davies (Sessegnon), Pellegri (Jimenez)
--
Carabao Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg
v
Newcastle United 2 (Davies 60, Lascelles 83) Manchester City 0 (Agg: 4-3)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles*, Schar, Tierney (Sessegnon), Shelvey, Longstaff, Murphy, van de Beek, Davies Pellegri (Jimenez)
WOOOOOOOOO!!!
We reach the final thanks to a brilliant performance from my players. Davies put us in front before Lascelles finished things off with a header.
--
FA Cup 4th Round v
Newport County 1 (Amond 82pen) Newcastle United 3 (Jimenez 5pen, 8, Shelvey 32)
Having been 2-0 up after 8min I thought we would win by much more but I suppose I will take 3-1.
--
v
Newcastle United 2 (Davies 20, Pellegri 60) West Ham United 0 Lineup - Dubravka, Murphy, McKenna, Dummett, Sessegnon, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Morilla), Davies, Pellegri*
This was one of the most pleasing results of the season so far as despite fielding my backups in the last match my squad was decimated for this one. Murphy was a makeshift RB, and Dummett filled in at CB while McKenna got a much needed league appearance. We still won though!
--
SUMMARY
Our excellent form in December carried on into January as we look to have consolidated 4th place as we are 7pts behind 3rd place but also 7pts above 5th place and even though we lost to Arsenal we managed to win the other matches. In the cups we are through in the FA Cup and will play Arsenal in the next round.
In the Carabao Cup we overcame a narrow defeat in the 1st leg of the semi against Man City to defeat them in the 2nd leg 2-0 and reach the final where we will play Everton so we have a great chance of winning our first trophy.
After the signing of Moise Kean I decided not to spend anymore money and save the £15m that I had left although we need some more young players to bulk up my U23 side.
Bobby Mitchell
1949-61
Forward
412 apps, 113 goals
Mitchell (nicknamed Dazzler) won 3 FA Cups while at Newcastle and also managed to win 2 caps for Scotland - scoring on his debut. He also scored in the 1955 cup final.
--
FEBRUARY
v
Swansea City 1 (Ayew 85) Newcastle United 2 (Almiron 22, 39)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Furness, Schar, Dummett, Shelvey, van de Beek, Pavon, Almiron*, Sessegnon, Pellegri (Jimenez)
We are struggling to put out a fully fit XI just now and only had 14 fully fit players here however 2 brilliant Almiron goals got us the points here.
--
UEFA Europa League 1st Round 1st Leg v
Galatasaray 1 (Emre Akbaba 87)
Newcastle United 2 (Pavon 10, Pierre-Gabriel 25)
Not bad although their late goal is a bit annoying. Pierre-Gabriel impressed considering he was playing out of position and he scored a fluke of a goal when his cross found the back of the net.
--
v
Manchester United 4 (Tierney 44og, Lukaku 57, Correa 73, 78) Newcastle United 2 (De Gea 6og, Almiron 48)
Lineup - Dubravka, Tavernier, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney (Sessegnon), Tonali (Kovalenko), Longstaff, Pavon, Almiron, Davies (Kean), Pellegri
For 70min we more than matched Man Utd but then two mistakes from James Tavernier cost us and we sank to defeat.
--
UEFA Europa League 1st Round 2nd Leg
v
Newcastle United 1 (Lincoln 44) Galatasaray 0 (Agg: 3-1)
Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel (Tavernier), McKenna, Furness*, Sessegnon, Shelvey, van de Beek, Murphy, Kovalenko (Sancet), Kean, Lincoln
With the Carabao Cup final just a couple of days away I decided to play my backups here and we just edged it to go through.
--
Carabao Cup Final
v
Newcastle United 1 (Longstaff 75) Everton 0
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff*, Pavon, Almiron (Kovalenko), Davies (Kean), Pellegri (Lincoln)
WE WIN THE CARABAO CUP!!!!!
We dominated this match from start to finish. Pellegri even missed a penalty after 19min so it could have been more but as it was our goal came thanks to Sean Longstaff's fantastic free-kick.
--
v
Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon*, Almiron (Kovalenko), Kean (Davies), Pellegri (Lincoln)
I don't know how we didn't win this game as we battered Spurs. We had 23 efforts on goal to their 4 and Kean had a goal disallowed for us too.
--
FA Cup 5th Round
v
Newcastle United 2 (Almiron 22, Shelvey 87) Arsenal 1 (Fornals 42) Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), Lascelles, Schar, Dummett, Shelvey*, van de Beek, Pavon, Almiron, Kean (Davies), Pellegri (Lincoln)
An enthralling cup match which we just manage to win. Jonjo Shelvey scored a late free-kick which means he has scored in every round so far.
--
SUMMARY
I didn't know where I was half the time this month with us having matches in 4 competitions lol. The highlight of the month was naturally the Carabao Cup final win over Everton which brought us our first major trophy since 1969. In the FA Cup we beat Arsenal at home and will play Wolves in the quarter-finals.
As for the league we are still 4th but our lead over 5th placed Chelsea is now down to 2pts but we do have 2 games in hand.
In the Europa League we knocked out Galatasaray and have been paired with Marseille in the next round. Athletic Bilbao have been drawn against Real Sociedad, their bitter rivals, I noticed - what are the chances of us meeting Athletic later on in the tournament?
Fantastic. This should allow me to play my backups in the 2nd leg as surely we wont throw away a 3 goal advantage.
--
v
Newcastle United 1 (Kean 28) Manchester City 2 (Icardi 34, 71)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Almiron), Kean, Pellegri (Lincoln)
We went into this game down in 6th place as we haven't played as many games. We didn't deserve to lose this match at all but it was not to be. We have 2 games in hand so I am not overly concerned although Pellegri has stopped scoring and we haven't won in our last 3 league games.
--
UEFA Europa League 2nd Round 2nd Leg v
Marseille 2 (Payet 24, Ocampos 63)
Newcastle United 2 (Jimenez 78pen, Sancet 85) (Agg: 2-5)
Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Shelvey, van de Beek (Sancet), Murphy, Kovalenko, Davies (Sessegnon), Lincoln (Jimenez)
At 2-0 down I was a bit worried but we rallied and a penalty from Jimenez and an opportunistic finish from Sancet ended any nerves.
This was a tough cup match which we just win. Moise Kean is on a great run of form but Pellegri still cant buy a goal to save his life.
--
v
Newcastle United 3 (van de Beek 54, Shelvey 61, Pellegri 68) Chelsea 1 (Dembele 90)
Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey*, Longstaff, Pavon (Murphy), van de Beek, Kean, Pellegri
We end our poor run of form in the league with a fantastic victory here. van de Beek put us in front and then Higuaín got sent-off for them. Shelvey fired in a free-kick and then Pellegri finally ended out poor run of form.
--
v
Leeds United 2 (Roofe 89, Clark 90)
Newcastle United 2 (Longstaff 16, Kean 56)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, McKenna, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff, Pavon (Murphy), Kovalenko (Almiron), Kean, Pellegri (Jimenez)
WHAT THE **** HAPPENED HERE????
2-0 up with 2min to go and we throw it away and to make matters worse it was my old player Ciaran Clark who equalised as he rounded my keeper to score. Absolutely raging!!!!
--
SUMMARY
I suppose I should be happy with this month but the last result when we threw away a 2 goal lead against Leeds with 2min to go has really soured my mood. Our rocky league form (1 win in 5) could ruin our league campaign as we are lying in 5th place, level on points with Chelsea and West Ham however fortunately we have 2 games in hand.
In the cups we have made progress in the Europa League and in the quarter-finals we will play VfL Wolfsburg while in the FA Cup semis we will play Liverpool.
Moise Kean has been in great form and is keeping Alphonso Davies out of the side and he has been scoring the goals that Pietro Pellegri, who recently won his 1st Italy cap, hasn't been doing.
Now this is exciting. Scotland lost a play-off against Serbia as they failed to reach this summers Euros so Alex McLeish got the bullet. I applied for the job and the very next day I got the job.
With the likes of Tierney, Robertson, Fraser, McKenna and McTominay there is a chance of a bright future - we just need to harness the talent correctly.
Alan Shearer
1996-2006
Forward
405 apps, 206 goals
Shearer was brought back to his home city for a then world record £15m fee. He is the clubs record goalscorer and also managed the club for a short while when Newcastle got relegated - thanks to Joe Kinnear mainly!
--
APRIL FA Cup Semi-Final
v
Newcastle United 2 (Pellegri 12, Kovalenko 80) Liverpool 0 Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney (Dummett), Tonali, Longstaff (van de Beek), Pavon, Almiron (Kovalenko), Kean, Pellegri*
Wonderful.
We dominated this game throughout and fully deserved our win as we put our game against Leeds United behind us and we knock Liverpool out of both domestic cup competitions. Pellegri had a goal disallowed while Kovalenko scored his 1st goal for us with a powerful effort from the edge of the area.
We should be in the semis after this result. Longstaff also had a goal disallowed.
--
v
Newcastle United 3 (Longstaff 14, Pellegri 45, 90) Cardiff City 1 (Buendia 18) Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Tierney (Dummett), Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, Almiron (Kovalenko), Kean (Davies), Pellegri*
Sean Longstaff has really impressed this season and he has scored in 3 of his last 4 games now. We are level on points with Chelsea but with a massive 3 games in hand!!!! They only have 4 league matches left lol.
v
Newcastle United 1 (Lincoln 80) Liverpool 3 (Lallana 52, 69, Roberto Firmino 62)
Lineup - Dubravka, Pierre-Gabriel, McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Tonali, Longstaff (Sancet), Pavon, Almiron (Kovalenko), Kean, Pellegri (Lincoln)
A poor result despite a decent performance. I suppose I should take solace in the fact that we have knocked out Liverpool in both domestic cup competitions. Lincoln finally got his 1st league goal for us.
--
v
Newcastle United 2 (Davies 1, Longstaff 60) Crystal Palace 0 Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Furness, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey (van de Beek), Longstaff*, Pavon, Kovalenko (Almiron), Davies, Pellegri (Lincoln)
This wasn't even one of our games in hand but we still jump back up to 4th place as Chelsea lost. Just a thought - I am pretty sure Sean Longstaff qualifies to play for Scotland but he isn't in the game. That's a shame.
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin (Pierre-Gabriel), McKenna*, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Kovalenko), Kean (Davies), Pellegri
We still have work to do for the 2nd leg but I am still confident on getting through and the 2 away goals could be handy. Typical that Andy Carroll scored against us!
--
SUMMARY
The games just keep coming and coming. Everyone else has 2 league games left to play - we have 4 plus an FA Cup final and at least one more in the Europa League. 4pts would secure 4th place and Champions League football where all the big bucks are. I am interested to see how much of a transfer budget I will get next season but having said that I set up my squad for the long term in the summer.
In the Europa League we have a bit to do against Feyenoord although a potential final against Athletic Bilbao is off the cards as they have been eliminated.
"Wor" Jackie Milburn was the clubs record goalscorer for many years until Alan Shearer came along and broke his record. He won 3 FA Cups while at the club and is the uncle of Bobby and Jack Charlton.
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MAY
v
Sheffield United 0 Newcastle United 2 (van de Beek 21, Pavon 64)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, McKenna, Schar, Dummett, Shelvey (Sancet), van de Beek*, Pavon, Almiron (Pierre-Gabriel), Davies, Pellegri (Lincoln)
That's us qualified for the Champions League for next season and our transfer budget for next season is £56m which is £40m less than last year but hey ho.
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v
Leicester City 0 Newcastle United 2 (Lincoln 23, 40)
With 4th place wrapped up I have decided to play my reserves for the rest of the league campaign so it was good to see Lincoln getting a couple of goals.
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UEFA Europa League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
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Newcastle United 1 (Kean 17) Feyenoord 0 (Agg: 3-2)
Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Tonali, Longstaff, Pavon, van de Beek (Almiron), Kean*, Pellegri
We reach the final thanks to a narrow victory over Feyenoord here. We dominated the match with 21 shots to their 2 so we were always in control.
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v
Newcastle United 4 (Kovalenko 19, Davies 26, 45, Lincoln 37) Everton 2 (Dolberg 49, 62) Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel (Tavernier), McKenna, Furness, Dummett, Shelvey, Sancet, Davies* (Jimenez), Kovalenko, Sessegnon (Morilla), Lincoln
This was the final day of the season for 18 out of the 20 clubs and Everton's last game ended in misery as our tremendous 1st half display blew them away. Unfortunately Alphonso Davies got injured and will miss the rest of the season.
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FA Cup Final v
West Ham United 0 Newcastle United 2 (Pellegri 22, 42pen)
That's the domestic cup double done as we easily beat West Ham. Pietro Pellegri got a double to move him up to 29 goals for the season.
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UEFA Europa League Final
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Newcastle United 2 (Almiron 16, Longstaff 28) Napoli 1 (Mertens 85) Lineup - Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Schar, Tierney, Shelvey, Longstaff*, Pavon (Murphy), van de Beek (Kovalenko), Almiron, Pellegri (Jimenez)
WE WIN THE EUROPA LEAGUE!!!!!
I am so proud of my players as we were without the likes of Kean, Furness, Morilla, Sancet, Tonali, Sessegnon and Lincoln due to international duty but we still managed to beat the newly crowned Italian champions. Almiron put us ahead before Longstaff came up with one of his long range specials. We were looking comfortable until Dries Mertens pulled a goal back with 5min to go.
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v
Southampton 1 (Boufal 88)
Newcastle United 0
Lineup - Woodman, Pierre-Gabriel (Tavernier), Lascelles, McKenna, Dummett, Shelvey, van de Beek, Murphy, Kovalenko (Sorensen), Almiron, Pellegri (Jimenez)
This was a nothing match with neither team able to move up the table.
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SUMMARY
We end the season fantastically as we won the Europa League and the FA Cup finals. In the FA Cup we defeated West Ham but it was our Europa League final conquest that really thrilled me as I was without several players yet we still managed to win. In the league we saw out the campaign quietly enough and my backup players impressed.
What a 2nd season I had!!! We won the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Europa League and also managed to comfortably finish 4th in the league. Not only that but I became Scotland manager too!!!!!
In the league we finished in our own little island in the table. We were 13pts behind 3rd place Man Utd but also 7pts ahead 5th placed side Chelsea. We had a couple of patchy runs during the season but considering we finished nearly 20pts behind the champions on that basis we need to find 7 extra wins from somewhere and I cant see that happening tbh. Then again if we improve and the others falter somehow it could be closer.
In the Carabao Cup the highlight was our 3rd round match away to Liverpool when a Pietro Pellegri hat-trick inspired us to a 4-1 win. We beat Man City in the semis before Everton were defeated in the final. As for the FA Cup apart from the semi-final victory over Liverpool it was all plain sailing and West Ham were swotted away in the final.
Our return to Europe was great. The backups were played throughout the group stage and we were unbeaten before we knocked out Galatasaray, Marseille, Wolfsburg and Feyenoord before we played the Italian champions Napoli in the final. On the day we were excellent with Sean Longstaff scoring a stunning goal and we managed to win 2-1.
Goalkeepers - Dubravka did well but I was more impressed with Freddie Woodman. My backup keeper played 21 times and showed he could step up to the plate. Now I have a decision to make!!!
Defenders - Not many disappointments here. Lascelles and Schar picked up from where they left off last term, Tierney came in and was fantastic at LB and Yedlin was decent on the right. Scott McKenna, Dale Furness and Ronael Pierre-Gabriel all did well too.
Midfielders - I started the season with Jonjo Shelvey partnering Sean Longstaff in CM and although Shelvey did well I put in Sandro Tonali halfway during the season and he did well too. As for Longstaff he was magnificent. He got into double figures for goals and scored some stunning long range strikes.
At AMC I rotated Almiron, Kovalenko and van de Beek. Almiron did so well this season after last years horror show and was the pick of the bunch. On the RW Pavon was good although I would have expected more goals from him while Jacob Murphy surprised me when he stepped in with how well he performed.
On the LW Davies was excellent and was our 2nd top scorer. Sessegnon did OK and featured mostly in the 1st half of the season and then in January Moise Kean came in and did ok so the battle for LW will be interesting next season.
Forwards - Up front I had Pietro Pellegri who started off poorly, then hit an amazing run of form, went off the boil again and then came back and ended up with 29 goals and the European Golden Boy award. Lincoln was my backup striker was disappointing and needs to score more than 7 goals for his efforts.
My Player of the Year - Sean Longstaff My Young Player of the Year - Pietro Pellegri Must Do Better - Lincoln Donkey of the Year - James Tavernier
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AIMS FOR PRE-SEASON
I cant foresee much changes to the 1st team squad tbh. If I can bring in a few more English players that would be good but we shall see. I have a couple of youngsters coming in plus Almada has been given a work permit so that's another AMC for me to play about with lol.
There was no indication of this so I was a bit taken aback when this was announced. It was all done in a few days from rumours to completion. He isn't a tycoon so that's a shame lol. He immediately gave me a new contract with a £30,000 a week wage rise and also agreed to improve facilities etc.
I was actually a lot busier than I thought I would be this summer and I don't think I am done yet! After saying I wasn't expecting any major moves in my squad I have somehow went out and sold £114m worth of players while only spending £58m to replace them.
The takeover in the summer really surprised me - I have never seen 2 takeovers in 2 seasons before - and so far everything I have asked for I have received. I now have to deal with the Brexit regulations so that will be a learning process for me.
At time of posting it is the day of the Community Shield and we still have a week of the window left to do deals.
Finally I brought back Steve Watson and Shay Given to join my backroom staff.
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PLAYERS OUT
A surprise departure was DeAndre Yedlin who joined Lazio for £23m (£25.5m). I was fairly happy with him but saw 2 English RBs that I wanted to bring in so I was willing to let him go. Yedlin wasn't the best defensively but his pace got him out of trouble a lot of times. He played 76 times for me and scored once.
Martin Dubravka joined Watford for £22.5m. At 31 I felt I needed a younger keeper and I got a decent price for him. He played 86 times for me. Also joining Watford is Fabian Schar. He was the supporters player of the year last season and I was happy with him but I just thought I would cash in on him and received £18m for him.
Victor Kovalenko has joined Leicester City for £21m. I was happy to keep him here but with Thiago Almada getting a work permit and being rated much higher by my staff I decided to cash in on Kovalenko. I am sure he will go on to move for much more but I got a £10m profit on him which is ok.
Jonjo Shelvey left to join Everton of all teams for £18.25m. He is a good player but I just felt I could bring in better and younger. He really improved last season but I had a replacement in mind.
Raul Jimenez joined Fulham for £6.75m and James Tavernier left to join Bristol City for £1.2m.
Out on loan has gone several players including Dzerlek, Joveljic, Morilla and Toure.
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PLAYERS IN
My most expensive signing was from Spurs. Harry Winks came in for £26m. He was transfer listed and since I wanted to bring in more English players so he fitted the bill perfectly. He will replace Shelvey as my 3rd choice CM. View attachment 12991
I also signed Max Aarons from Watford for £25.5m. He is the perfect replacement for Yedlin. He is a 20y/o wonderkid and looks the part. I was contemplating bringing in Wan-Bissaka but Crystal Palace were asking for £57m. View attachment 12990
That was it for expensive transfers all the rest were cheap deals.
I brought 2 in from Real Madrid. Jose Vallejo came in for £1m and Borja Mayoral joined for £900,000. I have seen both players be worth over £40m so these were fantastic deals. Vallejo replaces Schar in the squad while I have loaned out Mayoral for £1m plus all his wages so I have made my money back already!!! View attachment 12989View attachment 12988
To replace Dubravka I signed Predrag Rajkovic from Maccabi Tel-Aviv on a free transfer. I had agreed to sign the Serbian in January as my scouts rated him at 95. He will start as first choice but Woodman is breathing down his neck. View attachment 12987
Ariel Lapetina was the last signing for the 1st team. He will be my 3rd choice striker. The 18y/o Argentinian looks like he could be a world class player providing he gets game time but therein lies the problem. View attachment 12986
Finally I signed these 4R regens. Geraint Morris came in from Spurs for £1.3m, Ronald Hernandez came in from Atletico Nacional for £525,000, Marcus Vinicius joined from Corinthians for £135,000 and Dale Bird signed from Stockport for a whopping £7,500. View attachment 12985View attachment 12984View attachment 12983View attachment 12982
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SQUAD
I have a new keeper in Rajkovic, Aarons is my new RB, McKenna will start alongside Lascelles and other than that I have to decide between Davies and Kean to start LW!!!
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AIMS FOR THE SEASON
Hard to judge really. A top 4 place is a must while I would like to narrow the gap on whoever wins the league. Having won 3 trophies last season I would like to win at least one this season. As for the Champions League I think reaching the knockout stages would be acceptable.
The "Mackem Slayer" probably had more substitute appearances than starts tbh. He won 10 caps for Nigeria, scoring twice and his brothers Sammy and Tomi were also on the books with Newcastle with Sammy playing 57 games and scoring twice.
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AUGUST
FA Community Shield
v
Newcastle United 0 Manchester City 0 (Manchester City win 5-4 on penalties)
While naturally I am disappointed at failing to win a trophy I am pleased that my decimated side held a full strength Man City side over 90min. I had to field my 2nd choice LB, 4th choice CM, 2nd choice RM, 3rd choice LW, 4th choice striker (who is at the club) and also due to me not having an AMC I had to change formation for the first time and fielded Marcus Vinicius as a DMC!!!
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v
Newcastle United 3 (Kean 3, 69, 90) Leicester City 1 (Maddison 88) Lineup - Rajkovic, Aarons, Lascelles, McKenna, Tierney, Tonali (Winks), Longstaff, Pavon (Murphy), Almada, Kean*, Pellegri (Davies)
A decent start to the league campaign. We dominated throughout so I am a bit disappointed to see us concede a late goal. Kean was moved to centre forward after an hour and then he scored 2 more to complete his hat-trick.
A good performance with Lascelles somehow scoring from 20 yards. As did Longstaff tbh but that is the norm for him. We should have scored more goals than we did though.
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v
West Ham United 1 (Yarmolenko 85)
Newcastle United 1 (Kean 64)
I cant complain about the end result here however I can complain about us conceding a late goal. Longstaff got injured and is out for 3 weeks.
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v
Newcastle United 3 (Pellegri 18, 36, Winks 66) Everton 0 Lineup - Rajkovic, Aarons, Lascelles, McKenna, Tierney, Winks, van de Beek,Pavon, Almiron (Almada), Davies (Sessegnon), Pellegri*
Everton had also made a strong start to the season but we beat them easily here. Our first goal came from a magnificent van de Beek cross while Winks scored a good goal to get his first for us.
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v
Newcastle United 3 (Kean 32, Pavon 79, Winks 90) Watford 1 (Doku 36) Lineup - Rajkovic, Aarons, Lascelles, McKenna (Vallejo), Tierney, Tonali, Winks*, Pavon, van de Beek (Almada), Kean, Pellegri (Lincoln)
For a long time it looked like Watford might steal an undeserved point but fortunately we scored 2 late goals to win. Winks goal was a beauty as he volleyed in from 18 yards.
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SUMMARY
We have made a decent start to the season. We got beat in the Community Shield by Man City on penalties but then won the European Super Cup over Liverpool when Lincoln scored a last minute winner. In the league we are lying in 2nd place with 4 wins and a draw from 5 games.
In the cups we have a home tie with Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup but we have been given a tough group in the Champions League as we have drawn Shakhtar Donetsk, Valencia and Inter Milan.
Regarding the final days of the transfer window I unfortunately had to sell Ronael Pierre-Gabriel as he was really unhappy and was training horribly and going to the press. I really liked him as a player and sold him to Nottingham Forest for £8.75m which was double what I paid for him.
In his place comes Jayden Bogle from Derby County for £6m. The 20y/o looks a decent prospect but if he doesn't kick on soon then I don't think he will be here long. I tried to get a couple of others including Wan-Bisaka but I wasn't prepared to spend nearly £40m on a backup RB. View attachment 12788
So there I was, delaying my return to my work base, popping into a supermarket to buy beer to put in the fridge on my return home for that evening when I catch my good friend Stonecold and talk about life in general which inevitably ran into FM and one throwaway comment he said struck a chord with me.
"It seems the easiest way this year is to be a decent team, buy a few wonderkids and that's it"
So that got me thinking - that's exactly what I have done. I went a decent team, have done well, and despite not winning the league, in such a short time, I have arguably the best striker in the game, 2 of the best left wingers, one of the best CMs, one of the best LBs, a wonderkid RB, a great young RW and a few other wonderkids so in a year or two it would be a procession and it got me thinking.
So I am stopping the save and fancy going a team in either League 2 or the National League. I want to build a club from the lower ebb rather than have most things set up for me.
So there I was, delaying my return to my work base, popping into a supermarket to buy beer to put in the fridge on my return home for that evening when I catch my good friend Stonecold and talk about life in general which inevitably ran into FM and one throwaway comment he said struck a chord with me.
"It seems the easiest way this year is to be a decent team, buy a few wonderkids and that's it"
So that got me thinking - that's exactly what I have done. I went a decent team, have done well, and despite not winning the league, in such a short time, I have arguably the best striker in the game, 2 of the best left wingers, one of the best CMs, one of the best LBs, a wonderkid RB, a great young RW and a few other wonderkids so in a year or two it would be a procession and it got me thinking.
So I am stopping the save and fancy going a team in either League 2 or the National League. I want to build a club from the lower ebb rather than have most things set up for me.
I guess this was always going to be pretty similar to your Bilbao save in a way! I for one, am looking forward to seeing you tackle the lower leagues in England though....absolutely loving my Hartlepool save that I've just started and building up from the bottom is always good as it gives you a long term project and no way to get all the wonderkids in at such a low level.....by the time you get to the level where wonderkids will join your club, they will be regens and you'll have to go out there and find them! I'm still a way off that though lol!
Leyton Orient or Barnet would be great teams to take over and similar to my Hartlepool situation as they've both also fallen from the football league into non league football over the past couple of years!
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