The New Look Black & White Army

[BennettS]

The New Look Black & White Army.

Newcastle United have confirmed Steve McClaren as their new manager. The 54 year old has twice turned down the Magpies this year but will now take charge ahead of next season. McClaren was at St. James' Park on Wednesday and met with managing director Lee Charnley and chief scout Graham Carr to finalise the terms of a three-year deal, which could be extended to eight years.

He has also been installed on the club's new-look board of directors alongside Charnley and Carr and club ambassador Bob Moncur. Owner Mike Ashley has stepped down from the board but retains complete control of the club.

McClaren said: "I am privileged to be appointed head coach of Newcastle United FC. This is a big club with a wonderful heritage. St. James' Park is like a cathedral on a Saturday afternoon, a symbol for the city and I am excited to be given this opportunity. I know how important Newcastle United is to the city and the region."

"The supporters are some of the most loyal, passionate and devoted in the world. Despite everything they maintain their faith. We owe it to them to do everything we can to reward them with success."

McClaren rejected Newcastle's approach in January in the wake of Alan Pardew's exit and again said 'no' with three matches of the season remaining, on both occasions deciding to remain at Derby County, where he was eventually sacked last month after missing out on the Championship play-offs.

Carr remained in contact with McClaren throughout and it was he who first recommended the former England manager for the role. Talks resumed earlier this month and, after agreeing in principal to take over, McClaren returned from a holiday in Crete on Tuesday before heading to the North East to complete his move.

Billionaire Ashley is set to arm Carr and McClaren with a sizeable transfer budget as they bid to right the wrongs of last season - in which they only avoided relegation on the final day.
​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
Pre-Season 2014/15

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Pre-season went very well, we won a few games but the game we lost to Rangers I cannot begin to understand how that happened. We played very well but it just wasn't our day. I was impressed with our defensive displays in the games, we started pre-season very well and I am hoping we can continue our form and take it into the Barclays Premier League, with an opening game against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on the cards next. Our opening few games are not too bad, starting off with Stoke then facing Norwich at St. James' Park, before facing Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on the 30th August. With the transfer window still open I will do an update of it at the end of September too.​

 

[Bullardinho]

As an NUFC fan I will defo be following! Will you still be running your English Domination story?

 

[BennettS]

As an NUFC fan I will defo be following! Will you still be running your English Domination story?

Thank you mate, yeah I will be but I need a break from it. I had a crash dump which means the last save was a couple of months behind so I need to find the motivation to play those few months again unfortunately! I've always wanted to do a story on Newcastle so I hope I can do well with them!

 

[Bullardinho]

Ahhh that's a shame, hate a crash dump, I always back up my files now.

I love an NUFC save, never got round to doing a story though. Good luck mate!

 

[BennettS]

Ahhh that's a shame, hate a crash dump, I always back up my files now.

I love an NUFC save, never got round to doing a story though. Good luck mate!

I will be continuing it but not at this present moment! Yeah i've made sure I am now haha. Well hopefully we will do well here!

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
August 2014

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My first month in charge at St. James' Park was a decent month, which just ended unfortunately. The first game away to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium was a good game for all to see, Ayoze Perez scored the opening goal in the 27th minute for us, with a debut goal for him and Georginio Wijnaldum who scored a beautiful goal in the 77th minute to give us the win. Ex-Magpie Stephen Ireland was the player to score for Stoke, in a lack-luster performance from the home side. The game against Norwich City was a fantastic spectacle for all Toon Army fans, the first game at home in the season was a demolition of Norwich, 7-1. Ayoze Perez managed to score an incredible 5 goals in that game, rewarding him with a Man of the Match performance and an overall 10.0 rating. The Capital One Cup game against Mansfield was a chance for the youngsters in the squad to show what they're made of, and a chance for the new signings to show what they can do. Chancel Mbemba, Aleksander Mitrovic, Jamaal Lascelles, Karl Darlow, Oliver Kemen and Rolando Aarons all made their debuts for us against the League 2 side. The end of the month was a disappointing result as we lost to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium in Wales. Jonjo Shelvey scored the only goal of the game as we managed to hit the woodwork an incredible four times during the course of the game.

League Table

It is very nice to see Newcastle up near the top of the league, but not nice to see that we are behind Sunderland! Not very much to update on at this early stage in the Barclays Premier League, I am hoping we can keep the form going that we have managed so far.

Player of the Month

Ayoze Perez has done fantastically this month, scoring an incredible 6 goals in 3 games, albeit 5 goals were in one game against Norwich, he received the first ever 10.0 rating I have seen on this version of FM. The other person that could potentially be mentioned is Georginio Wijnaldum who has been fantastic too and achieved the highest rating in the Barclays Premier League so far.
​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
September 2014

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A good month at St. James' Park, apart from that I was shocked at our effort at Old Trafford. A 2-0 win against West Ham United was a good result, Aleksander Mitrovic managed to score his first Barclays Premier League goal for us which was brilliant. The game against Manchester United was shocking, we just didn't turn up, but you have them sort of games on FM unfortunately, lucky that my new laptop isn't smashed to bits on the floor. Crystal Palace was our next fixture against our ex-manager Alan Pardew, I really wanted to beat them and we managed to score the winner after extra time and I was jumping out of my seat! Chancel Mbemba scored his first goal for the club against Liverpool which was brilliant, I was so glad we managed to beat them and come back from the demoralising defeat against Man United.

League Table

Sixth position is not too bad at this stage of the Barclays Premier League, sitting above Sunderland (which is the main thing). Swansea are flying high at the moment, whereas Man United, although their fantastic win against us, are sitting lowly in the league in 10th position. Arsenal are the only team to still have a 100% record and have only conceded two goals so far. Watford are the only club yet to pick up a single point, it is not looking good for the Hornets.

Player of the Month

Chancel Mbemba has done exceptionally since arriving into the first team squad, he was originally playing second fiddle to Jamaal Lascelles but after Lascelles had an injury which has put him out for up to two months, Chancel was given his chance in the first team and he grabbed it with both hands, exceptionally done by the young (or so we think) central defender.​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
October 2014

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A fantastic month for us here. We managed to keep a clean sheet all month, keeping a clean sheet and coming away from White Hart Lane is always good. The Aston Villa game was again at St. James' Park, Jack Colback managed a brace, before Cabella and Mitrovic added to the scoreline. Mitrovic again scored in his second game running which was fantastic before his ex-team mate from Anderlecht scored. Wijnaldum and Sissoko also managed to score both playing from central midfield positions. The final game of the month was against Watford in the Capital One Cup. We were brilliant here, I rested all the first team and gave all the youngsters a chance and it proved extremely effective, Kemen and summer signing Niklas Stark scored the goals to send us through to the next round.

League Table

We have shot up to third position in the Barclays Premier League, Sunderland have dropped to 9th position now. Southampton are seriously under performing. We are only 3 points off 1st place. I want to try and go far in the cup competitions but I believe we can achieve a top half / european qualification finish in the league, especially if we can keep this up.

Player of the Month

Georginio Wijnaldum has been my player of the month for October, finishing third in the Barclays Premier League Player of the Month Award. He has been a revelation since joining from PSV Eindhoven, playing exceptionally well and fitting into the club immediately. I am hoping he will be doing this in real life too! ​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
November 2014

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November was brilliant for us as well! Again we have an unbeaten month in the Barclays Premier League. First of all we faced Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium, Mane opened the scoring within the first ten minutes before Mitrovic managed to pull one back for us. Tadic then scored for the Saints which took them into the half time 2-1 up, luckily for us Massaido Haidara scored his first goal of the season before Virgil van Dijk scored an own goal for the Saints in the 72nd minute and we managed to hold on until the final whistle. Next up we faced Watford at St. James' Park and unfortunately couldn't capitalise on Watford, Wijnaldum opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Haidara got himself sent off for a second bookable offence. Watford were then allowed to come back into the game and had us on the back foot for most of the second half. We then faced Bournemouth away from home and both ex-Anderlecht players got on the scoresheet here. Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba scored a goal each to take us back to the North East with another victory. In the final game of the month we faced Leicester at home and beat them very comfortably, Mitrovic scoring his first hat-trick in a Newcastle shirt after a last minute penalty went our way, with Wijnaldum and Sissoko adding to the scoring list too.

League Table

We manage to find ourselves in 2nd position going into December in the Barclays Premier League, I never thought we would be this high, although next month we do have Man City, Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea and Sunderland to play. I am looking forward to my first Tyne Wear derby in charge of Newcastle. Arsenal have a game in hand against us and I am fairly certain they will beat their next opponent to go into second place.

Player of the Month

The man who scored a hat-trick, and won the Barclays Premier League Young Player of the Month Award for November, Aleksandar Mitrovic. Ayoze Perez's form started to dip and I gave Mitrovic a chance to show what he is made of and I am very impressed. He is now joint second in the Barclays Premier League for Top Goalscorer with 8, behind Sergio Aguero with 11.​

 

[Bullardinho]

Great start mate, KIU. Good to see us where belong

 

[BennettS]

Great start mate, KIU. Good to see us where belong

Thanks pal! I'm doing extremely well so far I can't quite believe it. I am using the same tactic I used in the English Domination thread and it's working perfectly here too.

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
December 2014

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Obviously this was another good month for the club and we ended December on a high barring one blatant result, the main real one that I wanted to win! Unfortunately it just wasn't to be. The month started off brilliantly by beating Man City, Aleksandar Mitrovic continued his goalscoring form by grabbing another two at the Etihad, and Florian Thauvin scored his first goal for the club. We then faced Everton for the first time this month and drew 1-1 with the Scouse side, Lukaku getting a very late equaliser in the 92nd minute after Sissoko scored from the penalty spot in the 81st minute, a draw was a fair result though to be honest. After Everton we faced Arsenal who are currently sitting top of the Barclays Premier League, we went 2-0 up at the Emirates after goals from Sissoko and Colback, before Giroud netted and Coquelin managed to find the goal in the 84th minute. We then faced Everton for the second time this month, this time it was at Goodison Park where we took control of the game from the off, Papiss Cisse scored what is only his second goal of the season, as he has been struggling to find game time. Rolando Aarons also scored his first goal for the club in the Capital One Cup Quarter Final. After the Capital Cup we faced Chelsea, and what a game this was, Mbemba scored a header in the first minute of the game and we truly did dominate from then to the final whistle, Sissoko managed to grab two goals before Coloccini finished the scoring at St. James' Park. Next was the most anticipated game of the season for any Geordie or Mackem, unfortunately we lost the game thanks to Adam Johnson scoring the only goal of the game. The final game of the month was against West Bromwich Albion where Coloccini grabbed a brace and once again that man Sissoko scored another goal to finish off the month.

League Table

Very pleased with the results this month barring the Tyne Wear derby. We sit two points behind Chelsea in 3rd position at the half-way point. I did not expect to be this high in the table this early on, hopefully we can keep this up until the end of the season, I am aiming for a Europa League place at minimum now, I hope I am not being too optimistic though.

Player of the Month

Moussa Sissoko has been announced my player of the month for December. He has been on fire from the right wing so far this season and has been ever present so far in the squad, scoring 5 goals in 7 appearances this month. Mitrovic has been injured and Ayoze Perez has been deployed up front but is just not performing very well at the moment, I need to think about the second half of the season cleverly, the last thing I want is a striker who is not scoring goals, Cisse is annoyed and wants to move on and I do not want any players at the club who do not want to be here.​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
January 2015

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2015 has started off the same way that 2014 ended! Very well! We started the month with a 5-0 victory over Stoke City, Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko and Gouffran all scored in this game. We then had a fixture against Huddersfield Town in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, which I let the youngsters have a run out and they really did impress, Ayoze Perez and Remy Cabella were on the scoresheet in this game. Then we faced Norwich City for the first time out of three this month. We beat them at Carrow Road which was a decent result with Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum scoring yet again. Remy Cabella and Lucas Romero both scored in the victory over Swansea at St. James' Park, with Lucas Romero scoring his first goal since joining in the summer. We then faced Norwich for the second time, this time in the Capital One Cup Semi Final, which unfortunately we couldn't capitalise on in the first leg, Wijnaldum scored again but we couldn't hold onto the lead for the whole 90 minutes. In between our second fixture with Norwich we played Barnsley in the FA Cup 4th Round where we beat the Tykes 4-1, where four different scorers were on the score sheet, Rolando Aarons, Niklas Stark, Siem de Jong and Florian Thauvin. In our Semi-Final 2nd Leg against Norwich we played excellently, putting us through to the Final of the Capital One Cup against Manchester United in March. The final fixture of the month was against my Capital One Cup finalists Man United, we completely outplayed them at St. James' Park with Mitrovic, de Jong and Wijnaldum all scoring.

League Table

Still being second in the league after 23 games is a huge achievement in my first season in charge of Newcastle United. Obviously with this being the January transfer window, I will update you on the transfers I have made. There were three main departures during the window, with Steven Taylor stating that he has achieved all that he can at the club I granted him a transfer to Watford for £6m, especially after dropping down the pecking order behind Mbemba, Coloccini and Lascelles. Emmanuel Riviere has also been sold to Lille for £1m, I was getting annoyed with him pestering me for first team chances and he spat his dummy out when I dropped him after bad performances. The final one of the transfers is the main one, Moussa Sissoko, unfortunately I had to let him go, he was unhappy when I rejected a requested from Arsenal, but when Juventus came in for him he was desperate to leave so I didn't really want to force him to stay.

I made four signings during the transfer window, Dorin Rotariu from Dinamo Bucharest, my scouts suggested him and he looks brilliant, he will rival Rolando Aarons for the left wing position. Samuel Umtiti has been signed from Lyon for £8m which I believe to be an absolute bargain, he will take Steven Taylor's place, rivalling Mbemba, Coloccini and Lascelles in the central defence position. Gaston Gil Romero was signed from Estudiantes, replacing Sissoko in the central midfield role. I have also brought in Jon Flanagan on loan from Liverpool for the rest of the season, to provide backup to Daryl Janmaat.

Player of the Month

The player of the month can only be one person, Georginio Wijnaldum has been simply fantastic since joining from PSV and has adapted extremely well. He has been keeping Siem de Jong out of the squad and is very, very versatile. I cannot recommend this guy enough, what a signing.​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
February 2015

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February started off very well with a 4-1 victory over West Ham at the Boleyn Ground, with new signing Samuel Umtiti, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Siem de Jong getting on the score sheet after Winston Reid's own goal. We then lost our next two games in the Barclays Premier League which I was extremely disappointed at after the season we have had so far, before the season started I would of agreed with it but I think we have been excellent. We then faced Swansea at the Liberty Stadium and could only manage a draw which forced a replay at St. James' Park. The game against Aston Villa seen a new player score his first two goals for the club. Because the transfer window doesn't close until 2nd February I didn't include transfer deadline day, which saw us sign Charlie Austin on the final day.

League Table

We have done very well one again this month, I am a tad disappointed with the losses against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur but I am not worried as we bounced back immediately. I cannot believe we are only one point behind Arsenal at this stage of the Barclays Premier League, I am looking forward to seeing where we finish in the league and hopefully we can push on and get a European spot! The first game in March is against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup Final, we shall see very shortly how I do in that one.

Player of the Month

It has got to be Wijnaldum once again, he has not scored any goals this month but has been key figure for us, with an average rating of 8.14 in February. Siem de Jong has become unhappy at the club as he is not getting many games at the club, but this man is the only reason for that, I hope I can keep Siem but there is no way I can drop Georginio right now, I would be completely daft to do that.​

 

[Bullardinho]

Doing great so far mate, looks like Champions League football could be coming back to St James' shortly

 

[BennettS]

Doing great so far mate, looks like Champions League football could be coming back to St James' shortly

Here is hoping mate! I am optimistic about the future at St. James' Park!

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
March 2015

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We have won our the first trophy at Newcastle this month for a lot of years! Hopefully it will be a sign of things to come at St. James' Park, I am extremely impressed with the result, beating a very good Manchester United side at Wembley is always an achievement. Jamaal Lascelles got himself sent off in the first half hour and I thought we had lost it at that point, although we adapted very well and Georginio Wijnaldum scored a beautiful goal in the 61st minute, before Lucas Romero scored a penalty in the 90th minute after Raul Albiol got himself sent off too for a rash challenge on Ayoze Perez in the penalty area. We then came back from the cup final win to face Southampton in the Barclays Premier League, and we dominated the game against the Saints, Austin scored a hat-trick at the club, he is turning out to be a brilliant signing, joining Umtiti and Wijnaldum on the scoresheet once again. In the game against Liverpool at Anfield I was a bit worried going into the game but Mitrovic scoring in the 2nd minute put that to the back of my mind and we managed to get the replay and take the game back to St. James' Park where we hammered them 5-1. Crystal Palace beat us 2-0 in the league, which was horrible seeing former manager Alan Pardew victorious, also seeing ex-Mag Yohan Cabaye getting the second goal from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to seal the win.

League Table

Seeing that we won the Capital One Cup we are guaranteed Europa League football next year, but sitting in second position with only seven games remaining, I am dreaming about Champions League football, and dreaming about the possibility of something else, I am not going to jinx that though. It looks certain that Bouremouth are set for relegation which is unfortunate as I really like Eddie Howe, hopefully he can bring them back up or find himself another Premier League job. It is very surprising to see Southampton in the relegation zone too!

Player of the Month

This man is simply phenomenal, he is a fantastic attacking midfielder, doing brilliantly since joining from PSV Eindhoven, with an overall rating of 8.56 for the last five games. He is also the top rating for the Barclays Premier League season so far, with a total of 8.54 in 32 appearances for the new club in his debut season.​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
April 2015

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Another unbeaten month for Newcastle United here and I cannot believe it, we have been simply fantastic this season and I cannot be more grateful to the lads during my first season in charge at St. James' Park. We opened April with a 3-2 win against Leicester City after Charlie Austin, Wijnaldum and Lucas Romero each bagged a goal at the King Power Stadium. We then managed a draw against Manchester City who are currently sat in a low 6th position in the Barclays Premier League, both Aleksandar Mitrovic and Lucas Romero grabbing a goal for us. We then faced Sheffield United in the FA Cup Semi Final and beat them 4-2 after Mitrovic scored a hat-trick in the fixture before captain Fabricio Coloccini grabbed the eventual winner. We finished off an emphatic month by beating Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park, with Remy Cabella, Charlie Austin, Wijnaldum and Lucas Romero each scoring for us to end the month on a high.

League Table

One can only dream of winning the Barclays Premier League, but with us playing both Chelsea and Arsenal before the end of the season it is a real possibility for us if we can keep our composure. Chelsea have been fantastic this season with Thibaut Courtois managing 17 clean sheets up until now. I believe we have definitely qualified for Champions League football next year so reinforcing the squad during the summer is a definite must.

Player of the Month

Lucas Romero has been playing out of his skin this month, a brilliant player with a fantastic attitude. I believe he will go very far in the game, I hope we can manage to keep a hold of him during the summer as bigger clubs will definitely be looking to sign the central midfielder, but we will be doing our best to keep him at St. James' Park.​

 

[BennettS]

Newcastle United
May 2015

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A brilliant month in charge of Newcastle United, with the best fixture yet to be played in the Barclays Premier League. The decider on the final game of the season, against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. We need to win the game to finish top of the Barclays Premier League in my maiden season. I can say I was always optimistic about doing well but I never expected this. We also managed to beat Sunderland at home which is a fantastic result as is the other games this month. The first game of the month was a 3-2 victory against Arsenal, with Wijnaldum and Charlie Austin both on the score sheet. I was annoyed after three minutes into the West Brom after we gave up the first goal that early, Ideye scoring a brilliant goal. Wijnaldum and Cabella got the goals to bring us back late in the second half. We also managed the win against Sunderland at St. James' Park in the penultimate game of the season. Ayoze Perez and Remy Cabella scored against the mackems.

League Table

As you can see, we are currently sitting one point behind Chelsea, playing them in the final game of the season, what a way to end a campaign, surely all eyes from worldwide football will be watching to see who walks home with the Barclays Premier League trophy. Waford, Aston Villa, West Brom and Stoke City can all still be relegated this year so it will be a tight fight at the bottom, Bournemouth are already going to be playing Championship football though.

Player of the Month

Lucas Romero once again becomes Player of the Month for us. A brilliant player who dictates the ball anywhere on the pitch. A true box-to-box midfielder. I am hoping we can fend off interest in the Argentinian youngster as Manchester United and PSG have already showed an interest in the 21 year old.​