NEWCASTLE UNITED
Last season 18th + FA Cup 3rd round + League Cup 3rd round + Last major trophy Fairs Cup 1969Manager Rafael Benítez (since March 2016)
Players In Matz Sels, Matt Ritchie, Dwight Gayle, Jesús Gámez, Isaac Hayden, Grant Hanley, Ciaran Clark, Mohamed Diamé
Players Out Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Steven Taylor, Andros Townsend, Fabricio Coloccini, Papiss Cissé, Georginio Wijnaldum, Rémy Cabella, Florian Thauvin
Pre-season results
W6-0 v Bohemian (A)
D2-2 v Doncaster Rovers (A)
W4-0 v Sporting Lokeren (A)
W2-0 v Southend United (A)
W3-2 v Vitesse Arnhem (H)
NEWCASTLE UNITED begin their quest for promotion from the Championship as clear favourites for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Relegated from the top flight for the second time in seven years in May, the last campaign was a catalogue of missed targets on and off the field under hapless - and hopeless - former England manager Steve McClaren.
The Magpies won just nine league games all season and collected only 37 points to finish two behind local rivals Sunderland who scraped survival yet again.
But, despite all of this, the hope on Tyneside is definitely back, as clearly evidenced by the huge upturn in ticket sales.
With a month still to go, more than 33,000 season tickets had been sold for St James Park, an increase on this time last year.
Indeed, that figure means there will be more season ticket holders at Newcastle than at Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea, and more than at Watford, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion and Bournemouth put together.
Of course, this will not stop some supporters of other clubs taking precious time out of their seemingly hopelessly empty lives to throw a quick jibe in the direction of Newcastle.
This is especially prevalent on social media platforms - so credit must go to this supporter for turning the insults into a potentially thrilling game of bingo...
On a more serious note, however, it is great to see the hierachy at the club once again engaging with the fanbase.
A crowd-funded exercise to improve the matchday experience, Gallowgate Flags, has been given the board's blessing - and, for the first time in years, it feels as if everyone is pulling in the same direction.
Rarely in life nowadays are simple narratives able to tell the whole story.
Undoubtedly, though, this frenzied outpouring of genuine excitement can all be credited to one man and one man only - former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid coach Rafael Benítez.
As feared, the Spaniard ultimately arrived too late last season to do enough to save the Magpies from going down.
Nevertheless, a campaign of failure finished on an incredible high as Newcastle hammered third-placed Tottenham 5-1 on a sunny day amid a glorious atmosphere.
Almost all of the ear-tingling crowd noise that day focused on encouraging Benítez to stay - and so there was a massive sense of satisfaction when the serial winner duly signed a three-year contract on 25 May.
The decision - surely helped by the atmosphere against Spurs - confirmed to any remaining doubters that Benítez gets what this club is about. He just knows exactly what it means to the people of Tyneside.
Since then, the mutual goodwill has continued.
On 17 July, he posted a short anniversary tribute on his personal blog to Liam Sweeney and John Alder, the two Newcastle fans killed when their Malaysia Airways flight MH17 was shot out of the sky over Ukraine in 2014.
And, on a happier note, he also appeared on a BBC Radio Newcastle phone-in in which he revealed the prize fact that his house on Merseyside is coincidentally called Lindisfarne.
Most importantly of all, though, Benítez - on the football front - appears to be the first manager who has the total trust of owner Mike Ashley to build his own team and squad.
Inevitably, following relegation, there have been some departures from that squad. At least though, the sales of Andros Townsend and Georginio Wijnaldum both fetched good fees.
Additionally, the sight of the likes of Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Florian Thauvin and Papiss Cissé heading for the exit door has hardly caused too much heartache.
Instead, the focus largely has been on the replacements.
New number nine Dwight Gayle looks lightning quick in the mode of Craig Bellamy, while the pedigree of Matt Ritchie at this level is undoubted.
Scotland international Ritchie scored 15 goals and assisted 17 more in his last season at this level when he won the Championship with Bournemouth, and he has the potential to be the best player in the division.
Of the other signings, midfielder Isaac Hayden looks comfortable on the ball, as you would expect with him having arrived from Arsenal.
The likes of Jesús Gámez, Grant Hanley, and Ciaran Clark add some much-needed depth to the defence, and Mohamed Diamé has clearly been lined up as a replacement for long-time wantaway Moussa Sissoko.
Just as important has been the retentions so far of Ayoze Pérez and Aleksandar Mitrović up front, as well as Chancel Mbemba and Daryl Janmaat at the back.
The squad, without doubt, is the strongest in the division - and it is led by one of the most decorated managers which the second tier has ever seen in its history.
Nonetheless, that does not mean there are no worries whatsoever.
An encouraging pre-season against largely weak opposition saw no fewer than 17 goals scored - but, of more concern, all four conceded came from set-pieces.
The defence thus remains an area of weakness, and it is not a weakness which has necessarily been alleviated by the signings of Clark or Hanley.
Clark, in kind with most of his team-mates at Aston Villa last season, made some dreadful errors throughout - while Hanley has already played four seasons with Blackburn Rovers at this level without much success.
The hope at the back therefore remains with Mbemba, if he stays, and the new club Jamaal Lascelles who, at 22, has quickly developed into a much-needed on-pitch leader.
Up front, it remains to be seen if any of the main strikers - Gayle, Pérez or Mitrović - are going to be prolific enough to fire Newcastle to the top of the league.
None of their records so far suggests so - and Mitrović, in particular, simply must learn from the sort of mistakes which have given him a stupidly extended pre-season this summer.
The last worry is an unknown which Newcastle cannot control, and that is the sheer unpredictability of the Championship.
Although that sounds like a bit of a cliché - and to some extent it is one - it is nevertheless true that the nature of a 46-game season allows every single team in the division to run into a cycle of good form at some point.
It always helps to play the right teams at the right time - and, on that basis, a little luck will be necessary.
On top of that, the number of fixtures means there are many more midweek matches.
In the Championship, a cold Tuesday night in Barnsley or Wigan is not a line delivered by a pub bore arguing about Lionel Messi but a reality which the players must face.
Interestingly, three of the four losses suffered by Chris Hughton's 2009/10 champions came on midweek evenings - at Blackpool in September, Scunthorpe United in October, and Derby County in February.
Even the famous Kevin Keegan-led vintage of 1992/93 also had a few games to forget before a dozen Andy Cole goals spearheaded a rousing finish.
What was ultimately important about those two seasons, though, was that both of those teams won the second tier and actually both quite comfortably in the end.
With confidence in the city sky-high, all the cards are in Benítez's favour to do it again.
Newcastle United now must hold their nerve and play it right.
NUFC 2016-17 FIXTURE LIST
| Date | KO | TV/Cup | Scorers | Att | ||
| 05-Aug | 7.45pm | Sky | Fulham (A) | 0-1 | 23,922 | |
| 13-Aug | Huddersfield Town (H) | 1-2 | Gayle | 52,079 | ||
| 17-Aug | 7.45pm | Reading (H) | 4-1 | Hayden, Ritchie, Gayle 2 | 48,209 | |
| 20-Aug | Bristol City (A) | 1-0 | Gayle | 22,512 | ||
| 23-Aug | 7.45pm | LC2 | Cheltenham Town (H) | 2-0 | Perez 2 | 21,972 |
| 27-Aug | 5.30pm | Sky | Brighton & Hove Albion (H) | 2-0 | Lascelles, Shelvey | 49,196 |
| 10-Sep | 5.30pm | Sky | Derby County (A) | 2-0 | Gouffran, Yedlin | 30,405 |
| 13-Sep | 7.45pm | Queens Park Rangers (A) | 6-0 | Shelvey 2, Perez, Clark Mitrovic, Hanley | 17,404 | |
| 17-Sep | Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) | 0-2 | 52,117 | |||
| 20-Sep | 7.45pm | LC3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) | 2-0 | Ritchie, Gouffran | 34,735 |
| 24-Sep | 5.30pm | Sky | Aston Villa (A) | 1-1 | own goal (Elphick) | 32,062 |
| 28-Sep | 7.45pm | Norwich City (H) | 4-3 | Gayle 3, Gouffran | 48,236 | |
| 01-Oct | Rotherham United (A) | 1-0 | Atsu | 11,653 | ||
| 15-Oct | Brentford (H) | 3-1 | Clark, Gayle 2 | 51,885 | ||
| 18-Oct | 7.45pm | Barnsley (A) | 2-0 | Gayle 2 | 18,597 | |
| 22-Oct | Ipswich Town (H) | 3-0 | Perez 2, Ritchie | 51,963 | ||
| 25-Oct | 7.45pm | LC4 | Preston North End (H) | 6-0 | Mitrovic 2, Diame 2, Ritchie, Perez | 49,042 |
| 29-Oct | Preston North End (A) | 2-1 | Mitrovic 2 | 20,724 | ||
| 05-Nov | Cardiff City (H) | 2-1 | Atsu, Gouffran | 51,257 | ||
| 20-Nov | 1.15pm | Sky | Leeds United (A) | 2-0 | Gayle 2 | 36,002 |
| 26-Nov | Blackburn Rovers (H) | 0-1 | 52,092 | |||
| 29-Nov | 7.45pm | LCQF | Hull City (A) | 1-1* | Diame | 16,243 |
| 02-Dec | 7.45pm | Sky | Nottingham Forest (A) | 1-2 | Ritchie | 21,317 |
| 10-Dec | Birmingham City (H) | 4-0 | Gayle 3, Gouffran | 52,145 | ||
| 14-Dec | 7.45pm | Sky | Wigan Athletic (A) | 2-0 | Diame, Atsu | 14,562 |
| 17-Dec | Burton Albion (A) | 2-1 | Gayle, Diame | 6,665 | ||
| 26-Dec | 7.45pm | Sky | Sheffield Wednesday (H) | 0-1 | 52,179 | |
| 30-Dec | 7.45pm | Nottingham Forest (H) | 3-1 | Ritchie, Gayle 2 | 52,228 | |
| 02-Jan | Sky | Blackburn Rovers (A) | 0-1 | 18,254 | ||
| 07-Jan | FAC3 | Birmingham City (A) | 1-1 | Murphy | 13,171 | |
| 14-Jan | Brentford (A) | 2-1 | Gayle, Murphy | 11,435 | ||
| 18-Jan | 7.45pm | FAC3R | Birmingham City (A) | 3-1 | Ritchie 2, Gouffran | 34,896 |
| 21-Jan | Rotherham United (H) | 4-0 | Murphy, Ritchie 2, Perez | 52,208 | ||
| 28-Jan | FAC4 | Oxford United (A) | 0-3 | 11,810 | ||
| 01-Feb | 7.45pm | Queens Park Rangers (H) | 2-2 | Shelvey, Ritchie | 47,909 | |
| 04-Feb | Derby County (H) | 1-0 | Ritchie | 52,271 | ||
| 11-Feb | 5.30pm | Sky | Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) | 1-0 | Mitrovic | 24,876 |
| 14-Feb | 7.45pm | Norwich City (A) | 2-2 | Perez, Lascelles | 26,841 | |
| 20-Feb | 8.00pm | Sky | Aston Villa (H) | 2-0 | Gouffran, own goal (Lansbury) | 50,024 |
| 25-Feb | Bristol City (H) | 2-2 | own goal (Smith), Clark | 52,131 | ||
| 28-Feb | 7.45pm | Sky | Brighton & Hove Albion (A) | 2-1 | Diame, Perez | 30,230 |
| 04-Mar | 5.30pm | Sky | Huddersfield Town (A) | 3-1 | Ritchie, Murphy, Gayle | 23,213 |
| 07-Mar | 8.00pm | Reading (A) | 0-0 | 23,121 | ||
| 11-Mar | Fulham (H) | 1-3 | Murphy | 51,903 | ||
| 18-Mar | Birmingham City (A) | 0-0 | 19,796 | |||
| 01-Apr | Wigan Athletic (H) | 2-1 | Gayle, Ritchie | 51,849 | ||
| 05-Apr | 7.45pm | Burton Albion (H) | 1-0 | Ritchie 2 | 48,814 | |
| 08-Apr | 5.30pm | Sky | Sheffield Wednesday (A) | 1-2 | Shelvey | 28,883 |
| 14-Apr | 7.45pm | Sky | Leeds United (H) | 1-1 | Lascelles | 52,301 |
| 17-Apr | Ipswich Town (A) | 1-3 | Murphy | 25,684 | ||
| 24-Apr | 7.45pm | Sky | Preston North End (H) | 4-1 | Perez 2, Atsu, Ritchie | 50,212 |
| 28-Apr | 7.45pm | Sky | Cardiff City (A) | 2-0 | Atsu, Hayden | 23,153 |
| 07-May | 12pm | Barnsley (H) | 3-0 | Perez, Mbemba, Gayle | 52,276 |
*after extra time. Lost 1-3 on penalties.
SCORERS
23 Dwight Gayle
16 Matt Ritchie
12 Ayoze Perez
7 Yoan Gouffran
6 Mohamed Diame, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Daryl Murphy
5 Christian Atsu, Jonjo Shelvey
3 Ciaran Clark, Jamaal Lascelles
2 Isaac Hayden
1 Grant Hanley, Chancel Mbemba, DeAndre Yedlin
3 own goals
Total goals: 100
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