| 1989–90 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Gordon McKeag | ||
| Manager | Jim Smith | ||
| Stadium | St James' Park | ||
| Division Two | 3rd | ||
| FA Cup | Fifth round | ||
| League Cup | Third round | ||
| Full Members Cup | Northern Area Semi-Final | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Quinn (32) All: Quinn (34) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 32,216 (vs. Sunderland) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 6,167 (vs. Oldham Athletic) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 21,579 | ||
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During the 1989–90 season, Newcastle United participated in the Football League Division Two. After the disappointment of the previous season's relegation, the manager Jim Smith again dabbled in the transfer market, offloading the captain Kenny Sansom, the former captain Glenn Roeder, Denmark's Frank Pingel, Rob McDonald and the promising youngsters Michael O'Neill and Darren Jackson.
With new signings including their former player Mark McGhee, the team started the season with an emphatic 5–2 win over Leeds United at St. James' Park that saw another new signing, Micky Quinn, score four times on his debut. After a promising start, the team struggled until Smith signed the Scotland skipper, Roy Aitken, who instilled steel into a lightweight midfield of ball players Kevin Brock, Kevin Dillon and John Gallacher. United regained their momentum with a change of formation that saw Bjorn Kristensen switched to sweeper and the team returned to the top of the table, only to be overtaken by Leeds and Sheffield United. Left to compete in the promotion play-offs after finishing third, they lost to their local rivals Sunderland in the semi-finals. It was a disappointing end to a season that also saw unrest from the fans and talk of take-overs.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds United (C, P) | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 79 | 52 | +27 | 85 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Sheffield United (P) | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 78 | 58 | +20 | 85 | |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 80 | 55 | +25 | 80 | Qualification for the Second Division play-offs |
| 4 | Swindon Town[lower-alpha 1] (O) | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 79 | 59 | +20 | 74 | |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 74 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:
- ↑ Swindon Town were disqualified from promotion after being found guilty of making illegal payments, and the play-off runners-up Sunderland were promoted in their place.
Appearances, goals and cards
- (Substitute appearances in brackets)
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | ZDS Cup | Playoffs | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK |  John Burridge |
28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| GK |  Gary Kelly |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Tommy Wright |
14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| DF |  Roy Aitken |
44 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 1 |
| DF | John Anderson |
29 (8) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 (9) | 4 |
| DF | Darren Bradshaw |
9 (3) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 (4) | 0 |
| DF |  Bjørn Kristensen |
25 (8) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 (8) | 3 |
| DF | Ray Ranson |
33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| DF | Kevin Scott |
42 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 4 |
| DF | Mark Stimson |
35 (2) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 (2) | 1 |
| DF | Paul Sweeney |
14 (5) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 (6) | 0 |
| DF | Andy Thorn |
10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| MF | Billy Askew |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | Kevin Brock |
43 (1) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 52 (1) | 3 |
| MF | Kevin Dillon |
43 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 52 (2) | 0 |
| MF | Wayne Fereday |
21 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 (7) | 0 |
| MF | John Gallacher |
21 (7) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 (7) | 8 |
| MF | Liam O'Brien |
14 (5) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 20 (7) | 4 |
| FW | Gary Brazil |
4 (12) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (15) | 3 |
| FW | Mark McGhee |
46 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 25 |
| FW | Micky Quinn |
45 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 36 |
| FW | David Robinson |
0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 1 |
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Jim Smith |
| Assistant Manager | Bobby Saxton |
Source: