A great manager and a wonderful man took the reins at St. James' Park in the midst of a chaotic time for the club. Hughton initially took temporary charge following Kevin Keegan's departure. Three weeks later, Joe "f*****g" Kinnear became interim manager and seemed to lose more dignity at every turn until he became ill which left Hughton in charge for six weeks before Alan Shearer stepped in to try and save the club from relegation.
Shearer was not given the job full time after Mike Ashley "put the club up for sale". Chris was left in temporary charge until he was announced as the permanent manager on 27th October 2009 following a great start to the season to put the club in good stead on course for the much-desired promotion. Indeed, the club were back in the big time as Hughton achieved promotion on the Easter weekend with six games to spare and later won the title, remained unbeaten at home throughout the season and surpassed the 100-point mark on the final day thanks to a 1-0 win at QPR.
The club hit the ground running as they adapted well to life back in the Premier League. Big wins against Aston Villa, Sunderland and an away win at Arsenal but the looming problem remained that Hughton's contract was only valid until the end of the 2010/11 season. With results giving Hughton every reason to deserve a new contract, Mike Ashley sadly failed to recognise that and Hughton was sacked in December 2010 with Alan Pardew taking charge a few days after Hughton's sacking.
Dates: 4th September 2008 to 26th September 2008
7th February 2009 to 1st April 2009
1st June 2009 to 6th December 2010 (630 days)
Records
League: Played: 70, Won: 36, Drawn: 18, Lost: 16, Goals for: 122, Goals against: 74, Goal difference: +48, Pts: 126. Win ratio: 51%
Home (league): Played: 35, Won: 20, Drawn: 9, Lost: 6, Goals for: 75, Goals against: 30, Goal difference: +45, Pts: 69. Win ratio: 57%
Away (league): Played: 35, Won: 16, Drawn: 9, Lost: 10, Goals for: 47, Goals against: 44, Goal difference: +3, Pts: 57. Win ratio: 46%
Domestic Cup: Played: 9, Won: 4, Drawn: 1, Lost: 4, Goals for: 17, Goals against: 20, Goal difference: -3. Win ratio: 44%
Home (all competitions): Played: 39, Won: 22, Drawn: 9, Lost: 8, Goals for: 83, Goals against: 39, Goal difference: +44. Win ratio: 56%
Away (all competitions): Played: 40, Won: 18, Drawn: 10, Lost: 12, Goals for: 56, Goals against: 55, Goal difference: +1. Win ratio: 45%
Total: Played: 79, Won: 40, Drawn: 19, Lost: 20, Goals for: 139, Goals against: 94, Goal difference: +45. Win ratio: 51%
Season by Season
2008/2009
Premier League: (Played: 8, Won: 1, Drawn: 2, Lost: 5, Goals for: 8, Goals against: 14, Goal difference: -6, Pts: 5. Win ratio: 13%)
League Cup: 3rd Round (v Tottenham)
2009/2010
Championship: 1st (Played: 46, Won: 30, Drawn: 12, Lost: 4, Goals for: 90, Goals against: 35, Goal difference: +55, Pts: 102. Win ratio: 65%)
League Cup: 3rd Round (v Peterborough United)
FA Cup: 4th Round (v West Bromwich Albion)
2010/2011
Premier League: (Played: 16, Won: 5, Drawn: 4, Lost: 7, Goals for: 24, Goals against: 26, Goal difference: -2, Pts: 19. Win ratio: 31%)
League Cup: 4th Round (Arsenal)
Landmark Matches
50th match
Newcastle United 3 (Andy Carroll 10, 55, Peter Lovenkrands 22) Scunthorpe United 0 - 17/03/2010
A sixth consecutive home win was dished out to increase the likelihood of an immediate return to the Premier League. Scunthorpe, who were promoted from League One the previous season, were making their first league visit to St. James' Park for the first time since December 1963. First half goals from Andy Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands set up a second half that intended to preserve energy on a Wednesday evening in readiness for a trip to Bristol City at the weekend.
50th league match
Newcastle United 4 (Jonas Gutierrez 12, Andy Carroll 36, Kevin Nolan 62, Wayne Routledge 77) Blackpool 1 – (10/04/2010)
Promotion was achieved five days earlier on Easter Monday but it was evident that the players were just as desperate for the title and breaking the 100-point barrier as they were for promotion. Players later stated in club interviews that despite achieving promotion with six games to spare, they were still working just as hard on the training ground and not getting any days off until the job was well and truly completed.
Title win
Plymouth Argyle 0 Newcastle United 2 (Andy Carroll 20, Wayne Routledge 28) - (19/04/2010)
The Championship title was celebrated on a glorious Monday evening down in the deep south west of the country. Whilst it was cause for celebration for us, our win relegated Plymouth to League One and they have not returned to the Championship since. Newcastle fans especially made the club proud that night. The many fans who made the 818-mile round trip could not do so by flying because of all flights being cancelled due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.
Biggest win
Newcastle United 6 (Joey Barton 12, Kevin Nolan 31, 87, Andy Carroll 34, 67, 90) Aston Villa 0 – (22/08/2010)
A wonderful Sunday afternoon played host to Newcastle's first home game back in the Premier League coming against the team that sent the club down in May 2009, Aston Villa. Andy Carroll scored the first of three hat-tricks for the club that season - the others coming from Kevin Nolan v Sunderland and Leon Best v West Ham. Carroll's three goals that day was sadly his only hat-trick in a Newcastle shirt and Newcastle's first Premier League hat-trick at St. James' Park since Alan Shearer in September 1999 against Sheffield Wednesday.
Last win
Arsenal 0 Newcastle United 1 (Andy Carroll 45) – (07/11/2010)
A month before his sacking, Newcastle secured three wins in a row, the third coming in what is still the only time the Magpies have come away with all three points at the Emirates Stadium. On the stroke of half time, Joey Barton launched a free kick into the box and Carroll simply out-jumped the surrounding defenders and Lukasz Fabianski who tried to meet the ball in the air. After the ball looped into the back of the net, the players celebrated by running over to Hughton. Around this time, players publicly spoke of how much they supported their manager who was having difficulties off the pitch with owner, Mike Ashley.
Further landmark matches
First match: Newcastle United 1 - 2 Hull City - 13/09/2008
Biggest defeat: Bolton Wanderers 5 - 1 Newcastle United – 20/11/2010
Last match: West Bromwich Albion 3 – 1 Newcastle United – 05/12/2010