Newcastle managed to comfortably beat the drop in their first season since promotion and overall it has been a good campaign for the Toon supporters despite the painful departures of two of their heroes. The excellent Chris Hughton started the campaign with a loss at Manchester United but it was all forgotten just a week later as the Magpies destroyed Aston Villa for a 6:0 win at St James Park. They announced their return to the big time with a bang and Andrew Carroll displayed the sort of performances that drew comparisons with Alan Shearer. The Magpies were lead by the momentum for most of the autumn and despite the odd poor result, looked quite comfortable in mid-table. They were playing some excellent football at times and served up another classic to their fans when beating Sunderland 5:1 in an unforgettable game on Halloween Day. It only got better for them after beating Arsenal 1:0 away from home the next week and the fans were dreaming. The reality check was immediate though as a heavy defeat at Bolton was followed by a loss at West Brom. Still, the sacking of Hughton in the first week of December was an absolute shock and one of the poorest decisions made all season. Alan Pardew was handed the thankless job of steering the ship amid the murmurs of discontent but had the best possible start, winning 3:1 at home to Liverpool. The transition seemed seamless as Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan still looked dominant in midfield and Carroll a menace up front. However, the new Toon icon became a villain overnight after sealing a dramatic deadline-day move to Liverpool. The move was a bitter blow for Newcastle and they needed some time to recover. However, a miraculous comeback from four goals down to secure a draw against Arsenal just a week after that showed the character running through the squad. A few poor results in the following weeks briefly made the fans nervous but a 4:1 win over Wolverhampton secured safety and the rest of the season was a procession for the Magpies who will hope to build on an encouraging first season after promotion.
