Newcastle achieved way better than expected top half finish on their return to the top flight, with the main merit for this great achievement given to the talented manager Rafa Benitez. The loved by the fans gaffer decided to stay after the promotion, despite the fact that he was not given money in the summer to strengthen the squad and for the best part of five months before Christmas Newcastle were on the verge of being sold, until the talks collapsed just before the end of the year.
Using pretty much the same line-up as in the Championship the previous season Newcastle had to work hard for every point and 4 wins in the opening 9 rounds at least gave some early base on which to build on.
The most challenging period for the team was between late October and mid-December with Newcastle earning a single point from the nine matches they played during this stretch. Only crucial and very fortunate 3:2 away win against West Ham right before Christmas kept the Magpies just above the drop zone come the turn of the year.
This was when the season dramatically improved, with Benitez again not given big money to sign players in January, but still he managed to add three new faces to the line-up and especially goalkeeper Dubravka and winger Kenedy played major roles since joining.
Newcastle started 2018 on a run of just one defeat in eight and despite drawing five of these games they kept adding points on the board and this saw them opening breathing space in the battle for survival. Come springtime the influential playmaker Shelvey hit top form and Newcastle won five of their last six home matches not just to secure safety with four games to spare, but also to achieve top ten finish.
