It was a season to remember for Newcastle United as Eddie Howe's team secured the club's first top-four finish since 2002/2003, under the late, great Bobby Robson. This season's success was built on stability at the back with goalkeeper Nick Pope, and the defensive quartet of Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn, virtually ever-present throughout the campaign. The 33 Premier League goals Newcastle conceded was the joint best alongside champions Manchester City while the team lost only five games all season – again matching City as the division's meanest. In attack, Callum Wilson (18), Miguel Almiron (11) and Alexander Isak (10) all reached double figures for goals, while Newcastle scored four or more goals eight times over the course of the season, including a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/04/24/newcastle-v-tottenham-player-ratings-murphy-9-isak-9-sarr-2-kane-6/" target="_blank">6-1 home thrashing of Spurs</a> and 5-1 wins over Brentford <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/04/06/west-ham-v-newcastle-ratings-aguerd-4-bowen-7-joelinton-9-wilson-8/" target="_blank">and West Ham United</a>. Summer signings Pope, Botman and Isak enjoyed excellent first seasons at the club while Howe managed to extract career-best campaigns from the likes of Sean Longstaff, Jacob Murphy and Almiron. The only disappointments came in knockout competitions as the Magpies <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/01/07/newcastle-united-suffer-upset-defeat-to-league-one-sheffield-wednesday/" target="_blank">lost to third-tier Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup</a> third round while <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/02/26/manchester-united-clinch-league-cup-after-final-victory-over-newcastle/" target="_blank">defeat in the League Cup final against Manchester United</a> means the club's 54-year wait for major silverware goes on. Ending that drought is one of the main targets now for Howe as Newcastle try to balance domestic success with the club's first European campaign since reaching the Europa League quarter-finals in 2012/13 – and first Champions League group stage in 30 years. In the gallery above, you can see our player ratings from the 2022/23 season. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.