Newcastle United: Wembley wonders to FA Cup catastrophes

Ahead of their quarter-final against Manchester City on Sunday, we take a look how one the most successful clubs in the competition's history have failed to lift the trophy in 65 years

NEWCASTLE'S FA CUP RECORD UNDER OWNER MIKE ASHLEY: Fourth round: Arsenal 3 (Adebayor 40’, Flamini 72’, Fabregas 80’) Newcastle 0. January 26, 2008. Ashley’s first season as owner had seen Kevin Keegan return as manager to much fanfare but any hopes of a confidence-boosting FA Cup run were blown away in London. Keegan, who had yet to see his team score a goal in three games since his return, said: "If we got points for being genuine, we would have got something - we gave it everything but just didn't have enough quality at times.” Getty

Third round: Newcastle 0 Hull City 1 (Cousin 81’), January 14, 2009. The Magpies were in turmoil and heading for relegation after Keegan’s acrimonious exit early in the season. Manager Joe Kinnear, who would leave the job in February to undergo a heart bypass operation, was sent to the stands with Hull counterpart Phil Brown after the pair clashed on the sidelines. After losing to their fellow Premier League strugglers at St James’ Park, Kinnear said: "Hugely frustrating but I can't criticise the players, we had 11 missing. I really should be sitting here talking about us winning by four clear goals. They had a smash-and-grab at the end. Here we are out of the FA Cup and bitterly disappointed, but not with the performance.” Getty

Fourth round: West Bromwich Albion 4 (Olsson 17’, Dorrans pen 31’, Dorrans pen 72', Thomas 76'. Newcastle 2 (Carroll 62’, 90'), January 23, 2010. West Brom came out on top in this entertaining clash between two teams that would both secure automatic promotion from the Championship by the end of the campaign. The luck was against the Magpies at the Hawthorns with two contentious penalties going against them and Ryan Taylor sent-off in the second half. Striker Andy Carroll showed some of the finishing skills that would see make a big-money move to Liverpool the following season. Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said: "Losing is a setback. We wanted to make progress in the cup but it wasn't to be and we now have to go on to our main objective, which is promotion." Getty

Third round: Stevenage 3 (Williamson og 50’, Bostwick 55’, Winn 90') Newcastle 1 (Barton 90'), January 8, 2011 An embarrassing and thoroughly deserved humbling for Alan Pardew’s side. Their League Two opponents were 73 places below them in the football ladder but Newcastle became only the fourth top-flight team since the formation of the Premier League to lose to fourth-tier opposition. Pardew made five changes to his starting line-up from the previous league game and saw his second-half substitute Cheik Tiote sent-off for a wild tackle. Pardew said: "I can say that we’re sorry about the result and the performance. The performance level was the problem. It’s come off the back of a really tough run for us and the players we had missing didn’t help either, but the manner of the defeat was disappointing – we’re Newcastle, we expect to win here." Getty

Fourth round: Brighton 1 (WIlliamson og 76') Newcastle 0, January 28, 2012 An unfortunate own goal from defender Mike Williamson gifted Championship side Brighton entry into the fifth round against their top-flight opponents. Newcastle were missing key defender Fabricio Coloccini and their two Senegal strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse who were away on Africa Cup of Nations duty. The Magpies, though, had enough opportunities to have earned a replay at the very least. Pardew said: "We were searching for a little bit of quality to win the game. They defended well to be fair and we were always liable to a breakaway. They got some massive fortune for the goal and it was their day.” Getty

Third round: Brighton 2 (Orlandi 33’ Hoskins 87’) Newcastle 0, January 5, 2013. Another defeat to Brighton and the third year in a row that Newcastle had been knocked out by lower league opposition. Striker Shola Ameobi was also sent-off in a miserable day for Newcastle as a weakened Magpies XI fell to their seventh defeat in eight games. Pardew said: "The most important thing for us is our Premier League status ... I'm a bit aggrieved I can't put out a stronger team than that because there are young players who gave everything. Unfortunately they shouldn't be playing for Newcastle in the third round, they should be in our development team. But that's where we're at. We didn't have enough good players on the pitch.” Getty

Third round: Newcastle 1 (Cisse 62’) Cardiff 2 (Noone 73’ Campbell 80’), January 4, 2014. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a winning start to what would be an unsuccessful spell as Bluebirds manager, as his new team overturned a one-goal deficit at St James’ Park. Pardew was without first-choice players such as Mathieu Debuchy, Fabricio Coloccini and Yohan Cabaye, while key striker Loic Remy was left on the bench. Pardew said: "Our aim is to win a trophy and we won't do that by going out in the third round of the FA Cup. Everybody in our dressing room is disappointed. We wanted a cup run and now we are out. We put out a team more than strong enough to win that game.” Getty

Third round: Leicester 1 (Ulloa 39’) Newcastle 0, January 3, 2015 A woeful performance from the Premier League strugglers under interim manager John Carver, who made seven changes to his starting line-up that was missing the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Daryl Janmaat, Fabricio Coloccini and Ayoze Perez. The last time Newcastle had now won a third-round tie was in 2012. Carver, whose team was loudly jeered by Newcastle fans after the match, said: "Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. This was just one game, the future of this football club is over the next few weeks. It’s probably one of the toughest moments I’ve ever experienced in football and it’s hugely embarrassing [the away fan abuse] but they’re entitled to do that." Getty

Third round: Watford 1 (Deeney 44’) Newcastle 0, January 9, 2016. Yet another third-round exit for the Magpies, as Steve McClaren’s side fell to their fourth 1-0 defeat in a row, despite fielding his strongest side at Vicarage Road. McClaren, who would be sacked and replaced by Rafa Benitez in March but the club were still relegated, said: "We're all angry and frustrated. The players in there, believe you me, they're disappointed. We've performed today on a difficult pitch, in difficult circumstances, and I think we've dominated and controlled the game. We can't ask anymore.” Getty

Fourth round: Oxford United 3 (Hemmings 46’, Nelson 79’, Martinez 87’) Newcastle 0, January 28, 2017. With promotion back to the Premier League clearly his priority, manager Rafa Benitez made nine changes to his starting line-up which resulted in this battering by Oxford. The League One side reached the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in 23 years, while Newcastle made it 11 seasons since they had managed the same feat. Aleksandar Mitrovic missed the chance to level when his penalty was saved. Benitez said: "We didn't underestimate Oxford - we didn't take our chances in the first half, we missed a penalty and Oxford took their chances. We had to make the changes. I said before the game that if we were going to go through, it had to be with the squad, and if we couldn’t do that, then we couldn’t.” Getty

Fourth round: Chelsea 3 (Batshuayi 31’, 44’, Alonso 72’) Newcastle 0, January 28, 2018. Another 3-0 defeat, although against top-flight opposition this time. The Magpies had now won just four FA Cup ties in the past decade, as manager Benitez turned his focus to keeping the club in the Premier League, which he achieved comfortably in the end. He said: "You have to play against Chelsea away, the difference between the top six is difficult. We tried to put them under pressure, but the key moments went against us. I am pleased with the team in the first half and disappointed we lost the game, now we concentrate on the league." Getty

Fourth round: Newcastle 0 Watford 2 (Gray 61’, Success 90’), January 26, 2019. Another limp cup display saw Newcastle comfortably beaten by fellow Premier League side Watford. It was now 13 years since Newcastle had progressed further than the fourth round. Benitez said: "Obviously we are disappointed. We made a couple of mistakes and conceded two goals in a game that was even and could have gone either way. We just have to realise that we cannot go through with this team, it means we have to now concentrate on the league.” Getty

When Newcastle United take to the field for their FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester City on Sunday, it will be a strange sensation for their success-starved band of supporters.

First of all, instead of 50,000 roaring them on at St James' Park, the ground will be eerily empty due to the restrictions forced upon football due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Secondly, Newcastle reaching this stage of the competition has become an unheard of event in recent years. And finally, there is a sense that a bright new era might be just around the corner for a club that long been stuck in a constant state of turmoil.

The FA Cup is generally over for Magpies fans by the end of January. The match against City will be first time Newcastle have reached this heady stage of the competition in 14 years.

Back in 2006, caretaker manager Glenn Roeder – who had taken temporary charge of the Tyneside club after the sacking of Graeme Souness – saw his team lose 1-0 to a Chelsea side, led by Jose Mourinho, who would go on to win the Premier League that campaign.

From that season onwards, Newcastle's FA Cup story has been miserable for a team that has only been outside the top-flight for two campaigns.

When British businessman Mike Ashley began his controversial reign of the club in 2007, it quickly became clear to managers, players and fans alike that the priority was always securing top-flight status.

Resting key players for FA Cup ties has long been de rigueur for Premier League sides, terrified of dropping out of the division and missing out on the unimaginable riches thrown at clubs through TV deals and sponsorship.

But for a club that has not won a major domestic competition since 1955, the path forced upon successive managers from Kevin Keegan through to Rafa Benitez last season, is one that has infuriated supporters.

Under Ashley, Newcastle have never made it beyond the fourth round and in fact exited in Round 3 – when top-flight clubs first enter the tournament – six times.

Out of those 12 attempts, the black and whites were beaten by lower-league opposition on four occasions.

What makes it all the more galling for fans is that Newcastle remain one of the most successful clubs in the competition's proud history.

They have appeared in the final on 13 occasions, a record that can only be beaten by Liverpool (14), Manchester United and Arsenal (both 20).

Newcastle captains have lifted the cup on six occasions, with only six clubs able to say they have done it more.

In the 1950s – with the team filled with top-rank attacking talent such as Bobby Mitchell, George Robledo and spearheaded by the club's former record goalscorer, Jackie Milburn – the Magpies were victorious at the old Wembley Stadium three times in five seasons.

The last of which – a 3-1 over Sunday's opponent's City, when Milburn opened the scoring after just 45 seconds – would be the last time Newcastle secured a domestic trophy.

They would appear in three more finals. In 1974, Keegan, a future Geordie hero as both player and manager, would score twice as Liverpool trounced Joe Harvey's side 3-0.

Fast forward 25 years, Newcastle would be back at Wembley two seasons in a row but would lose both in comprehensive fashion.

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Such was the Magpies' luck, that would first come up against a superb Arsenal side in 1998, managed by Arsene Wenger, that would go on to secure the Double by beating Kenny Dalglish's men 2-0.

The following year, it was Alex Ferguson's treble winning Manchester United team who swept aside the hapless black and whites, now managed by Ruud Gullit, also by 2-0.

Since then, barring runs to the semi-final in 2000 and 2005 – under Bobby Robson and Souness, respectively – the cup has generally been a tale of woe for a once proud club.

Even this season's journey to the last eight has flirted with disaster along the way.

Steve Bruce's men needed a replay to get past League One Rochdale 4-1 at home in the third round, after drawing 1-1 in the first game in Lancashire.

In Round 4, they needed a replay and extra-time to dispose of another third-tier side in Oxford United, 3-2, after a dispiriting goalless draw at St James' Park.

Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion were next up and, after coasting into a 3-0 lead, Newcastle conceded twice before hanging on for a nervy victory.

"Unfortunately it's in our DNA," Bruce said after the match. "When we went 3-0 up we switched off. Sometimes you think it's too easy and suddenly they get a goal back.

"It wouldn't be Newcastle if we didn't do something like that. We made hard work of it."

"Hard work" would be one way of describing the entire Ashley era on Tyneside. So it would certainly be ironic that with the unpopular owner seemingly on the brink of selling the club to a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium, Newcastle are two games away from another Wembley final.

And Jamaal Lascelles can start dreaming of becoming the first Newcastle captain to lift the FA Cup again after an agonising, 65-year wait.