Internationals:
Slow start

Two Magpies are at the Copa America, with Paraguay and Brazil both in Group D of the tournament taking place in the USA.

Miguel Almiron (Paraguay):  
Mon 24.06.2024 Colombia (n) lost 1-2
Miggy was selected in the starting line-up for Paraguay's opener in Houston, Texas. He was subbed in the 59th minute with his side two goals down. They got one back but couldn't get a second.

Fri 28.06.2024 Brazil (n) Las Vegas
Tue 02.07.2024 Costa Rica (n) Austin

Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil):
Tue 25.06.2024 Costa Rica (n) drew 0-0
Bruno played the full game in Inglewood and almost broke the deadlock in added time but fired narrowly over the bar.

Sat 29.06.2024 Paraguay (n) Las Vegas
Wed 03.07.2024 Colombia (n) Santa Clara

Competition:
Anarchy giveaway

Thanks to Anarchy Beer Co. we have a mixed case of 12 beers and a Euro T-shirt up for grabs in a free-to-enter competition.
 
To be in with a chance of winning the lot, we require you to predict the final score when England face Slovenia later today. 

Email [email protected] with your answer by 6pm BST today. Over 18s only, open to anyone on the planet but delivery can only be made to a UK address. 

One entry each please. In the event of a tie, one winner will be randomly drawn from all correct entries received.

You can watch tonight's game at Anarchy's tap room off Benfield Road - nearest Metro Walkergate. Walk-ups are available but pre-booking is advisable here 

Update:
Transfer clamour

While the current transfer window concludes on Friday August 30th, an upsurge in deals is anticipated before the end of the financial year next Sunday, June 30th.

Pressure on clubs to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) is forcing them into finding creative accountancy solutions that don't always make sense in pure footballing terms. 

Links abound, with a rush involving Newcastle hitting social media on Saturday, including claims by Yankuba Minteh's agent that a permanent transfer to an unnamed club is in place.

The omission of Kieran Trippier and Miguel Almiron from recent kit launch images was interpreted in some quarters as confirmation that they would be sold during this window.

However the complicating factor of both playing international football may have removed the chance of striking deals for either player before next Sunday. 

And among claims and counter-claims, the £100m release clause in the contract of Bruno Guimaraes is also reportedly due to expire before the end of June (the exact day is disputed).

Rather than further pollute the airwaves with speculation, we'll continue to note any transfer rumours here as we have since 1999 and report any concrete news on the main page.

Internationals:
Euro update

Latest action for our quartet of participants:

Kieran Trippier, Anthony Gordon (England Gp C):
Tue 25.06.2024 Slovenia (8pm) Cologne.
Results elsewhere saw Gareth Southgate's side make it to the last 16 on Monday.

Selected venues:

Anarchy Brew Co tap room off Benfield Road - nearest Metro Walkergate. Pre-booking is advisable here, some walk-ups available.

Wonder Bar in The Gate offer free entry, with advance booking advisable here

Market Shaker in the Cloth Market also offer entry free of charge - first come, first served, details here

Thu 20.06.2024 Denmark drew 1-1 
KT started - completed 90 minutes.
AG unused substitute.

Sun 16.06.2024 Serbia (n) won 1-0
KT started - completed 90 minutes.
AG unused substitute.

Martin Dubravka (Slovakia Gp E):
Wed 26.06.2024 Romania (5pm) Frankfurt

Fri 21.06.2024 Ukraine lost 1-2 
Started - completed 90 minutes.

Mon 17.06.2024  Belgium won 1-0
Started - completed 90 minutes.

Fabian Schar (Switzerland Gp A):
Sat 29.06.2024 Italy (n) Berlin

Sun 23.06.2024 Germany (a) drew 1-1
Started - completed 90 minutes.

Wed 19.06.2024 Scotland (n) drew 1-1
Started - completed 90 minutes. 

Sat 15.06.2024 Hungary (n) won 3-1
Started - completed 90 minutes.

Coral price the Euro 2024 victors as follows:

France 7/2
Germany 4/1
England 9/2
Spain 9/2
Portugal 6/1
Netherlands 14/1

New customers receive a £40 bet when staking £5 (T's & C's apply). Coral markets are online here

Eight SJP old boys are also at Euro 2024:

Joselu, Mikel Merino, Ayoze Perez (Spain)
24.06.2024 Albania (n) won 1-0
Merino and Joselu were in the starting XI for Spain in Dusseldorf but Perez missed out due to a muscle injury. The midfielder completed the game and the striker lasted 72 minutes.

Grant Hanley (Scotland)
23.06.2024 Hungary (n) lost 0-1
A desperately disappointing evening in Stuttgart for the defender in a game that lasted over 100 minutes. Defeat means that Scotland's Euro challenge is now over.

Gini Wijnaldum (Netherlands)
25.06.2024 France (n) Berlin.

Alexsandar Mitrovic (Serbia)
25.06.2024 Denmark (n) Munich.

Ivan Toney (England) 
25.06.2024 Slovenia (n) Cologne.

Matz Sels (Belgium)
26.06.2024 Urkaine (n) Stuttgart.

2024/25:
Magpies retain 
EFL Trophy spot  

The Football League confirm that Newcastle U21s are among the 16 Premier League clubs entering this season's EFL Trophy, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

The existing competition format will continue, each PL side placed in a regionalised group alongside a trio of clubs from Leagues One and Two.

Newcastle will be ball 6 in the draw, which takes place this Thursday at 2.30pm.

This will be the eighth time that United have entered the Trophy, but they've failed to win a tie in any of the last five seasons.

PS: Sky Sports will televise all ties in this competition live in the UK next season. 

Nippon 4:
Call me

Ahead of United's first games there in almost 30 years, our Japan correspondent Simon Moran recalls life as an exile in the pre-internet age online here

2024/25:
Silence

Update: Thursday brought press reports of a friendly visit to Championship side Hull City in late July, yet to be 100% confirmed. 

The Tigers have announced a kickabout at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday July 23rd.

Earlier: Aside from the Japan tour, NUFC are still to reveal their pre-season schedule - a lack of information sadly reminiscent of previous regimes on Barrack Road.

As and when we glean anything we'll add details online here - apologies to those asking, we just don't know what they're doing.

PS: Details of the proposed Sela Cup tournament at SJP are also still awaited.  

2024/25:
Saints up first

Newcastle's Premier League season begins with a home game against newly-promoted Southampton on Saturday August 17th.

That game wasn't selected for live UK TV transmission and has a 3pm kick-off.

Fixture list is online here 

Notes: 

Dates and kick-off times are subject to alteration, aside from the Southampton home opener and the final day fixture round.

Re: rescheduling, the PL are "committed to giving supporters a minimum of six weeks’ notice on UK broadcast selections until December 2024, and five weeks’ from January 2025 until Matchweek 37."

They've now also published "windows" during which those changes will appear, rather than specific days as in previous seasons:

Aug/Sep: 18th June to 5th July
Oct: 22nd July to 19th August
Nov: 2nd to 13th September
Dec/Jan: 16th September to 14th October
Feb: 14th November to 9th December
Mar: 2nd to 24th January
Apr: 27th January to 28th February
MW35: 17th to 21st March
MW36: 24th to 28th March
MW37: 31st March to 4th April
MW38: Following MW37

The mid-season break has been removed.

For the ninth time in ten top-flight seasons, Newcastle kick off with a home game, while their season ends on Tyneside for the first time since 2020.

Both meetings with Liverpool are scheduled on Wednesdays but we'll face Everton home and away at the weekend. Scheduling our Goodison visit ahead of an international break means that it cannot be on the Monday. 

The only obvious change required due to PL sides playing in Europe is October's visit to Chelsea, assuming they win their two-legged Conference League playoff tie in August. 

All PL festive games are listed under the following three dates: December 26th, December 29th and January 4th. Regardless of that, games will move for TV transmission and be scheduled throughout that period with the exception of December 24th/25th.

The FA Cup Final is on the penultimate Saturday of the season; with no PL games on Friday May 16th or Saturday 17th. All games that weekend including our visit to Arsenal are listed as Sunday 18th. It's feasible that one or more games could be Monday 19th.

Aside from the FA Cup Final as explained above, the only time that PL games are scheduled on the same weekend as an FA Cup Proper round is the Semi-Finals. We're due to host Ipswich Town that weekend.

That means that those PL sides who fail to reach the Quarter-Finals face being idle for over two weeks in mid to late March. 

2024/25 season Magpie Mover tickets are on sale to season ticket holders here. The price remains £25, more details here. 

NB: ST holders must be logged on to their NUFC ticket account on order to purchase Magpie Movers.

Due to transport funding restrictions, NUFC members cannot purchase Magpie Movers. 

White here, White now:
Len remembered

Coinciding with the thirtieth anniversary of his passing, a special charity edition badge from Magpin celebrates the great Len White.

The badge is on sale here now and at the request of Len's family, all proceeds will be donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

Although still omitted from the club's hall of fame, Len's place in Newcastle United history is beyond doubt; his tally of 153 goals exceeded only by Alan Shearer and Jackie Milburn and making him a worthy edition to the Geordie Legend badge series. 

Signed from Rotherham United in 1953, the Yorkshire miner served the Magpies until 1962 - injury limiting him to 269 games in our colours and depriving him of the England caps many observers had predicted.

2024/25:
FA Cup update

Round dates for next season's FA Cup competition are confirmed as follows:

R3: Saturday January 11th 2025
R4: Saturday February 8th 2025
R5: Saturday March 1st 2025
QF: Saturday March 29th 2025
SF: Saturday 26th April 2025
F: Saturday 17th May 2025

One welcome change is the decision to return the Fifth Round to a weekend slot rather than midweek as was the case in recent years.

However, Fourth Round ties will be played across six consecutive days from Friday February 7th to Wednesday February 12th.

Replays are abolished in Proper rounds.

The final takes place the weekend before the Premier League season concludes, but none of the PL games that weekend will be played on Friday May 17th or Saturday May 18th.

Aside from the Final, the only time that PL games are scheduled on the same weekend as an FA Cup Proper round will the Semi-Finals.

In other words, elimination in the Third Round for a PL side would ensure idle weekends over at least the following three round dates. 

As usual, Newcastle will enter at the Third Round stage, learning the identity of their opponents when the draw follows the Second Round. That will be staged on or around Monday December 2nd.

Update:
Oh! brother

The Chronicle report an enforced change to the staff at Newcastle's Academy, with current U18 coach Graeme Carrick expected to leave the club.

Tempted back to his native Tyneside in August 2022 from a role at the FA, Carrick will reportedly join the backroom staff at Championship side Middlesbrough - managed by elder brother Michael.

PS: Newcastle's U16 lead coach for the new season is Jack Brazil, son of former Magpie forward Gary. 

2024/25:
NUFC membership: further information

2024/25 season memberships are now available, with two adult options: The Mags and The Mags+

Pricing for the standard membership remains at £37, with the new plus option £47. The latter includes various off-field benefits, but access to match ticket ballots and resale is the same for both options.

Season ticket holders will hold the same membership advantages as The Mags this season, aside from access to match tickets via ballots etc.

Season ticket holders can upgrade from The Mags to The Mags+ membership upon payment of £10.

A Junior Mags option is available but the previous international scheme has been discontinued.

There's no mention of any cap on membership numbers this season and details of how the ticket ballot process will work are yet to be disclosed. 

NUFC membership press release

NUFC membership pricing/benefits

NUFC membership FAQs

Incoming:
Our Kelly 

Newcastle's first senior signing of the current transfer window is Lloyd Kelly, who will formally join the club on July 1st after the expiration of his Bournemouth contract.

The 25 year-old Bristol-born player who arrives on a free transfer has signed a five-year deal and will wear squad number 25. 

Kelly is reunited with his former Cherries managers Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall at Gallowgate and coach Graeme Jones.
 
The left-sided central defender played the first of 48 games for Bristol City in 2017, making a £13m switch to Bournemouth ahead of the 2019/20 campaign - and a home debut during Newcastle's 4-1 win there.

141 appearances for ex-England U20 and U21 international Lloyd while at the Vitality Stadium include 54 in the Premier League (47 starts).

Old boys:
Unlikely lads

SJP old boys with new clubs/jobs include:

Craig Bellamy (Burnley Interim Manager)
Adam Campbell (Hartlepool United)
Luke Charman (Hartlepool United)
Stephen Clemence (Barrow Head Coach)
Ryan Donaldson (Blyth Spartans)
Dan Gosling (Westfield)
Jamie Holmes (North Shields)
Jack Hunter (Hartlepool United)
Dan Langley (Morpeth Town)
Michael Newberry (Cliftonville)
Ben Pollock (Chester)
Dylan Stephenson (Dagenham & Redbridge)
Jude Smith (Carlisle United)
Lewis Suddick (North Shields)
Ben Tozer (Forest Green Rovers)
Kell Watts (Cambridge United)
Callum Williams (Tow Law Town)

Ex-Magpies looking for new clubs include:

Mehdi Abeid (Istanbul Basaksehir)
Chris Basham (Sheffield United)
Ciaran Clark (Stoke City) 
Shane Ferguson (Rotherham United)
Dwight Gayle (Derby County)
Paul Huntington (Carlisle United)
Kazenga LuaLua (Charlton Athletic)
Jonathan Mitchell (Harrogate Town)
Josef Yarney (Tranmere Rovers)

Off-field departures include:

Habib Beye (Red Star Paris)
Emre (Ankaragucu)
Steve Guppy (Nashville SC)
Kevin Nolan (West Ham)