Celtic (a)
SOLD
OUT
Raffle:
Flag fundraiser
Following another superb
series of crowd displays from Wor Flags, their fundraising
efforts for next season continue with an online raffle that runs until 3pm
on Saturday.
A trio autographed boots are up for grabs, one each signed by Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Alexander Isak.
Tickets cost £5 each and can be bought online here
Update:
Howe award confirmed
Wednesday
saw City councillors approve the motion awarding Eddie Howe the
Honorary Freedom of the City of Newcastle, in recognition of winning the
Carabao Cup.
Howe is the latest Magpie-related addition to the list of those afforded
this honour, which now consists of:
2025 Eddie Howe
2022 Shaka Hislop
2017 Freddy Shepherd (Chairman)
2017 Bruce Shepherd (Director)
2005 Bobby Robson
2000 Alan Shearer
1993 NUFC*
1980 Jackie Milburn
1966 William McKeag (Chairman)
1909 William Sanderson (Director)
* the club itself was collectively honoured, "in recognition of over
100 years' sporting achievement in the Football League and FA Cup and
European competitions and of the Club's contribution to the reputation of
the City and its place in the hearts of Geordies everywhere."
Update:
Isak pulls out
To
nobody's great shock, the Swedish FA confirmed on Tuesday that Alexander Isak
had withdrawn from the national squad ahead of two games next month.
An unspecified minor injury was given as the reason for pulling out, media
outlets closer to home claiming that the striker has a groin issue - which
would explain his unremarkable club performances in recent weeks.
It's unclear whether a period of rest or surgery will follow.
Update:
Mitchell bombshell
From NUFC, Tuesday:
Paul Mitchell, Newcastle United’s Sporting Director, will leave the
club by mutual consent at the end of June 2025.
Paul joined the club in July 2024,
reuniting him with Magpies CEO Darren Eales, who had previously recruited
Paul to Tottenham Hotspur in 2014.
Due to health reasons, Darren will be
stepping down as CEO in the near future.
During Paul’s tenure as Sporting
Director, the club won its first major domestic trophy in 70 years by
lifting the Carabao Cup in March 2025 and has secured Champions League
football for the 2025/26 campaign.
Paul Mitchell said: "I'd like to
thank everyone at Newcastle United for their support over the last year,
including Eddie Howe, Becky Langley, the players, staff, owners and fans. It
has been an honour to be part of the club and to work with some incredible
people.
"I'm leaving at a time that is
right for me and the club, particularly with Darren Eales - someone who I
have worked so closely with in my career - moving on soon.
"The club is in great hands on and
off the pitch, and is in a fantastic position to continue building.
"I'd like to wish everyone
connected with Newcastle United a bright and successful future."
Paul leaves with the club’s best
wishes and the Board would like to express its sincere thanks to him for his
professionalism and diligent service.
This unexpected development looks to have caught the media on the hop,
following reports that Eddie Howe was meeting Mitchell to discuss transfers
on Sunday night. Both men had earlier featured in the post-game
celebrations.
There seemed to be an assumption that the pair had developed a working
relationship since an apparent power struggle following Mitchell's
installation last July. That version of events now seems flawed.
Mitchell departs having failed to oversee any meaningful acquisitions since
belatedly succeeding Dan Ashworth and speculation over the next Sporting
Director has already included current Head of recruitment Steve Nickson.
The 60 year-old who has been at United for over a decade was linked with the
post following Ashworth's departure, but remained at SJP to work under
Mitchell in a diluted role. Messrs Tonali, Isak, Gordon, Joelinton, Bruno
and Botman were all recruited under his guidance.
Andy Howe remains in post at United as assistant head of first team
recruitment, assuming that role in February 2024 after two years in a
scouting position. He's Eddie's nephew.
There's no confirmation as yet whether club Performance Director James Bunce
will remain in post, having previously worked alongside Mitchell at
Southampton and Monaco.
2025/26:
Korea opportunities
From NUFC, Tuesday:
Our men's team will play matches in South Korea for the first time in the
club's history this summer.
Ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, we will
take part in the prestigious Coupang Play Series 2025, one of Asia's biggest
summer sporting events.
Eddie Howe's men will head to South
Korea for two highly anticipated games where we will face a K-League Select
XI, followed by an all-Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
Venues and fixture dates are set to be
announced in coming weeks, along with ticket details for fans in South Korea
as well as those wishing to travel to support us.
This will be the fourth staging of the annual Coupang Play event, with
four of the six games to date played at the 65,000 capacity World Cup
Stadium in Seoul (pictured above), including both 2024 fixtures.
The football-asian.com website claims United's game against the K-League XI
will be played at the 42,000 capacity Suwon World Cup Stadium near
Seoul.
United's pre-season itinerary is shaping up as follows:
Sat 19.07.2025 Celtic (a)
Sun 27.07.2025 Arsenal (n)
Singapore
??? ??.??.2025 K League XI (a) South Korea
??? ??.??.2025 Spurs (n) South Korea
Premier
League:
United effort confirms
Champions League spot
Newcastle
0
Everton
1
Match
report
Match
action
Thanks
to everyone who entered our prediction competition to win copies of the new
book by ex-Magpie Paul Ferris.
We asked you to
predict Newcastle's finishing place in the Premier League which
didn't prevent several readers from submitting score predictions - all of
which were wrong...
The overwhelming majority of
entrants went with a fourth place finish, only a handful correctly
predicting fifth spot.
A random draw of those correct answers then brought the following three
winners:
Mike Hully
Bill Randolph
Tone Smith
Following his well-received memoirs, "The Boy on the Shed"
and "The Magic in the Tin", "Once Upon a Toon"
collects anecdotes and experiences from Paul's three stints working at
St.James' Park across three decades.
A host of scarcely believable stories are retold, featuring a cast of Magpie
characters from Joe Harvey to Alan Shearer via Gazza, Kevin Keegan and Bruce
****ing Springsteen...
"Once Upon..." is available direct from the publisher
here
RGR:
Indiana wants me
The man known as Run
Geordie Run continues his trek across the
USA, continuing through Indiana - the sixth state on his 3,200
mile route from New York to California.
Mark is raising funds for St.Benedicts Hospice online here
Links to his various online outlets appear here
2025/26:
Carabao Cup boost
Confirmation
that Newcastle's return to European club competition in the 2025/26 season
means their defence of the Carabao Cup will begin at the Third Round stage.
Round dates for next season's Carabao Cup are yet to be published, but the
final will be staged at Wembley Stadium on Sunday March 22nd 2026.
2025/26:
Europe: dates
Next
season's CL timetable is as follows:
(UEFA have agreed an away ticket price cap of €50 for the 2025/26
Champions League).
Champions League
2025/26:
NUFC are one of 36 clubs qualifying for the League stage.
All 36 clubs play 8 matches against different opponents in a single
league. For the purpose of the draw the clubs are divided into 4 pots. The
CL title-holder is placed in pot 1.
The remaining places of pot 1 and the other pots are filled according to the
club ranking. Each club will be drawn against two opponents from each of the
4 pots, playing one match at home and one match away against them.
Clubs from the same country will not be drawn against each other in the
league phase and each team plays at most against a maximum of two opponents
from any other country (providing a deadlock in the draw can be avoided).
The top 8 clubs of the league stage qualify directly for the round of 16,
while the clubs at rank 9 to 24 go to the play-off round of the knockout
stage. The clubs that finish at rank 25 to 36 are eliminated. In the
knockout stage there is no country protection.
(Source: https://kassiesa.net/uefa/index.html)
Thu 28.08.2025 CL League stage draw
Tue 16.09/Wed 17.09/Thu 18.09.2025 CL League 1
Tue 30.09/Wed 01.10.2025 CL League 2
Tue 21.10/Wed 22.10.2025 CL League 3
Tue 04.11/Wed 05.11.2025 CL League 4
Tue 25.11/Wed 26.11.2025 CL League 5
Tue 09.12/Wed 10.12.2025 CL League 6
Tue 20.01/Wed 21.01.2026 CL League 7
Wed 28.01.2026 CL League Match 8
Fri 30.01.2026 CL Knockout PO draw
Tue 17.02/Wed 18.02.2026 CL Knockout PO 1st leg
Tue 24.02/Wed 25.02.2026 CL Knockout PO 2nd leg
Fri 27.02.2026 CL Ro16 draw
Tue 10.03/Wed 11.03.2026 CL Ro16 1st leg
Tue 17.03/Wed 18.03.2026 CL Ro16 2nd leg
Tue 07.04/Wed 08.04.2026 CL QF 1st leg
Tue 14.04/Wed 15.04.2026 CL QF 2nd leg
Tue 28.04/Wed 29.04.2026 CL SF 1st leg
Tue 05.05/Wed 06.05.2026 CL SF 2nd leg
Sat 30.05.2026 CL Final (Budapest)
PS: Champions League qualification for Newcastle also opens up a
place in the UEFA U19 Youth League, with fixtures mirroring the first team.
Temps:
Loan lads
Miodrag Pivas
(Willem II):
Willem II drew 2-2 at Telstar in the relegation play-off first leg on
Thursday night,
equalising late on.
Miodrag didn't make it off the bench.
The home leg is on Sunday.
Vakhtang Salia
(Dinamo Tblisi):
A 1-2 defeat at second-placed Dila on Wedneday saw Dinamo drop one place to
fourth in the Erovnuli Liga - missing out on a European place by a single
point.
Vakhtang wasn't in the squad as the Georgian League pauses at the halfway
point before resuming in August.
Salia's transfer to Newcastle will be activated when he turns 18 on August
30th. It's unclear whether he'll play competitively for Dinamo again ahead
of that date.
Internationals:
Hayden sighted
Latest international action:
Isaac Hayden (Jamaica):
Tue 27.05.2025 Trinidad & Tobago (n) won 3-2 FR
A 90 minute shift for the midfielder came in the unlikely setting of
Brentford's Gtech Stadium.
Steve McClaren's Reggae Boyz are gearing up for a busy June, when they'll
play World Cup qualifiers against the British Virgin Islands and Guatemala
before heading to the Concacaf Gold Cup Finals in the USA.
Sandro Tonali (Italy):
Fri 06.06.2025 Norway (a) Oslo WCQ
Mon 09.06.2025 Moldova (h) Reggio Emilia WCQ
Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil):
Fri 06.06.2025 Ecuador (a) Guayaquil WCQ
Wed 11.06.2025 Paraguay (h) Sao Paulo WCQ
Dan Burn/Anthony Gordon (England):
Sat 07.06.2025 Andorra (n) Barcelona WCQ
Tue 10.06.2025 Senegal (h) Nottingham FR
Odysseas Vlachodimos (Greece):
Sat 07.06.2025 Slovakia (h) Crete FR
Tue 10.06.2025 Bulgaria (h) Crete FR
Martin Dubravka
(Slovakia):
Sat 07.06.2025 Greece (a) Crete FR
Tue 10.06.2025 Israel (h) Debrecen FR
William Osula (Denmark U21s):
Thu 12.06.2025 Ukraine (n) Presov ECF
Sun 15.06.2025 Netherlands (n) Presov ECF
Wed 18.06.2025 Finland (n) Kosice ECF
Tino Livramento (England U21s training squad):
Thu 12.06.2025 Czechia (n) ECF
Sun 15.06.2025 Slovenia (n) ECF
Wed 18.06.2025 Germany (n) ECF
Garang Kuol (Australia U23s):
Thu 05.06.2025 South Korea U23s (a) FR
Mon 09.06.2025 South Korea U23s (a) FR
Alex Murphy (Ireland U21s):
Fri 06.06.2025 Croatia (a) Zagreb FR
Tue 10.06.2025 Qatar (n) Zagreb FR
Lewis Miley (England
U19s):
Sat 14.06.2025 Norway (n) Ploiesti ECF
Tue 17.06.2025 Germany (n) Bucharest ECF
Fri 20.06.2025 Netherlands (n) Bucharest ECF
NUSC:
NUSC renewals open
1970
Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany (n) 4-0 (3-0)