Newcastle United FC
The Magpies
Founded: 1892, Stadium: St. James’ Park (Newcastle), Capacity: 52, 354
Newcastle United FC was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, they have played at St James’ Park since. Newcastle United won most of their trophies in the early twentieth century, but were much talked about in the 1990s, when the owner’s wealth allowed manager Kevin Keegan to recruit stars as Alan Shearer, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand. The magpies finished second in the Premier League in 1996 and 1997 behind Manchester United. In total the Magpies have won four League Championship titles, six FA Cups and a Charity Shield. The club’s most successful period was between 1904 and 1910, when they won the FA Cup and three of their First Division titles. The Magpies have a devoted following, with an average attendance at home games of 40,000 for the past fifteen years. In 2011, a study showed that over the course of the season, the average Newcastle fan travelled the equivalent of circling the globe to follow their team when they played away. Newcastle has a local rivalry with Sunderland, with whom they have contested the Tyne-Wear derby since 1898. The current club crest was first used in the 1988-89 season. The crest includes elements from the coat of arms of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The two sea horses represent Tyneside’s strong connections with the sea, the castle representing the city’s Norman keep. The city’s coat of arms were first embroidered on the team’s shirts in 1969 and worn as standard until 1976. A scroll at the bottom featured the city’s motto in Latin; fortiter defendit triumphans which translates into English as “triumphing by brave defence”. From 1976 until 1983, the club wore a specific badge which was developed to wear in place of the city’s coat of arms. The design was of a circular shape, which featured the club’s name in full, it contained a magpie standing in front of the River Tyne with the historic Norman castle of Newcastle in the background. A more simplistic design followed in 1983, featuring the initials of the club’s name, NUFC with the small magpie used in the previous crest within the horizontally laid “C,” this logo was relatively short lived and was discontinued after 1988.
