1901/02 Season - Review

NUFC Season 1901/02

With Peddie losing his goalscoring touch United struggled to score but defensively they were excellent and the 34 goals they conceded was the best record in the top flight and our second best total ever. As a result United only finished seven points behind champions Sunderland.

They didn't get off to the best of starts and having only won only six of the first twenty games they were down to 12th in the 18 team League. Six wins in eight propelled them up to third and they held on to that position for the rest of the season.

United scored only 48 goals in the League and eight of them were scored in one match, United recording their best ever win in the top flight with an 8-0 thrashing of Notts County. It is a record which has since been equalled but never bettered. Peddie (3) and Orr (4) were the heroes.

Away from home United only notched seven goals; even worse than in 1980/81 although the average was better than in that woeful campaign.

United reached the Third Round of the FA Cup for the first time before they were beaten by eventual winnners Sheffield United after a replay. The Second Round brought the first Tyne Wear cup clash and a 23,000 crowd witnessed a famous 1-0 victory for the Novocastrians.

The average crowd remained suck at 15,000 with Sunderland attracting the biggest crowd of 25,000.

The side was less settled than in previous seasons and there was a significant number of moves. The biggest signing was Bob McColl who was regarded as the best player in Scottish football and signed for a club record £????. Ronald Orr was brought in from St Mitrren and Jocj Rutherford arrived from Willongton Athletic

Moving out were goalscoring hero Peddie who had fallen out with the directors, Niblo and MacFarlane.

The regular team that season was Kingsley, Bennie (), Davidson, Ghee/Caie/Gardner Alec, Aitken, Carr, Stewart, Orr, Peddie, Veitch/McColl and Roberts