NUFC Season Summaries

NUFC Season 1950/51

This was United's best season since they won the Championship in 1926/27. They won the FA Cup for the first time since 1932 and finished a creditable fourth in the League. But it wouldn't be Newcastle if there hadn't have been a fair bit of controversy along the way.

The Magpies got off to a blistering start; unbeaten in their first eleven (a record breaker), losing only one of their first sixteen games and topping the table throughout September. However things started going wrong in November; they suffered a seven goal mauling against Spurs (the eventual champions) and then manager George Martin resigned to take over at Villa Park.

Stan Seymour once more stepped into the breach and led the club to a Wembley win over Stanley Matthews and Blackpool; but with both eyes on the cup their League form suffered. In between the semi-final and the final they played eleven League games and won only once.

Off the field the build-up to the final was equally fraught with arguments over bonuses, players resorting to selling their own promotional items to raise a bit of cash and a breaking of a drink curfew. Even the players wives were up in arms after the club gave them standing tickets.

After the Final things were no better with Jack Fairbrother storming off after overhearing an indiscrete director say he was on his way out and dissatisfaction among the whole squad when the players' wives were presented with celebratory handbags stuffed with.......newspapers and not - as had been rumoured - cash.

It was a remarkably settled side with only 20 players being used, five of them only making a handful of appearances. There were no major departures, Ronnie Simpson and Reg Davies were two late season captures.