1990–91 Newcastle United F.C. season

Newcastle United
1990-91 season
Chairman	Sir John Hall
Manager	Jim Smith ; (until 21 March 1991); Bobby Saxton ; (caretaker until 26 March 1991); Osvaldo Ardiles; (from 26 March 1991)
Stadium	St James' Park
Division Two	11th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Second round
Full Members Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Quinn (18); All: Quinn (20)
Highest home attendance	29,231; (vs. Nottm Forest)
Lowest home attendance	10,004; (vs. Oxford United)
Average home league attendance	16,879
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1989–90 1991–92 →

During the 1990–91 season, Newcastle United participated in the Football League Second Division.

Season Synopsis

After the disappointment of the previous season to gain promotion at the first attempt, the Magpies started the new season slowly. Injuries to key players Mark McGhee and John Gallagher did little to help manager Jim Smith's cause and, after a tussle with the board, Smith left the club in early 1991, branding the club 'unmanageable'. He was replaced as manager by the former Tottenham Hotspur and Argentina player, Ossie Ardiles. With the change of manager came a change of style, with a passing game where the ball rarely left the ground replacing the more direct style. It also marked the appearance of several promising youngsters, including Steve Watson, Alan Thompson and Robbie Elliott, alongside the more established youngsters, Lee Clark and Steve Howey. However, the gap between Newcastle and the top teams was too much to be breached and the team finished in mid-table.

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
9	Bristol City	46	20	7	19	68	71	−3	67
10	Oxford United	46	14	19	13	69	66	+3	61
11	Newcastle United	46	14	17	15	49	56	−7	59
12	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	13	19	14	63	63	0	58
13	Bristol Rovers	46	15	13	18	56	59	−3	58

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Appearances, goals and cards

(Substitute appearances in brackets)

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		ZDS Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	John Burridge	39	0	3	0	2	0	?	0	?	0
GK	Pavel Srníček	7	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Roy Aitken	37	0	3	0	2	0	?	0	?	0
DF	John Anderson	27	1	3	0	1	1	?	0	?	2
DF	Matty Appleby	1	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Darren Bradshaw	6 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Robbie Elliott	5 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Steve Howey	3 (8)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Bjørn Kristensen	39 (1)	1	3	0	1	0	?	0	?	1
DF	Alan Neilson	2 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Ray Ranson	24 (3)	0	3	0	1	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Kevin Scott	42	0	0 (1)	0	2	0	?	1	?	0
DF	Mark Stimson	23	1	3	1	0	0	?	0	?	2
DF	Paul Sweeney	8 (1)	0	0	0	2	0	?	0	?	0
DF	John Watson	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
DF	Steve Watson	22 (2)	0	3	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Billy Askew	1 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Kevin Brock	36 (2)	5	3	0	2	0	?	0	?	5
MF	Lee Clark	13 (6)	2	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	2
MF	Kevin Dillon	19	0	3	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Wayne Fereday	6 (2)	0	0	0	2	0	?	0	?	0
MF	John Gallacher	1	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Archie Gourlay	2	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Lee Makel	1 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Liam O'Brien	23 (10)	3	0 (2)	0	2	0	?	0	?	3
MF	Gavin Peacock	27	7	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	7
MF	David Roche	5 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
MF	Neil Simpson	1 (3)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	?	0	?	0
FW	Tommy Gaynor	4	1	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	1
FW	Andy Hunt	13 (3)	2	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	2
FW	Mark McGhee	17 (4)	5	2	1	2	0	?	0	?	6
FW	David Mitchell	2	1	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	1
FW	Paul Moran	1	0	0	0	0	0	?	0	?	0
FW	Micky Quinn	43	18	3	2	2	0	?	0	?	20
FW	David Robinson	0 (3)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	?	0	?	0
FW	Scott Sloan	11 (5)	1	1	0	0	0	?	0	?	1