| Div 1 | 19th |
| FA Cup | QF |
| Attendance | 32,463 |
| Chairman | J Lunn |
| Manager | Directors, A Cunningham |
| Trainer | J McPherson |
| Captain | J Hill |
| Top Scorer | H Gallacher (34) |
With sixteen minutes left of the campaign left United, who were being held at home by West ham, were on their way to Division 2. But a goal from Devine meant they finished one point ahead of Burnley.
Newcastle had failed to build upon their Championship success of 1926/27 and despite continuing to invest heavily in new players the Novocastrian empire really crumbled during the last season of the 1920s
Gallagher once again requested a transfer before the campaign started and it looked as though he was on his way this time when United splashed out just over £4,000 to sign Dundee United's centre-forward Hutchinson. But he stayed once again and got off to his usual flyer with 10 goals in the first 8 games.
The early season form soon disappeared and the club responded both in their traditional way and with a radical new approach.
They got their cheque books out and spent another £14,000 on 'keeper McInroy, centre-half Davidson, winger Cape and inside-forward Devine. But they also appointed Andy Cunningham as player-manager in January (although he only played himself five times).
At least there was a Cup Run as United struggled past lower league opposition before losing to Hull (who would be relegated from Division 2 that season) in the Quarter Finals.
The spirit amongst players and fans alike had reached a very low ebb and some of the supporters began to turn on the players, especially Tommy Urwin who escaped to Sunderland in February.
Kit images copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission
It was a disastrous campaign due mainly to United’s atrocious away form. They lost 16 of the games (worst ever) and won only 2. Along with 189 it is the worst away record in the club’s history.
After a reasonable start, a 5-game losing run from mid-October sent the Magpies tumbling down the table, a position from which they never fully recovered.
Numerous signings were made and Andy Cunningham was made player-manager, but neither made any real difference to the results and come the final day of the season United were in 19th and one of six clubs who could be relegated.
With sixteen minutes left of the campaign left United - who were being held at home by West Ham – were on their way to Division 2. But a goal from Devine meant they finished one point ahead of Burnley. It was a vital victory as, in a crazy set of results, all the other five clubs also won (6-2, 5-1, 4-1, 3-1 and 1-0!).
| D1 | 31/8 | H | Man Utd | W | 4 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 04/9 | H | Blackburn | W | 5 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 07/9 | A | Grimsby | L | 0 - 4 | ||
| D1 | 09/9 | A | WHU | L | 1 - 5 | ||
| D1 | 14/9 | H | Leicester | W | 2 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 16/9 | A | Blackburn | L | 2 - 4 | ||
| D1 | 21/9 | A | Birmingham | L | 1 - 5 | ||
| D1 | 28/9 | H | Huddersfield | W | 5 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 05/10 | A | Sheff Utd | L | 0 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 12/10 | H | Burnley | W | 2 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 19/10 | A | Sunderland | L | 0 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 26/10 | H | Bolton | L | 2 - 3 | ||
| D1 | 02/11 | A | Everton | L | 2 - 5 | ||
| D1 | 09/11 | H | Sheff Wed | L | 1 - 3 | ||
| D1 | 16/11 | A | Man City | L | 0 - 3 | ||
| D1 | 23/11 | H | Portsmouth | W | 4 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 30/11 | A | Arsenal | W | 1 - 0 | ||
| D1 | 07/12 | H | Aston Villa | D | 2 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 14/12 | A | Leeds Utd | L | 2 - 5 | ||
| D1 | 21/12 | H | Derby | L | 2 - 3 | ||
| D1 | 25/12 | H | Middlesbrough | W | 3 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 26/12 | A | Middlesbrough | D | 2 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 28/12 | A | Man Utd | L | 0 - 5 | ||
| D1 | 04/1 | H | Grimsby | W | 3 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 18/1 | A | Leicester | L | 1 - 6 | ||
| D1 | 01/2 | A | Huddersfield | L | 0 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 08/2 | H | Sheff Utd | L | 3 - 5 | ||
| D1 | 22/2 | H | Sunderland | W | 3 - 0 | ||
| D1 | 08/3 | H | Everton | W | 1 - 0 | ||
| D1 | 11/3 | A | Burnley | W | 3 - 0 | ||
| D1 | 15/3 | A | Sheff Wed | L | 2 - 4 | ||
| D1 | 22/3 | H | Man City | D | 2 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 29/3 | A | Portsmouth | L | 0 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 02/4 | H | Birmingham | D | 1 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 05/4 | H | Arsenal | D | 1 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 09/4 | A | Bolton | D | 1 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 12/4 | A | Aston Villa | L | 0 - 2 | ||
| D1 | 18/4 | H | Liverpool | W | 3 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 19/4 | H | Leeds | W | 2 - 1 | ||
| D1 | 21/4 | A | Liverpool | D | 0 - 0 | ||
| D1 | 26/4 | A | Derby | L | 1 - 3 | ||
| D1 | 03/5 | H | WHU | W | 1 - 0 |
| Sheff. Wed | 1-3 | 2-4 |
| Derby | 2-3 | 1-3 |
| Man. City | 2-2 | 0-3 |
| Aston Villa | 2-2 | 0-2 |
| Leeds | 2-1 | 2-5 |
| Blackburn | 5-1 | 2-4 |
| West Ham | 1-0 | 0-5 |
| Leicester | 2-1 | 1-6 |
| Sunderland | 3-0 | 0-1 |
| Huddersfield | 5-0 | 0-2 |
| Birmingham | 1-1 | 1-5 |
| Liverpool | 3-1 | 1-1 |
| Portsmouth | 4-1 | 0-2 |
| Arsenal | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| Bolton | 2-3 | 1-1 |
| Middlesbrough | 3-2 | 2-2 |
| Man. United | 4-1 | 0-5 |
| Grimsby | 3-1 | 0-4 |
| Newcastle | ||
| Sheff. United | 3-5 | 0-1 |
| Burnley | 2-1 | 3-0 |
| Everton | 1-0 | 2-5 |
| 01 | Sheff Wed | 26 | 8 | 8 | 105 | 57 | 60 |
| 02 | Derby | 21 | 8 | 13 | 90 | 82 | 50 |
| 03 | Man City | 19 | 9 | 14 | 91 | 81 | 47 |
| 04 | Aston Villa | 21 | 5 | 16 | 92 | 83 | 47 |
| 05 | Leeds | 20 | 6 | 16 | 79 | 63 | 46 |
| 06 | Blackburn | 19 | 7 | 16 | 99 | 93 | 45 |
| 07 | West Ham | 19 | 5 | 18 | 86 | 79 | 43 |
| 08 | Leicester | 17 | 9 | 16 | 86 | 90 | 43 |
| 09 | Sunderland | 18 | 7 | 17 | 76 | 80 | 43 |
| 10 | Huddersfield | 17 | 9 | 16 | 63 | 69 | 43 |
| 11 | Birmingham | 16 | 9 | 17 | 67 | 62 | 41 |
| 12 | Liverpool | 16 | 9 | 17 | 63 | 79 | 41 |
| 13 | Portsmouth | 15 | 10 | 17 | 66 | 62 | 40 |
| 14 | Arsenal | 14 | 11 | 17 | 78 | 66 | 39 |
| 15 | Bolton | 15 | 9 | 18 | 74 | 74 | 39 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 16 | 6 | 20 | 82 | 84 | 38 |
| 17 | Man Utd | 15 | 8 | 19 | 67 | 88 | 38 |
| 18 | Grimsby | 15 | 7 | 20 | 73 | 89 | 37 |
| 19 | Newcastle | 15 | 7 | 20 | 71 | 92 | 37 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 15 | 6 | 21 | 91 | 96 | 36 |
| 21 | Burnley | 14 | 8 | 20 | 79 | 97 | 36 |
| 22 | Everton | 12 | 11 | 19 | 80 | 92 | 35 |
| R3 | 11/1 | H | York | D | 1 - 1 | ||
| R3r | 15/1 | A | York | W | 2 - 1 | ||
| R4 | 25/1 | H | L Orient | W | 3 - 1 | ||
| R5 | 15/2 | H | Brighton | W | 3 - 0 | ||
| QF | 01/3 | H | Hull | D | 1 - 1 | ||
| QFr | 06/3 | A | Hull | L | 0 - 1 | H |
R3: On a snowbound pitch United were sensationally held to a draw by Division 3 York who defended superbly in a very cleanly contested game. And the replay was equally as tough with Newcastle having to come from behind.
R4: Teenager Richardson was the star with an excellent hat-trick in a comfortable win over Orient.
R5: The visitors had already knocked out two First Division clubs, but they disappointed as they struggled to handle the irrepressible Gallacher who scored a hat-trick.
QF: Hull deservedly forced a replay in a fierce cup-tie in which tempers frayed and there were a number of nasty incidents. The Yorkshiremen won the replay after a tremendous display from custodian Gibson, who was carried from the field, shoulder high, at the end.
| Player | A | S | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyd J | 17 | 1 | |
| Burns M | 7 | ||
| Cape J | 10 | 1 | |
| Chalmers W | 16 | 4 | |
| Cunningham A | 5 | ||
| Davidson D | 2 | ||
| Devine J | 16 | 8 | |
| Fairhurst D | 17 | ||
| Fidler A | 5 | ||
| Gallacher H | 44 | 34 | |
| Harris J | 41 | ||
| Hill J | 37 | 2 | |
| Hutchison D | 18 | 6 | |
| Lang T | 32 | 5 | |
| MacKenzie R | 18 | ||
| Maitland A | 28 | ||
| Mathison G | 13 | ||
| McCurley J | 14 | 1 | |
| McDonald T | 34 | 5 | |
| McInroy A | 36 | ||
| Nevin G | 6 | ||
| Richardson JR | 11 | 4 | |
| Richardson Joe | 16 | ||
| Scott G | 10 | 2 | |
| Thomson B | 29 | ||
| Urwin T | 20 | 2 | |
| Weaver S | 21 | ||
| Wilson J | 1 | ||
| Wood E | 4 | ||
| own goals | 1 |
Total Games: 61
Total Goals: 85
01: Burns > Mclnroy
02: Maitland > Richardson J
03: Thomson > Fairhurst
04: McKenzie or Harris
05: Hill
06: Harris or Weaver
07: Boyd or Urwin > Cape
08: Richardson or Chalmers > Devine
09: Gallacher
10: McDonald or McCurley
11: Lang
| Surname | Date | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/29 | Siddley | |||
| 08/29 | A Fidler | 23 | Gosforth BL Swifts | £25 |
| 08/29 | D Hutchinson | 26 | Dundee United | £4,050 |
| 10/29 | A McInroy | 28 | Sunderland | £2,750 |
| 10/29 | A Jones | Lancaster Town | £350 | |
| 11/29 | S Weaver | 20 | Hull City | £2,500 |
| 01/30 | J Cape | 18 | Carlisle | £1,750 |
| 01/30 | J Devine | 24 | Burnley | £5,575 |
| 01/30 | D Davidson | 24 | Liverpool | £4,000 |
| 05/30 | D Bell | 20 | Wallyford Bluebell | £150 |
| 05/30 | O Park | 25 | Connah's Quay | Free |
| 05/30 | J Wilkinson | 21 | Sheffield Wednesday | £3,000 |
| 05/30 | R Starling | 20 | Hull City | £3,750 |
| 05/30 | D Lindsay | 27 | Cowdenbeath | £2,700 |
| Surname | Date | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/29 | W Wilson | 28 | Millwall | £700 |
| 06/29 | W Gillespie | 25 | Bristol Rovers | Free |
| 07/29 | W Carlton | 21 | Merthyr Tydfil | Free |
| 07/29 | R Bradley | 22 | Fulham | £125 |
| 07/29 | O Park | 24 | Connah's Quay | Free |
| 07/29 | Thompson | Bristol City | Free | |
| 12/29 | L Nainby | Blackpool | £200 | |
| 02/30 | T Urwin | 33/4 | Sunderland | £525 |
| 04/30 | Dunmore | Derby | ||
| 05/30 | O Bowden | Derby | ||
| 05/30 | W Carr | West Brom | ||
| 05/30 | W Ryott | Carlisle | ||
| 05/30 | A Cunningham | Retired | ||
| 05/30 | H Gallacher | Chelsea | £10,000 | |
| 05/30 | A Maitland | Jarrow | ||
| 05/30 | E Wood |
For the first time in their history United appointed a manager - albeit a playing one - with the highly experienced Andy Cunningham taking on the role in January. However, he only made four more playing appearances.
An inquiry was set up to investigate the Hungarian FA's complaints about United emanating from the disastrous summer tour. After hearing evidence from both sides the FA released the following statement.
"We are of the opinion from the indifferent displays given by Newcastle United during the tour that the Hungarian F.A. was justified in endeavouring to cancel the contract. The match, however, which was against Hungaria FC, having been played, the money retained - £165 - must be paid over to the Newcastle United club. We are further of the opinion that the referee's conduct of the game was not satisfactory. With regard to the reports as to Gallacher and Maitland being ordered off the field on the evidence, we make no order.
The Hungarian FA were not happy with the resolution and later stated that United would be banned from playing in their country until they have given entire satisfaction for an offending term alleged to have been used by a member of the United party during last summer’s visit.
Three United directors passed away and as a result Dr. Rutherford of Wallsend was co-opted onto the Board.
It was an open secret that personal differences existed both within the Newcastle team and between certain players and the club officials. This certainly impacted upon the team's performances and led to star players Gallacher and Hill both handing in transfer requests
in November, former United centre-forward Albert Shepherd passed away at the Crown and Cushion Hotel in Bolton where he was the licensee.
The body of former footballer Alfred Brown - who had a short spell on Tyneside - was discovered on a roadway adjacent to Largs beach. Empty bottles of lysol and aspirin were found by his side.
A couple of shareholders were so concerned with the state of affairs at the club that they sent a letter to all other shareholders asking them to attend a special meeting to discuss two resolutions. A request that the directors called and EGM or for them to receive an elected shareholders deputation.
A number of players were barracked during the season including captain Hill (after he had requwated a transfer) and Urwin.
A Newcastle United Supporter Association was formed.
Schoolboy Edward Carr (14) broke his arm when he tripped on a broken terrace step at St James' and went to Court to try and get damages. The club claimed that as he was attending a schoolboy match United were technically not responsible. However, the Judge disagreed and ordered them to pay £250 damages.
T.H. Scott of Hexham devised a unique method of advertising the film "Four Feathers" which was showing at the City Hall, Newcastle. He arranged for two 23-foot "kite banners" to be displayed over the heads of the spectators at a home match bearing the words: "Four Feathers at the City Hall". It caused a great deal of attention and comment and excellent business resulted.
Due to a lack of support South Shields FC wanted to move "lock, stock and barrel" to the East End of Newcastle but the move was blocked by the Football League Management Committee after Newcastle objected.
They then were given permission to move to Gateshead without Newcastle's blessing with the Management committee believing that as Gateshead was in a different County they wouldn’t mind.
United did not appeal against the decision but a Newcastle director pointed out that the distances involved were virtually the same.
Lucky to escape with minor injuries after overturning his motor-car.
Fined £5 by the FA for breaking regulations regarding the criticism of other players.
Arrested for fighting in the street.
A transfer request at the beginning of the season was turned down but he was sold at the end of the campaign.
Inadvertently kicked off a row between the English and Scottish FA when – after discussions with Newcastle officials - he withdrew from a Scotland squad to play for United against Arsenal.
Deliberately missed a controversially-awarded penalty in the home game against Burnley.