| Premiership | 4th |
| Intertoto Cup | Fin |
| FA Cup | QF |
| League Cup | QF |
| Attendance | 51,373 |
| Chairman | F Shepherd |
| Manager | B Robson |
| Coach | J Carver |
| Captain | A Shearer |
| Top Scorer | A Shearer (27) |
Shepherd and Hall had declared last season that with the ground redevelopment complete, the money was once more available to compete at the top end of the market.
Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert were not exactly household names, but they brought speed, skill and shooting ability which invigorated the United attack.
The side brought back memories of Keegan's entertainers and as they attacked home and away the number of goals scored in the Premiership increased from 44 to 74. As a result they launched a genuine title challenge. Although they couldn't quite keep up with the pace a 4th placed finish was a great achievement.
The Magpies also made good progress in the domestic Cup competitions where they reached the Quarter-Finals of both, unluckily being drawn against Arsenal and Chelsea.
They also reached the final of the Intertoto Cup but lost on the away goals rule despite coming back from 4-1 down at home to Troyes to draw.
Credit for United's more progressive approach is also due to new first-team coach John Carver who took over from Mick Wadsworth.
The fans lapped it up although there was disappointment for the supporters who were forced to move seats last season despite having bonds. They launched a Save our Seats campaign, but lost their case in the Court of Appeal in July 2001.
Kit images copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission
United made a reasonable start to the season and after the first 12 games were handily placed in sixth place. Within that period there was a thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester United at St James' which famously saw Roy Keane sent-off for throwing a punch at Shearer.
They then really hit form to the end of the year with six wins and a draw which took them to the top of the table. The run included fantastic away wins at second-placed Arsenal (3-1) and third-placed Leeds (4-3).
They continued to perform well in 2002 although crucially they lost against rivals Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.
The loss of Craig Bellamy at the end of February was certainly a factor, although the team was probably just not quite good enough.
| 19/8 | A | Chelsea | D | 1-1 | ||
| 26/8 | H | Sunderland | D | 1-1 | ||
| 08/9 | A | Middlesbrough | W | 4-1 | ||
| 15/9 | H | Man Utd | W | 4-3 | ||
| 23/9 | A | WHU | L | 0-3 | ||
| 26/9 | H | Leicester | W | 1-0 | ||
| 30/9 | H | Liverpool | L | 0-2 | ||
| 13/10 | A | Bolton | W | 4-0 | ||
| 21/10 | H | Tottenham | L | 0-2 | ||
| 27/10 | A | Everton | W | 3-1 | ||
| 03/11 | H | Aston Villa | W | 3-0 | ||
| 17/11 | A | Fulham | L | 1-3 | ||
| 24/11 | H | Derby | W | 1-0 | ||
| 01/12 | A | Charlton | D | 1-1 | ||
| 09/12 | A | Ipswich | W | 1-0 | ||
| 15/12 | H | Blackburn | W | 2-1 | ||
| 18/12 | A | Arsenal | W | 3-1 | ||
| 22/12 | A | Leeds | W | 4-3 | ||
| 26/12 | H | Middlesbrough | W | 3-0 | ||
| 29/12 | H | Chelsea | L | 1-2 | ||
| 02/1 | A | Man Utd | L | 1-3 | ||
| 12/1 | H | Leeds | W | 3-1 | ||
| 19/1 | A | Leicester | D | 0-0 | ||
| 30/1 | A | Tottenham | W | 3-1 | ||
| 02/2 | H | Bolton | W | 3-2 | ||
| 09/2 | H | Southampton | W | 3-1 | ||
| 24/2 | A | Sunderland | W | 1-0 | ||
| 02/3 | H | Arsenal | L | 0-2 | ||
| 06/3 | A | Liverpool | L | 0-3 | ||
| 16/3 | H | Ipswich | D | 2-2 | ||
| 29/3 | H | Everton | W | 6-2 | ||
| 02/4 | A | Aston Villa | D | 1-1 | ||
| 08/4 | H | Fulham | D | 1-1 | ||
| 13/4 | A | Derby | W | 3-2 | ||
| 20/4 | H | Charlton | W | 3-0 | ||
| 23/4 | A | Blackburn | D | 2-2 | ||
| 27/4 | H | WHU | W | 3-1 | ||
| 11/5 | A | Southampton | L | 1-3 |
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
| 01 | Arsenal | 26 | 9 | 3 | 79 | 36 | 87 |
| 02 | Liverpool | 24 | 8 | 6 | 67 | 30 | 80 |
| 03 | Man Utd | 24 | 5 | 9 | 87 | 45 | 77 |
| 04 | Newcastle | 21 | 8 | 9 | 74 | 52 | 71 |
| 05 | Leeds | 18 | 12 | 8 | 53 | 37 | 66 |
| 06 | Chelsea | 17 | 13 | 8 | 66 | 38 | 64 |
| 07 | West Ham | 15 | 8 | 15 | 48 | 57 | 53 |
| 08 | Aston Villa | 12 | 14 | 12 | 46 | 47 | 50 |
| 09 | Tottenham | 14 | 8 | 16 | 49 | 53 | 50 |
| 10 | Blackburn | 12 | 10 | 16 | 55 | 51 | 46 |
| 11 | Southampton | 12 | 9 | 17 | 46 | 54 | 45 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 12 | 9 | 17 | 35 | 47 | 45 |
| 13 | Fulham | 10 | 14 | 14 | 36 | 44 | 44 |
| 14 | Charlton | 10 | 14 | 14 | 38 | 49 | 44 |
| 15 | Everton | 11 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 57 | 43 |
| 16 | Bolton | 62 | 40 | ||||
| 17 | Sunderland | 10 | 10 | 18 | 29 | 51 | 40 |
| 18 | Ipswich | 9 | 9 | 20 | 41 | 64 | 36 |
| 19 | Derby | 8 | 6 | 24 | 33 | 63 | 30 |
| 20 | Leicester | 5 | 13 | 20 | 30 | 64 | 28 |
| R1 L1 | 14/7 | A | Lokeren | W | 4-0 | ||
| R1 L2 | 21/7 | H | Lokeren | W | -10 | ||
| SF L1 | 25/7 | A | 1860 Munich | W | 3-2 | ||
| SF L2 | 01/8 | H | 1860 Munich | W | 3-1 | ||
| Fin L1 | 07/8 | A | Troyes | D | 0-0 | ||
| Fin L2 | 21/8 | H | Troyes | D | 4-4 |
| R3 | 05/1 | H | Crystal Palace | W | 2-0 | ||
| R4 | 27/1 | A | Peterborough Utd | W | 4-2 | ||
| R5 | 17/2 | H | Man City | W | 1-0 | ||
| QF | 09/3 | H | Arsenal | D | 1-1 | ||
| QFr | 23/3 | A | Arsenal | L | 0-3 |
| R2 | 12/9 | H | Brentford | W | 4-1 | ||
| R3 | 09/10 | A | Barnsley | W | 1-0 | ||
| R4 | 27/11 | H | Ipswich | W | 4-1 | ||
| QF | 12/12 | A | Chelsea | L | 0-1 |
| Player | A | S | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acuna C | 14 | 10 | 4 |
| Ameobi Sh | 12 | 13 | 5 |
| Barton W | 11 | 1 | |
| Bassedas C | 5 | 2 | |
| Bellamy C | 37 | 2 | 14 |
| Bernard O | 8 | 15 | 3 |
| Caldwell S | 0 | 3 | |
| Cort C | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Dabizas N | 44 | 2 | 3 |
| Distin S | 27 | 8 | |
| Dyer K | 17 | 4 | 3 |
| Elliott R | 37 | 3 | 2 |
| Given S | 50 | 0 | |
| Griffin A | 4 | 1 | |
| Harper S | 3 | 0 | |
| Hughes A | 48 | 0 | 2 |
| Jenas J | 6 | 6 | |
| Kerr B | 0 | 2 | |
| Lee R | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| Lua Lua L | 4 | 28 | 5 |
| McClen J | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| O'Brien A | 38 | 6 | 3 |
| Quinn W | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Robert L | 40 | 2 | 10 |
| Shearer A | 45 | 1 | 27 |
| Solano N | 52 | 0 | 12 |
| Speed G | 39 | 1 | 7 |
| own goals | 2 |
Total number of games: 53
Total number of players used: 27
| Name | Date | Age | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellamy Craig | 06/01 | 20 | Coventry | £6.5m |
| Elliot Robbie | 07/01 | 27 | Unattached | |
| Robert Laurent | 08/01 | 26 | Psg | £9.2m |
| Jenas Jermaine | 02/02 | 18/19 | Nottm F | £5m |
| Name | Date | Age | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Des | 07/01 | 24 | Released | £0 |
| Barton Warren | 02/02 | 30 | Derby | £300,000 |
| Lee Robert | 02/02 | 36 | Derby | £400,000 |
| Beherall David | 03/02 | 22 | Oldham | £150,000 |
| Name | Club | From | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distin Sylvain | PSG | 09/01 | 05/02 | £500,000 |
| Name | Club | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coppinger James | Hartlepool | ||
| Caldwell Steve | Blackpool | ||
| Caldwell Steve | Bradford | ||
| Bassedas Christian | Tenerife | ||
| Gavillan Diego | Estudiantes | ||
| Quinn Wayne | Sheff Utd | ||
| Bernard Oliver | Darlington | ||
| Beherall Dave | Grimsby | ||
| Beherall Dave | Oldham | 11/01 | 02/02 |