| Premiership | 16th |
| Europa League | QF |
| FA Cup | R3 |
| League Cup | R4 |
| Attendance | 50,517 |
| Chairman | D Llambias |
| Manager | A Pardew |
| Coach | S Stone, J Carver |
| Captain | F Coloccini |
| Top Scorer | D Ba, P Cisse (13) |
During the first game of the season Alan Pardew was sent off after pushing the fourth official when he believed Newcastle should have a throw-in and it would continue to be a troubled season for the manager after last season’s highs.
United failed to strengthen adequately during the summer and rarely-seen optimism soon evaporated as they struggled to cope with the extra demands of playing in Europe.
A disastrous run of results between November and January and the loss of Demba Ba caused Pardew to cancel the Players’ Christmas Party and panicked Ashley into making six new signings during the January transfer window.
The gamble worked; results improved and United’s position stabilised, however it was not until the penultimate game of the season that safety was secured.
United creditably made it through to the Quarter-finals of the Europa League where they lost out to Benfica, but the 14 additional games it added to the fixture list proved too great a strain on the squad.
The FA Cup campaign ended immediately with the Magpies falling to lower league opposition for the third season in a row.
There was no progress in the League Cup either where United lost at Old Trafford despite a spirited rally.
In October the club announced that they had agreed a sponsorship deal with controversial short-term loan company Wonga which would take effect from the 2013–14 season. Wonga also agreed to pay for the ground name to be changed back to St James' Park having been officially known as the Sports Direct Arena since November 2011.
Two-years after the disgraceful challenge on Ben-Arfa that went unpunished, Callum McManaman's horror challenge on Massadio Haidara at Wigan was similarly missed. John Carver was sent-off with the Latics first team coach as temperatures boiled.
Goalkeeper Steve Harper announced his retirement after 20 years on Tyneside.
After an embarrassing 3–0 home defeat in the Tyne–Wear derby Newcastle fans caused serious trouble and 29 people were arrested. The club stated that they would give lifetime bans to fans found guilty.
Kit images copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission
United were 10th after 10 games after a mixed start to the season, but in the period up to Christmas they lost 8 out of 10 culminating in a 4-3 defeat to Manchester United and a 7-3 defeat at Highbury.
With Demba Ba also activating a release clause in his contract to move to Chelsea Ashley was persuaded that the squad needed strengthening in the January transfer window and no less than six new faces were brought in.
The initial effect was positive as the Magpies gained maximum points in 4 of the next six matches, but this was followed by a run of 1 win in 7 which included a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City and a humiliating 6-0 reverse at home to Liverpool.
Survival was mathematically guaranteed with a 2-1 win at Loftus Road in the final away game of the season.
It was the Magpies’ away form that really let them down, as they only won twice on their travels.
| 18/08 | H | Tottenham | W | 2-1 | 4 | |
| 25/08 | A | Chelsea | L | 0-2 | 9 | |
| 02/09 | H | Aston Villa | D | 1-1 | 10 | |
| 17/09 | A | Everton | D | 2-2 | 11 | |
| 23/09 | H | Norwich | W | 1-0 | 10 | |
| 29/09 | A | Reading | D | 2-2 | 9 | |
| 07/10 | H | Man Utd | L | 0-3 | 10 | |
| 21/10 | A | Sunderland | D | 1-1 | 11 | |
| 28/10 | H | West Brom | W | 2-1 | 10 | |
| 04/11 | A | Liverpool | D | 1-1 | 10 | |
| 11/11 | H | West Ham | L | 0-1 | 10 | |
| 17/11 | H | Swansea | L | 1-2 | 12 | |
| 25/11 | A | Southampton | L | 0-2 | 14 | |
| 28/11 | A | Stoke City | L | 1-2 | 14 | |
| 03/12 | H | Wigan | W | 3-0 | 14 | |
| 10/12 | A | Fulham | L | 1-2 | 14 | |
| 15/12 | H | Man City | L | 1-3 | 15 | |
| 22/12 | H | QPR | W | 1-0 | 14 | |
| 26/12 | A | Man Utd | L | 3-4 | 15 | |
| 29/12 | A | Arsenal | L | 3-7 | 15 | |
| 02/01 | H | Everton | L | 1-2 | 15 | |
| 12/01 | A | Norwich | D | 0-0 | 16 | |
| 19/01 | H | Reading | L | 1-2 | 16 | |
| 29/01 | A | Aston Villa | W | 2-1 | 15 | |
| 02/02 | H | Chelsea | W | 3-2 | 15 | |
| 09/02 | A | Tottenham | L | 1-2 | 16 | |
| 24/02 | H | Southampton | W | 4-2 | 14 | |
| 02/03 | A | Swansea | L | 0-1 | 15 | |
| 10/03 | H | Stoke City | W | 2-1 | 13 | |
| 17/03 | A | Wigan | L | 1-2 | 13 | |
| 30/03 | A | Man City | L | 0-4 | 15 | |
| 07/04 | H | Fulham | W | 1-0 | 13 | |
| 14/04 | H | Sunderland | L | 0-3 | 13 | |
| 20/04 | A | West Brom | D | 1-1 | 16 | |
| 27/04 | H | Liverpool | L | 0-6 | 16 | |
| 04/05 | A | West Ham | D | 0-0 | 16 | |
| 12/05 | A | QPR | W | 2-1 | 13 | |
| 19/05 | H | Arsenal | L | 0-1 | 16 |
| Man Utd | 0-3 | 3-4 |
| Man. City | 1-3 | 0-4 |
| Chelsea | 3-2 | 0-2 |
| Arsenal | 0-1 | 3-7 |
| Tottenham | 2-1 | 1-3 |
| Everton | 1-2 | 2-2 |
| Liverpool | 0-6 | 1-1 |
| West Brom | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Swansea | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| West Ham | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Norwich | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Fulham | 1-0 | 1-2 |
| Stoke | 2-1 | 1-2 |
| Southampton | 4-2 | 0-2 |
| Aston Villa | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Newcastle | ||
| Sunderland | 0-3 | 1-1 |
| Wigan | 3-0 | 1-2 |
| Reading | 1-2 | 2-2 |
| QPR | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
| 01 | Man Utd | 28 | 5 | 5 | 86 | 43 | 89 |
| 02 | Man City | 23 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 34 | 78 |
| 03 | Chelsea | 22 | 9 | 7 | 75 | 39 | 75 |
| 04 | Arsenal | 21 | 10 | 7 | 72 | 37 | 73 |
| 05 | Tottenham | 21 | 9 | 8 | 66 | 46 | 72 |
| 06 | Everton | 16 | 15 | 7 | 55 | 40 | 63 |
| 07 | Liverpool | 16 | 13 | 9 | 71 | 43 | 61 |
| 08 | West Brom | 14 | 7 | 17 | 53 | 57 | 49 |
| 09 | Swansea | 11 | 13 | 14 | 47 | 51 | 46 |
| 10 | West Ham | 12 | 10 | 16 | 45 | 53 | 46 |
| 11 | Norwich | 10 | 14 | 14 | 41 | 58 | 44 |
| 12 | Fulham | 11 | 10 | 17 | 50 | 60 | 43 |
| 13 | Stoke | 9 | 15 | 14 | 34 | 45 | 42 |
| 14 | Southampton | 9 | 14 | 15 | 49 | 60 | 41 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 10 | 11 | 17 | 47 | 69 | 41 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 11 | 8 | 19 | 45 | 68 | 41 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 9 | 12 | 17 | 41 | 54 | 39 |
| 18 | Wigan | 9 | 9 | 20 | 47 | 73 | 36 |
| 19 | Reading | 6 | 10 | 22 | 43 | 73 | 28 |
| 20 | QPR | 4 | 13 | 21 | 30 | 60 | 25 |
| 23/08 | EL4QR1 | A | Atromitos | D | 1-1 | |
| 30/08 | EL4QR2 | H | Atromitos | W | 1-0 | |
| 20/09 | ELGSM1 | A | Maritimo | D | 0-0 | |
| 04/10 | ELGSM2 | H | Bordeaux | W | 3-0 | |
| 25/10 | ELGSM3 | H | Brugge | W | 1-0 | |
| 08/11 | ELGSM4 | A | Brugge | D | 2-2 | |
| 22/11 | ELGSM5 | H | Maritimo | D | 1-1 | |
| 06/12 | ELGSM6 | A | Bordeaux | L | 0-2 | |
| 14/02 | EL2R1L | H | Metalist | D | 0-0 | |
| 21/02 | EL2R2L | A | Metalist | W | 1-0 | |
| 07/03 | EL3R1L | A | Anji | D | 0-0 | |
| 14/03 | EL3R2L | H | Anji | W | 1-0 | |
| 04/04 | ELQF1L | A | Benfica | L | 1-3 | |
| 11/04 | ELQF2L | H | Benfica | D | 1-1 |
| 05/01 | R3 | A | Brighton | L | 0-2 |
R3: Shola and Sammy Ameobi became the first brothers to start in the same Newcastle side since the Robledos in the 1950s, unfortunately they didn’t both play the full game as Shola was sent off. It was a weakened side that took on Championship side Brighton, managed by nemesis Gus Poyet, but it was still an awful performance. Pardew blamed fatigue.
| 26/09 | R3 | A | Manchester United | L | 1-2 |
R3: Despite a strong finish prompted by a welcome goal for Papiss Cisse, United fell at the first hurdle.
| Player | A | S | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mehdi Abeid | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Sammy Ameobi | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| Shola Ameobi | 11 | 24 | 4 |
| Romain Amalfitano | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Vurnon Anita | 27 | 10 | 1 |
| Demba Ba | 20 | 2 | 13 |
| Hatem Ben Arfa | 18 | 4 | 4 |
| Gaël Bigirimana | 12 | 13 | 1 |
| Yohan Cabaye | 32 | 3 | 6 |
| Adam Campbell | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Papiss Cisse | 44 | 3 | 13 |
| Fabricio Coloccini | 28 | 2 | 0 |
| Mathieu Debuchy | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Dummett | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rob Elliot | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| Shane Ferguson | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Dan Gosling | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Yoan Gouffran | 14 | 1 | 3 |
| Jonás Gutierrez | 37 | 3 | 1 |
| Massadio Haidara | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Steve Harper | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Tim Krul | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Sylvain Marveaux | 20 | 16 | 2 |
| Gabriel Obertan | 14 | 10 | 1 |
| James Perch | 29 | 9 | 1 |
| Nile Ranger | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Davide Santon | 38 | 0 | 1 |
| Danny Simpson | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| Moussa Sissoko | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| James Tavernier | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Steven Taylor | 30 | 3 | 0 |
| Ryan Taylor | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Cheick Tiote | 28 | 3 | 0 |
| Haris Vuckic | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Williamson | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| own goals | 3 |
GK: Krul (Harper/Elliot)
RB: Simpson > Debuchy
LB: R. Taylor > Santon
CB: S Taylor (Williamson)
CB: Coloccini (Yanga-Mbiwa)
Md: Tiote (Perch)
Md: Cabaye (Anita)
Md: Ben Arfa > Sissoko
Md: Gutierrez
Ak: Cisse
Ak: Ba > Gouffran
| Name | Date | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romain Amalfitano | 07/12 | Reims | undisc. |
| Gael Bigirimana | 07/12 | Coventry City | |
| Curtis Good | 07/12 | Melbourne Heart | £500,000 |
| Vurnon Anita | 08/12 | Ajax | £6.7m |
| Mathieu Debuchy | 01/13 | Lille | £5.5m |
| Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa | 01/13 | Montpellier | £6.7m |
| Yoan Gouffran | 01/13 | Bordeaux | £1.4m |
| Massadio Haidara | 01/13 | Nancy | £2m |
| Moussa Sissoko | 01/13 | Toulouse | £2.1m |
| Kevin Mbabu | 01/13 | Servette | £1m |
The only significant arrival during the summer was the signing of Dutch right-back Vurnon Anita.
United’s plunge towards the relegation places led to a spending spree during the January transfer window. Six players, including five from Ligue 1, were signed at a cost of almost £20m.
The Magpies now had a total of ten Frenchmen on the professional staff. To “commemorate” the situation the club arranged a French Day on the 20th February.
| Name | Date | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Guthrie | 06/12 | Released | |
| Peter Lovenkrands | 06/12 | Released | |
| Alan Smith | 06/12 | Released | |
| Ryan Donaldson | 06/12 | Released | |
| Phil Airey | 06/12 | Released | |
| Tamas Kadar | 06/12 | Released | |
| Leon Best | 07/12 | Blackburn Rovers | £3m |
| Fraser Forster | 07/12 | Celtic | £2m |
| Demba Ba | 01/13 | Chelsea | £7m |
| Xisco | 01/13 | Released | |
| Nile Ranger | 03/13 | Released |
Several players were released during the summer including a number who had appeared regularly in the first-team: Danny Guthrie, Peter Lovenkrands and Alan Smith. Leon Best also departed for Blackburn.
The major loss came in January when Chelsea activated the release clause in Demba Ba’s contract.
Controversial striker Nile Ranger left the club by mutual consent following an arrest in January and several run-ins with fans on social media.
| Surname | Date | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Dummett | 08/12 | 01/13 | St.Mirren |
| Brad Inman | 11/12 | end | Crewe Alexandra |
| Curtis Good | 11/12 | 03/13 | Bradford City |
| Mehdi Abeid | 01/13 | end | St.Johnstone |
| Sammy Ameobi | 02/13 | end | Middlesbrough |
| Shane Ferguson | 02/13 | end | Birmingham City |
Cards/stickers by kind permission of : Doing the 92
Kit images copyright Historical Football Kits and reproduced by kind permission