A Little Bit Of History Changing

With the Premier League now over for another year, The Daily Telegraph looks back on how each team did in another frantic season. This review concerns Newcastle United, who finished 4th in the Premier League.

The Season In A Sentence:
Always looked for the run to find them in the European spots, then found it, and are back in the Champions League after a decade out of it.

Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson
Sven spent bigger than a decade of Newcastle managers, but sold big too, and reaped dividends. Jan Vertonghen was an improvement on Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini, Rasmus Elm was a fine central midfielder, Luis Suarez - after teething problems - fitted in, and even promoted youngster Ryan Donaldson chipped in nicely. He also changed the tactics to one that worked better, and the team looked a superb proposition.

Best Player: Jose Enrique
The left-back was once again Newcastle's most consistent performer. Many Newcastle players had great runs and not-so-great runs, but it was the Spanish full-back who was a consistently excellent performer for the black and whites. He maybe yet to break his goalscoring duck since joining, but at the least, he remains a continual menace.

Worst Player: Anthony Vanden Borre
Signed on loan from Genoa, Belgian full back/midfielder Vanden Borre was signed as an alternative option in full-back following some of Newcastle's departures. But after waiting for a while to get past Danny Simpson and Billy Jones in the pecking order, Vanden Borre could only put in some truly abject performances. After a similarly uninspiring spell at Portsmouth, maybe the Premier League just isn't for him.

Moment Of The Season:
There were many highlights for Newcastle fans. The fairytale debut for Ryan Donaldson in an opening day derby win. Donaldson's instant but delightful acclimatisation at the start of the season. A run of six wins from six that saw the team get firmly amongst the top-end. But the best display was perhaps a first half demolition of Spurs at St. James' Park that triumphantly sealed their return to the top table of the Premier League.

Big Issue:
The discipline issue that has dominated Newcastle for the last three seasons remains a major problem. Particularly of a problem was Alan Smith, who set a new Premier League record for ill-discipline and received three red cards along the way. Danny Simpson was also a problem, with the team yet again set the high water-mark for yellows in the league. Newcastle could certainly use a chill pill in on-the-field confrontations.

Season Rating: 8/10
The fact Newcastle were slightly disappointed at missing out on an automatic Champions League position on the final day of the season is a mark of how far they have progressed in a season. A year ago, they were stuck in midtable while Sunderland were heading to the FA Cup Final, but this newer team with younger, cheaper talents and an eye for goal was a superb update. As a result, they provided a great team to watch, and it'll be an interesting plot next season to see if they can continue this run.

Best Eleven:
Krul - Simpson, Vertonghen, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Elm, Smith - Obertan, Suarez, Rodriguez - Carroll

Fantastic mate! European football next season!

Great job making it into European football but the results after City are shameful!

Indeed. I hope we win the play-off - no idea who we'll get but I hope we can get a winnable game.

Aye they were. I can never beat Everton and I'm annoyed to have thrown it away v Bolton. Hopefully we won't fall away so easily if push comes to shove again next season.

Newcastle United manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has confirmed the team will invest in necessary players this summer.

The team have finished 4th in the Premier League and are expected to spend in order to strengthen their squad ahead of a season that will see them juggle domestic and European commitments in a busy season.

But Eriksson has confirmed the team will not spend big money for the sake of it, and will seek to replace departing squad members firstly before considering further buys.

Eriksson said, "Its easy for us to jump in recklessly and just spend big for the sake of spending big. But we don't want to do that.

"We have players in mind for positions we want to purchase, as there are players set to leave this club in the summer. But we don't want to go overboard and buy players we don't want in positions we are either over-filled in or have perfectly fine players on our books as it is.

"Nevertheless, we will not be perfectly quiet. We will buy three or four players in the summer to replace three and four players that will leave following loan or contract expiry or possible sales. After that we'll consider what we want to do."

It is likely that James Rodriguez, Anthony Vanden Borre, Joey Barton, Danny Guthrie and Steve Harper will be among those leaving in the summer, with the former duo's on loans that expire at the end of the season, and the latter trio out of contract.

The Premier League has confirmed games in the 2012 Olympic Football Tournament will take priority in the event of fixture clashes.

The tournament was previously announced as taking place between August 8th and 25th, with games to take place at the Emirates Stadium, St. James' Park, Old Trafford and New Anfield, with the tournament finishing in a grand final at Old Trafford on August 25th.

In a press conference, the Premier League confirmed that games that would coincide would be moved to accommodate games in the Olympics, which could lead to either Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool or Newcastle United - or perhaps even all four of them - having their opening games moved to later on in the campaign.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore confirmed the controversial decision at a conference in London earlier today.

Premier League champions Manchester City will start the season with a home game against Sheffield United.

The Citizens will begin defence of the first title they had won in 44 years with a home fixture against the Blades, who they beat home and away last season. Fans will certainly be hopeful of an easy start, just like last season, which is when they won three games in a row to start their Premier League campaign with.

Runners-up and city neighbours Manchester United will start their campaign with a tricky away fixture at Everton, which will see the two sides face off in a fixture between two of the Premier League era's only ever-presents.

With the Olympics having games take place on the Premier League's opening day, it means that Arsenal and Newcastle will be unable to play their opening games against Middlesbrough and Hull respectively, as their stadiums will not be in use. With European play-offs also forecast for the midweek fixtures held, it means their opening fixtures will take place a full week later, with Arsenal to play Everton and Newcastle to play Middlesbrough on the weekend of the 25th and 26th of August.

Other games will take place. Third place Chelsea will open their campaign by travelling to face newly promoted Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

Liverpool will open their season with an away trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, which is the same fixture that they lost on the final day of last season - a result that saw them miss out on Champions League football.

Another West Midlands opening day clash will see newly promoted Birmingham City start the campaign with a West Midlands Derby with Aston Villa at St. Andrews.

A London derby will also take place at Craven Cottage, where Fulham will host West Ham United in a battle between London clubs looking for better after disappointing campaigns.

Tottenham Hotspur's aims in a better campaign than their nightmarish 2011/12 season will begin with a trip to Bolton Wanderers, while fellow Lancashire outfit Burnley open their campaign with a clash to play Sunderland.

The second game of the season is scheduled to see Manchester City play Liverpool and Manchester United play Arsenal, but due to European play-offs, these games will be re-arranged.

With postponements set to make havoc with the opening fixture list, the first likely clash between two teams aiming for a top four finish will see Manchester City play Tottenham in the third week of the campaign.

The weekend of September 1st and 2nd will also promise to be a weekend of big teams, with last season's top four playing on the same weekend. Chelsea will face Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, while Newcastle will travel to Manchester United.

The reverse of the traditional season-opening fixtures will be played as the traditional Boxing Day games, with the reverse fixtures of the following two rounds in August making up the final game of 2012 and the opening game of 2013.

The champions will end their campaign with an away day at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Chelsea will also end away, as they face a trip to Burnley. Meanwhile, Arsenal will close by hosting West Ham United, while Manchester United will host Sheffield United in their last game, Liverpool's final game will see them travel to Bolton, and Newcastle end their season with a home match against Aston Villa.

Opening Fixtures (18/19 August):
Arsenal vs Middlesbrough
Birmingham City vs Aston Villa
Bolton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur
Bristol City vs Chelsea
Burnley vs Sunderland
Everton vs Manchester United
Fulham vs West Ham United
Manchester City vs Sheffield United
Newcastle United vs Hull City
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool

Second Fixtures (21/22 August):
Aston Villa vs Burnley
Chelsea vs Bolton Wanderers
Hull City vs Birmingham City
Liverpool vs Manchester City
Manchester United vs Arsenal
Middlesbrough vs Fulham
Sheffield United vs Everton
Sunderland vs Bristol City
Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United vs Newcastle United

Boxing Day:
Aston Villa vs Birmingham City
Chelsea vs Bristol City
Hull City vs Newcastle United
Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester United vs Everton
Middlesbrough vs Arsenal
Sheffield United vs Manchester City
Sunderland vs Burnley
Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers
West Ham United vs Fulham

Final Day (May 19th 2013):
Arsenal vs West Ham United
Birmingham City vs Sunderland
Bolton Wanderers vs Liverpool
Bristol City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Burnley vs Chelsea
Everton vs Middlesbrough
Fulham vs Hull City
Manchester United vs Sheffield United
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester City

Joey Barton and Steve Harper have signed new contracts at Newcastle, but Danny Guthrie has left the club.

The duo will extend their respective stays on Tyneside, with Barton signing a new two year contract, and Harper extending his stay by a further season.

But Guthrie, along with younger Shane Ferguson, has left the club upon expiry of contact, after the club opted not to give him a new contract.

Harper, who is Newcastle's longest serving player, will be allowed to see out his playing days with the club he has played for in a near 20 years career. The goalkeeper joined in 1993 and despite many years behind first Pavel Srnicek, then Shay Given, and now Tim Krul in the pecking order, the Geordie goalkeeper has made 124 appearances.

He will likely be kept as back-up ahead of next season, and will be hoping to make more than just three first team appearances, which he had made in total in the previous two campaigns.

Barton, 29, has made 116 appearances in the league for Newcastle since joining the club in 2007 for £5.75million from Manchester City. He had been widely speculated to be leaving the club in the summer after the club failed to agree a compromise from his previous £75,000-a-week contract, but he will stay at the club on a deal reportedly paying at a third of his old deal.

But while Harper and Barton will stay, its the end for Guthrie after four seasons at St. James' Park. In all, he made 66 appearances after joining from Liverpool for £1.5million in the summer of 2008, but he will not stay at the club.

Guthrie had been a first team regular during the 2010/11 season, but was unable to make more than three Premier League appearances last season, and he will leave, with Burnley and Sunderland among the reported destinations.

great work making Europe. Great income there.

Thanks

If we make the Champions League proper we'll have some money to play with, and might even be able to make some expensive late window Hollywood captures if we feel we need more than what we have then.

Newcastle have signed Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender on a season long loan.

The highly rated 23-year-old German midfielder will make a season-long transfer to the North East, for a reported loan fee of £1.3million.

Bender made 33 league appearances for the Bundesliga side last season, in his third campaign since joining from 1860 Munich in the summer of 2009. But he was made available for a loan transfer after Leverkusen signed Ukrainian international Denys Garmash from Dinamo Kiev in the summer, and as a result, he has made his exit.

He is expected to be followed into Newcastle by a second signing, with Newcastle insiders claiming a second signing will be made later this week.

Rumours have linked Newcastle with Hatem Ben Arfa, Alexis Sanchez, James Milner, Nathan Dyer and Victor Moses, but sources would not comment on specific player targets.

Aston Villa winger James Milner has re-signed for Newcastle after a £12.5million deal.

The one-time England international returns to St. James' Park four years after moving from the North East club to the West Midlands - a transfer which ultimately forced the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan.

Milner, 26, made 136 appearances in his four seasons as an Aston Villa player, but returns to the club where he made 94 appearances in four seasons.

Newcastle manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said, "We were looking to bolster our wide options, and we knew as an English club, we wanted some more home-grown representation.

"We were alerted James may have wanted to return to St. James' Park, so after scouting and contacting his club, we decided to give it a go and sure enough, he is a Newcastle player again.

"I know some fans will find it hard to re-accept him after the way he left, but he will be a key player once more and we hope he will be an exciting talent for the supporters of our team."

Milner first joined Newcastle from Leeds United in 2004 for £3.6million. He spent four years at the club, although he did spend the 2005-06 season on loan with Villa and had a permanent transfer to them pulled on transfer deadline day in August 2006.

He eventually forced through a £10million move two seasons later in August 2008, and was a key part of the Aston Villa team that got 6th place finishes in 2009 and 2011, and to the 2010 FA Cup Final.

Newcastle United have signed Dutch midfielder Stijn Schaars on a free transfer after he was released by AZ Alkmaar.

Schaars becomes the third player to move from AZ Alkmaar to Newcastle in two seasons, after Moussa Dembele and Rasmus Elm made the move to the North East last season.

Schaars, 28, was released by AZ Alkmaar at the end of last season after seven years with the Eredivisie club. His team won the Dutch Eredivisie title in 2008, but after the club concluded deals to sign defensive midfielders Anthony Annan and Kyrylo Petrov in the summer, he was surplus to requirements and left.

His move to England will likely see a Newcastle exit for Danish midfielder William Kvist, but its unclear how much first team action he will get, with Alan Smith, Joey Barton and fellow new boy Lars Bender likely competition for a starting berth alongside Elm.

Hertha Berlin have signed Newcastle midfielder William Kvist for £3.2million.

The Danish midfielder moves to the Bundesliga after a spell spent largely on the fringes of things at St. James' Park following his £5million transfer from Danish side FC Copenhagen in 2010. He only made 24 league appearances for the Premier League side, and was largely on the fringes.

The signings of Stijn Schaars and Lars Bender by the Magpies earlier this summer had pushed him further down the pecking order, and s a result, he has now been allowed to leave the club. Birmingham City and Hull City had made bids to keep him in the Premier League, but Newcastle rejected both of them.

He will be hoping for better after his move to the Bundesliga side, for whom he is their third signing of the summer after Hertha BSC had previously captured Martin Fenin and Ciprian Marica on free transfers.

Spoiler alert for further down the line, but Lewis Holtby or Hatem Ben Arfa - who would you sign?

Spanish U21 international Marc Muniesa has joined Newcastle and has immediately been loaned to Championship side Leicester City.

The defender had been released by Arsenal at the end of last season, and has moved to the North East on a five year contract at St. James' Park. But he will spend the first six months of the campaign on loan with Championship side Leicester City, as the former Barcelona defender seeks to prove he can acclimatise to life in the English game.

Muniesa joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2011 for £500K, and had spent time out on loan with Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town.

Newcastle have confirmed one further arrival and departure. The club have signed Finnish U19 goalkeeper Jonas Saarlo from FC Lahti for £10,000, while young defender Ben Tozer has left the club are he failed to break into the Premier League outfit's first team squad.

With the season about to start, we look back at the pre-season results for Newcastle United.

13th July 2012
Heracles 1-1 Newcastle
Newcastle opened pre-season with the first of two games over a weekend in Holland. They started with a clash against Heracles, and begun with early domination against the lower level Dutch team. But they fell behind on 28 minutes when Tamas Kadar was judged to have fouled Everton, in a harsh penalty judgement that Newcastle players angrily debated, but was ignored. Kwame Quansah duly scored the resulting kick from 12 yards. Both sides wasted opportunities before Ryan Donaldson drew the visitors level. But neither side could find a winner and the game ended in stalemate.

15th July 2012
ADO Den Haag 1-4 Newcastle
Newcastle's second weekend game in Holland saw them travel to the nation's capital to face ADO Den Haag, which reunited Tim Krul with the club he begun his career at for the first time. Newcastle were 2-0 up inside the opening nine minutes, with first Ryan Donaldson and then Andy Carroll striking in quick succession. ADO got a goal back just before half-time when despite a whiff of offside, Lex Immers broke through and scored. Newcastle re-established their two goal lead after half-time through Rasmus Elm, before Shola Ameobi sealed a comprehensive victory late on.

21st July 2012
Hartlepool 0-3 Newcastle
The first game of the Magpies' pre-season in England saw them travel to feeder club Hartlepool United for the second successive campaign. The Premier League team was dominant from off, and got their reward when Andy Carroll fired them in front. Three minutes later, the giant Geordie striker then headed in a cross to make it 2-0. Another Carroll header before half-time ensured a 3-0 scoreline at the break, and after both teams missed chances in the second half, the three goals in the first-half provided to be enough.

25th July 2012
Hoffenheim 0-2 Newcastle
Newcastle's third trip abroad in the summer saw them travel to South-West Germany to face Hoffenheim at the Rhein-Necker Arena. The game saw both teams have a number of chances fall their way during a tightly contested first half of football, before the breakthrough fell the way of the visitors just before the break. The goal was scored by summer signing James Milner, who received a through-ball and flicked the shot into the back of the goal. An even game saw the two teams then fail to add to the scoresheet, until the final moments, when youngster Haris Vuckic broke through a feeble offside trap and finished the tie.

30th July 2012
Cardiff 1-0 Newcastle
Newcastle's last away game of their pre-season schedule saw them travel to South Wales to face Cardiff City. The Magpies did have the best of the initial ball play in the clash, but were struggling to really test David Marshall in the home team's goal. One-time Newcastle target Ross McCormack was also proving a tricky proposition as the team tried to keep up an unbeaten streak in pre-season games stretching back to 2009. But it looked like the game would be drawn after Newcastle missed a number of second-half chances, until Cardiff got a late winner when Alan Duffy headed home a corner. It meant a surprise win for the Championship side in their final pre-season outing.

6th August 2009
Newcastle 1-1 Inter Milan
The final game of Newcastle's pre-season saw them take on Italian giants Inter Milan at St. James' Park. The game was a return of Jose Mourinho to the stomping ground of his former mentor Sir Bobby Robson, and his team were in charge for the majority of the opening of the contest. Argentine striker Diego Milito was quite wasteful with his shooting before he eventually finished on 33 minutes. But for the second-half, Newcastle did begin to have some kind of ascendancy to their steps, and had come close on many occasions before eventually equalising with 12 minutes to play. The equaliser came through the unlikely source of defender Tamas Kadar, who headed past Julio Cesar. That tied the game up, and the two teams shared the spoils in the end.

With the Premier League about to return this weekend, The Daily Telegraph is running the rule over your team ahead of the new campaign. Here, we take a look at Newcastle United

Last Season In A Sentence:
Revamped team nicely made a justified Champions League place their own, replete with some of their best new players.

This Season Will Be...
A balancing act. European football is back on Tyneside and they will be playing an additional eight games this season regardless of whether or not they win their Champions League play-off with Saint-Etienne next week. This will likely mean more squad rotation, plus fans will want better than early exits in both cups in the last few seasons, so Sven has to be more alert to utilising resources for these while also balancing Premier League games.

Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson
The Swedish manager gambled last season by selling big earners and bringing in expensive imports, but the gamble paid off and he find himself manager of a team in Europe and widely tipped to be back among the Premier League big boys. Now his mission is ensuring his team stays up there.

Key Player: Sebastien Bassong
Despite reputed interest from the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and others, the French centre-back has so far remained at Newcastle United. Bassong has been promoted to vice-captain - and likely main captain with Alan Smith's place to be rotated - and he has to make sure he can nail down a series of clean-sheets to ensure Newcastle remain in the chase to the end.

New Boys:
The biggest signing on Tyneside is of an old boy, with James Milner rejoining the club four years after leaving the club to join Aston Villa. The other two main signings are in central midfield, with Stijn Schaars and Lars Bender adding defensive resolve, although in all likelihood, they could be suspension cover for Alan Smith and Joey Barton following their unfortunate habits of acquiring reds and yellows. Marc Muniesa is the other newboy at St. James' Park, but the young Spanish defender ha been immediately loaned to Leicester City.

What They Still Need:
Newcastle's squad is still largely the team that finished in the top 4 and Sven could do worse than maintain it. But he is still understood to be interested in a left-winger, with Alexis Sanchez, Hatem Ben Arfa, Lewis Holtby and Victor Moses among alleged targets. There has also been talk of a new striker, with the club having been looking to sign Loic Remy before he joined Manchester City, and reportedly having bids rejected for Wolfsburg's unhappy striker Edin Dzeko, and one former striker Mario Mandzukic, but so far nothing's happened. A new defender may also join if one leaves.

Big Season For: Luis Suarez
Despite struggling to acclimatise to the Premier League in his first season, Luis Suarez showed more than a glimpse of his talents, and with 13 goals to his name, was ultimately the club's top scorer. But at times, he also looked lost, and needs to show more of the one that swaggered his way on the scoresheet than the one who looked lost in an alien league. A good scoring run would certainly help his chances.

Prediction:
This will not be as easy for Newcastle as they found last season near the end, and its likely Sven will have to embrace consistent rotation. More games and competitions will see the two teams competing well, and Newcastle will be looking to do well. The team still have players to be up and in the race for the Champions League positions. A second successive top 4 position is likely beyond the Magpies, but a top six position may not be. 6th

New Signings:
James Milner (Aston Villa, £12M), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar, free), Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen, loan), Marc Muniesa (Arsenal, free)

Outgoing:
William Kvist (Hertha Berlin, £3.2M), Danny Guthrie (Burnley, free), Marc Muniesa (Leicester City, loan)

Predicted Eleven:
Krul - Simpson, Vertonghen, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Elm, Schaars - Milner, Suarez, Dembele - Carroll

Hatem. Has to be Hatem. He just deserves a good run in England!

In fairness my main targets were Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, but Udinese wanted £25million for Sanchez, and my scouts said Ozil wouldn't want to move.

Good signings especially Milner and Bender

Both.

Sign whoever is going to be the cheaper option imo, yeah I'm aware that's stating the obvious.

That would be Holtby.

If I'm being honest I would've liked more to have had HBA than Milner. Although oddly my scouts and backroom staff like Milner more. Not sure how that works tbh.

Rasmus Elm scored the only goal as Newcastle saw off Saint-Etienne in the first round of their Champions League play-off.

The Champions League first-leg play-off was decided by a first-half wonder goal by the Swedish midfielder, and ensures the Magpies will travel to central France next week with a one goal advantage to defend.

It was a tight clash between the Premier League and Ligue 1 heavyweights, and the two teams will be battling in France for the contest.

It was a highly anticipated game before kick-off for both teams, with Newcastle playing their first European game since the 2006/07 season, and Saint-Etienne seeking to go one better after they were beaten by Juventus in the Europa League play-offs last season.

The French side did begin the game by applying some concentrated early pressure, but they weren't able to do anything with it, with the only real chance being hit miles wide by former Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes.

Ryan Donaldson hit an effort wide before one-capped England international and former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart was tested for the first time, with the goalkeeper making a firm stop to deny Elm.

The Swede then fired one wide, as did full-back Danny Simpson, as the hosts looked to find a way through.

After a lull, the French side came close only for Miles Stepanov to head the ball wide of the mark, before James Milner saw a drive blocked and then Elm fired a snapshot wide.

But Newcastle had the bulk of the early pressure and they made it count with 38 minutes on the clock. Stijn Schaars cued the ball out wide to Jose Enrique, who ran down the left flank before playing in field to Elm. The midfielder controlled the past, and then smashed a firm strike into the bottom corner that left Hart with no chance.

A fine goal by the Swedish midfielder, who had opened the scoring of Newcastle's team for the season with a stylish finish.

Lucas Piszczek was presented a great opportunity to bring the French team level before half-time, but he could only hit the ball wide of the mark.

A quiet start to the second half saw only one real opportunity created by either side at the start of the second half, with Jan Vertonghen wasting the only chance either side managed to produce.

To try and liven things up, Newcastle introduced Luis Suarez, and the Uruguayan international was played through and sent in a firm shot that Hart did well to deny.

Suarez was then presented another chance when played through by Donaldson to give the Magpies a two goal advantage, but he couldn't make the most of it.

Midfielder Sait Colak was presented with an opportunity to get the French visitors back into the contest, but he was unable to find the target, with his shot just dabbing the way on its into the stands.

Newcastle had two late opportunities, with Donaldson forcing a smart stop to deny Hart, and Suarez volleying an effort into the top of the stand.

Saint-Etienne thought they should have had a penalty for a challenge by Elm on Idan Vered, and while protesting, Elm almost rubbed it in further for the visitors from France, with the Swede played in by Gabriel Obertan only to hit the ball wide.

Obertan then had a chance of his own, but when he rose to meet Milner's cross, he couldn't keep his header down and the score remained one goal.

Nerves could visibly be seen being frayed amongst a capacity crowd as the game moved into three minutes of stoppage time at St. James' Park. But luckily for the home crowd, the visitors were unable to get into it, and the game ended in a one-goal victory.

The tie may not be over yet, with Newcastle taking a slender one-goal lead to France for the return leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard next week, and it will promise to be a tense but exciting encounter. Newcastle fans will certainly be hopeful that they can hold on to get the victory that they require to send them into the Champions League proper.

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Vertonghen, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Elm, Schaars - Milner, Donaldson (Bender 89), Dembele (Obertan 71) - Carroll (Suarez 68)
Subs not used: Begovic, Jones, Edgar, Smith

Scorer: Elm (38)

Saint-Etienne: Hart - Pierron, Stepanov, Sanna, Labourdette - Fernando, Sait Colak, Fernandes, Vered - Piszczek (Sanogo 61), Mirallas
Subs not used: Abubakari, Luccioni, Le Brun, Cornelis, Salpingidis, HAssil

Referee: Vladimir Hrinak
Attendance: 56,387

Late goals from Moussa Dembele and Andy Carroll saw Newcastle beat Middlesbrough for victory in their first league game of the season.

With time running out, the two goals from two substitutes provided a victory for a Newcastle side fresh off the back of their Champions League qualifying success against French side Saint-Etienne in mid week.

It was also victory in their first league game of the campaign, which has kicked-off a week later due to St. James' Park use in the Olympics as well as the Champions League.

Middlesbrough had arrived following the short journey north from Teeside hoping of a second victory, after their comprehensive victory over Fulham in midweek - their opener at Arsenal also falling victim to the Olympics.

But straight from the off, Newcastle were posing attacking problems for the visitors. Ryan Donaldson saw a fizzing long ranger just touch the bar on its way over inside the opening minute, before a superb stop from Jamie Ashdown denied Gabriel Obertan's low fizzer.

Middlesbrough were able to keep Newcastle quiet after that early onslaught, but when chances did come, it was the visitors who were creating them. A crisp drive from Rasmus Elm was denied by Ashdown, before a long range drive by the Swedish midfieder forced an even better stop out of the former Portsmouth goalkeeper.

Elm's long ranger had been enough to win Newcastle's Champions League game, and he was trying his luck to get another goal of similar style, but his free-kick on the half-hour was nowhere near the goal.

Much closer was Donaldson, who was played through by Premier League debutant Lars Bender and hit an accurate drive that was creeping in before Ashdown tipped it wide.

Ashdown was by the far the game's busier goalkeeper, and was alert again just before half-time to deny Luis Suarez, before Elm then blasted another one over the top in the last chance of the half.

The second-half begun in the same vein as the first. Another fizzing drive from Elm was kept out by Ashdown, before a cross picked out Obertan only for the French winger to head the ball over the top.

Middlesbrough were having desperate trouble in getting strikers Robert Lewandowski and Jermain Defoe involved in the game, and were having more of an impact on the referee's notebook than on the scoresheet.

But their defence and some poor shooting was frustrating Newcastle, which continued when Dembele's first touch saw him pick out fellow arrival Carroll, only for the Newcastle number 9 to head the ball into the Gallowgate End.

Middlesbrough's defensive resolve looked like it might be holding out, but with 19 minutes to go came a poor decision and the best chance for Newcastle to open the scoring. Emmanuel Pogatez was beaten for pace by Suarez and his foul in the penalty box was a penalty, although the referee saw no need to further punish the Austrian centre-back.

Dembele was given the honours, and the Belgian scored from 12 yards, with a goal that equalled his entire league tally for his first season as a Newcastle player.

Five minutes later and Ashdown was picking the ball out of his net again. Jose Enrique passed the ball down the flank for Dembele, who evaded the opposing full-back and sent in a tantalising cross that perfectly found Carroll, who duly headed the ball into the top corner.

Two goals from the two substitutes for Newcastle, which had surely ensured victory ahead of the midweek's Champions League return in France.

With the game seemingly won, Newcastle sat back, and Middlesbrough for the first time in the entire game were able to get near the Newcastle goal, but didn't come anywhere near testing Tim Krul. They ultimately had no shots on target in the entire game, and questions will be asked in the dressing room of how they were so poor in attack all game.

Newcastle by contrast will be pleased with a good week of action. Two wins in their opening two competitive games has set last season's 4th place finishers off to a good start, and they will be hopeful of continuing a great start with progression to the Group Stages after Wednesday's return leg.

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Vertonghen, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Elm (Thygesen 78), Bender - Obertan, Donaldson (Carroll 62), Milner (Dembele 62) - Suarez
Subs not used: Begovic, Jones, Edgar, Schaars
Booked: Simpson, Bender

Scorer: Dembele (pen 71), Carroll (76)

Middlesbrough: Ashdown - Hoyte (Pogatez 45), Wheater, St. Ledger, Grounds - O'Neil, Digard, Smallwood (McMahon 77), Arca - Lewandowski, Defoe (Emnes 72)
Subs not used: James, Taylor, Mills, Bednar
Booked: Hoyte, Arca, Smallwood

Referee: Keith Stroud
Attendance: 56,387

Danny Simpson's first-half injury time goal was enough for Newcastle to see off Saint-Etienne and progress into the Champions League group stages.

The right-back's goal at the end of the first half gave Newcastle a two goal aggregate lead and crucially gave them the away goal advantage, which meant the French team needed three goals to progress.

Eric Hassli's 59th minute goal was all the Ligue 1 team managed, which means Sven-Goran Eriksson's Magpies will progress into the group stages of the Champions League for the first time since the 2002/03 season.

Its an achievement in itself for the former England manager, who took over as Newcastle manager after their near-relegation in the 2008/09 campaign, and has certainly seen a major turnaround in the club's fortunes.

The pre-match atmosphere was one of tense excitement from both sets of supporters. A one goal win in the first leg for the Magpies meant that they had the advantage, but the French side anticipated a comeback as they looked to get themselves into Europe's top competition for the first time since their 1970s heyday.

Sensing their one goal aggregate lead may not be enough, Newcastle begun on the attack. First leg hero Rasmus Elm saw a drive fly just wide of the mark, before a left-footed volley from Luis Suarez flew similarly past the wrong side of the post.

Similar inaccuracy befell Saint-Etienne's first opportunity, as Lucas Piszczek rose to meet a cross but couldn't keep his header down.

The first shot on target came with 19 minutes on the clock, as Andy Carroll rose to meet Moussa Dembele's cross, only to head the ball straight at Joe Hart.

Saint-Etienne's English goalkeeper was tested more with Carroll's next effort, with the keeper stretching well to turn clear the Newcastle forward's powerful drive.

Carroll was next to try his luck with two shots either side of a quarter-hour lull, but on both occasions, he couldn't get his efforts on target, and he then missed another effort moments after that.

Gelson Fernandes was next to try his luck, and was duly the next player on both teams to fail to find the target with his shot.

Another drive from Carroll went wide and it looked as thought the first half would finish goalless, until the visitors then found the advantage on the night and strengthened their advantage on aggregate.

A Newcastle corner was headed back by Sebastien Bassong to original taker Jan Vertonghen, who was able to pick out Simpson on the edge of the D. Simpson advanced and hit a shot that Hart may well have stopped, had it not taken a decisive deflection off of Piszczek, which wrong-footed Hart and sent the ball into the bottom corner.

Simpson claimed it for his first Newcastle goal in nearly a year, and more importantly, it gave the large numbers of Newcastle fans behind the goal stronger belief that they would be going through to the full version of Europe's top table.

Saint-Etienne's challenge was to score three goals, which was not an impossible task, but their first chance to make inroads saw Piszczek fire wide, and their chances were harmed further when their holding midfielder Sait Colak left the field with injury.

But shortly after a powerful free-kick from Fernando went wide, the Frenchmen had one back.

Piszczek collected a throw-in and played in Kevin Mirallas, who broke free of the defence to make it to a cross position, before sending in a ball that Sebastien Bassong missed, but the recently arrived sub Hassli didn't, and Saint-Etienne duly had the first of their three back.

Having begun to lose faith, the green-clad home crowd was beginning to ramp up support, but they almost fell further behind ten minutes after their goal when Hart had to deny Carroll.

Mirallas was then next to try his luck, but the Belgian's drive was an easy catch for Tim Krul, who in truth, hadn't had a lot to do aside from the goal.

Hart then caught the ball to deny another Elm long-ranger, before an excellent intervention from Miles Stepanov denied Luis Suarez a clear run-through on goal and what would've been a one-on-one chance.

Newcastle's defensive regiment suffered a blow when Jan Vertonghen suffered a knock, although he was able to continue, before Saint-Etienne surprisingly opted to send Hart up to the box to try and get the team closer to parity. But Stepanov's wildly inaccurate header was not the way back they were looking for.

That was ultimately that, and it was party time for the delegation that had come down from the North East of England, who were back in the top tournament of Europe for the first time in a decade. The fans were bouncing happily and the players were pretty happy with the result in Central France.

By contrast, the Saint-Etienne players and fans slunk off disappointed after they missed out on the Champions League proper for the second campaign in a row, and again against a team wearing black and white stripes after last year's play-off defeat by Italian side Juventus.

Saint-Etienne: Hart - Luccioni (Pierron 45), Stepanov, Sanna, Dorsin - Fernando, Sait Colak (Hassli 52), Fernandes, Vered - Piszczek (Cornelis 82), Mirallas
Subs not used: Abubakari, Le Brun, Salpingidis, Sanogo
Booked: Fernandes

Scorer: Hassil (59)

Newcastle: Krul - Simpson, Vertonghen, Bassong, Jose Enrique - Elm (Edgar 90), Schaars - Obertan (Donaldson 84), Suarez, Dembele - Carroll (Milner 74)
Subs not used: Begovic, Jones, Smith, Ameobi
Booked: Simpson, Jose Enrique, Vertonghen, Schaars

Scorer: Elm (38)

Referee: Abraham Lavin
Attendance: 35,616

Manchester City will face Fiorentina and Schalke 04 in the Champions League after the draw was made earlier in Monaco.

The 2011 Champions League trophy winners were 2nd seeds, but landed the Italian Serie A side instead of some of the more unnerving looking teams in the Champions League draw. A trip to Germany will also be in line for Mark Hughes' side against the top level Bundesliga team. They will be in Group G, as part of a group that will be completed by Romanian outfit FC Timisoara.

Manchester City's neighbours United return to the Champions League after they missed out last season saw them maintain their top seed rating. Their trickiest tests will see them face Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev and Spanish outfit Valencia. Russian outfit Rubin Kazan finishes off a group that will involve a great deal of cross-continental travel.

Chelsea have got a progressable but difficult draw, with games against Portugese giants Benfica, Spanish outfit Villarreal and French team Monaco in line for the group stages, although Roberto Mancini will feel his team can still progress into the next round of the competition.

Newcastle's first Champions League group stage since 2002/03 will be a tricky affair, with trips to European giants Porto and Juventus part of their draw. The Magpies were 4th seeds and at lieu to a very tricky draw, which is rounded off by a trip to Holland to take on FC Twente.

Scottish champions Celtic will also travel to Portugal, with the Glasgow side landing a group with Sporting Lisbon. Turkish side Galatasaray and the Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade the teams they will visit.

This tournament was noteworthy as the first tournament without Spanish giants Real Madrid in almost two decades, with last year's beaten finalists only managing to finish 5th in La Liga, and they will be in the Europa League instead.

Their El Classico rivals Barcelona, who beat them on penalties in Munich at the end of last season's final, will have a clash with Italian giants AC Milan as part of their group.

Full 2012/13 Champions League Group Stage Draw

Group A:
Inter Milan
Atletico Madrid
FC Copenhagen
FC Zurich

Group B:
Porto
Juventus
Twente
Newcastle United

Group C:
Chelsea
Villarreal
Benfica
Monaco

Group D:
FC Bayern Munich
CSKA Moscow
Panathanikos
Austria Wien

Group E:
Barcelona
AC Milan
Toulouse
Anderlecht

Group F:
Sporting Lisbon
Galatasary
Celtic
Partizan Belgrade

Group G:
Fiorentina
Manchester City
Schalke 04
FC Timisoara

Group H:
Manchester United
Dinamo Kiev
Valencia
Rubin Kazan

Well done getting to the group stage matey, tough group though!