The Toon Army came crashing into the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League and no doubt set a mass exodus as 'quality' players left the sinking St James Park. One of the first to leave the scene would have been former Liverpool, Real Madrid and England striker Michael Owen (to Manchester United) who decided not to sign a new contract; making him a free transfer this summer.
| Betting Odds: | |
| Promotion: | Relegation: |
| 6/4 | 20/1 |
Alan Shearer was appointed as manager with only eight fixtures remaining and despite giving the club a slim chance of survival with a respectable 3-1 win over rival's Middlesbrough it wasn't enough to prevent them, and Boro from slipping into England's second tier.
They will kick start the 2009/10 Coca-Cola Championship season at the Hawthorns where they will face West Bromwich Albion (live on BBC), who were also relegated from the Premier League last season.
No doubt the Geordie faithful will have high hopes of bouncing back at the first attempt, but despite having a legend at the helm I feel that this team will struggle next season with their loyal fans soon finding themselves frustrated as results fail.
Blades-Mad Predicted Finish: 3rd (play-offs)
2008-09 Players Statistics
| Player Name | Position | DoB | # | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coloccini, Fabricio | Defence | 22 Jan 1982 | 2 | 38 | 0 |
Enrique, Jose Sanchez | Defence | 23 Jan 1986 | 3 | 26 (+2) | 0 |
Nolan, Kevin | Midfield | 24 Jun 1982 | 4 | 10 (+1) | 0 |
Cacapa, Claudio | Defence | 29 May 1976 | 6 | 5 (+2) | 0 |
Barton, Joey | Midfield | 02 Sep 1982 | 7 | 6 (+3) | 1 |
Guthrie, Danny | Midfield | 18 Apr 1987 | 8 | 24 (+3) | 2 |
Martins, Obafemi | Forward | 28 Oct 1984 | 9 | 22 (+3) | 8 |
Owen, Michael | Forward | 14 Dec 1979 | 10 | 24 (+8) | 10 |
Duff, Damien | Midfield | 02 Mar 1979 | 11 | 31 (+2) | 3 |
Bassong, Sebastien | Defence | 09 Jul 1986 | 12 | 30 (+4) | 0 |
Harper, Steve | Goal | 14 Mar 1975 | 13 | 16 | 0 |
Taylor, R, Ryan | Defence | 19 Aug 1984 | 16 | 8 (+2) | 0 |
Smith, Alan | Forward | 28 Oct 1980 | 17 | 4 (+2) | 0 |
Gutierrez, Jonas | Midfield | 05 Jul 1983 | 18 | 25 (+8) | 0 |
Xisco, Jimenez Tejeda | Forward | 26 Jun 1986 | 19 | 4 (+3) | 1 |
Geremi, Njitap | Midfield | 20 Dec 1978 | 20 | 13 (+4) | 0 |
Beye, Habib | Defence | 19 Oct 1977 | 21 | 23 (+1) | 0 |
Butt, Nicky | Midfield | 21 Jan 1975 | 22 | 37 | 0 |
Ameobi, Shola | Forward | 12 Oct 1981 | 23 | 14 (+8) | 4 |
Lovenkrands, Peter | Forward | 29 Jan 1980 | 24 | 8 (+4) | 3 |
Taylor, S, Steven | Defence | 23 Jan 1986 | 27 | 27 (+2) | 4 |
Kadar, Tamas | Defence | 14 Mar 1990 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
Edgar, David | Midfield | 19 May 1987 | 30 | 8 (+5) | 1 |
Danquah, Frank Wiafe | Forward | 04 Oct 1989 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
Baheng, Wesley Ngo | Forward | 23 Sep 1989 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
Soderberg, Ole | Goal | 20 Jul 1990 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
Forster, Fraser | Goal | 17 Mar 1988 | 34 | 0 | 0 |
Tozer, Ben | Defence | 01 Mar 1990 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
Viduka, Mark | Forward | 09 Oct 1975 | 36 | 6 (+6) | 0 |
Morris, Callum | Defence | 03 Feb 1990 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
LuaLua, Kazenga | Forward | 10 Dec 1990 | 38 | 0 (+4) | 0 |
Carroll, Andy | Forward | 06 Jan 1989 | 39 | 6 (+10) | 3 |
Krul, Tim | Goal | 03 Apr 1988 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
Doninger, Mark | Midfield | 19 Oct 1989 | 41 | 0 | 0 |
Donaldson, Ryan | Forward | 01 May 1991 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
Godsmark, Jonny | Forward | 03 Sep 1989 | 43 | 0 | 0 |
Marwood, James | Midfield | 21 May 1990 | 44 | 0 | 0 |
Lough, Darren | Defence | 23 Sep 1989 | 45 | 0 | 0 |
Ranger, Nile | Forward | 11 Apr 1991 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
Inman, Brad | Defence | 10 Dec 1991 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
* Statistics up to and including 26 May 2009