After a long and turbulent off season talk of owners, managers and players leaving could finally all be ignored for a (hopefully) glorious 90 minutes of football, as Newcastle kicked off the new season with a trip to West Brom. Having played for West Brom and managed Newcastle, Sir Bobby Robson received a very warm minutes applause before the game, before the action got underway.
Former England, Newcastle United and Ipswich Town manager Sir Bobby Robson has died at the age of 76.
Robson was one of the most respected and well-liked figures in the football world and his managerial career took in further spells with PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona.
He had been battling cancer for the past 15 years and set up the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to help with the earlier detection and treatment of the disease.
Robson's final public appearance came at St James' Park on Sunday when tens of thousands of fans turned out on Tyneside to support a charity match to raise funds for his foundation.
Robson was capped 20 times by his country and was a hugely-popular player during his time with Fulham and West Bromwich Albion.
He took England to the brink of the World Cup final during Italia 90 only to see their hopes dashed in a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat by West Germany in the semi-finals.
A statent issued on behalf of his family read: "It is with great sadness that it has been announced today that Sir Bobby Robson has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.
"He died very peacefully this morning at his home in County Durham with his wife and family beside him.
"Sir Bobby's funeral will be private and for family members only.
"A thanksgiving service in celebration of Sir Bobby's life will be held at a later date for his many friends and colleagues.
"Lady Robson and the family would very much appreciate it if their privacy could be respected at this difficult time."
Controversial Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton could make a surprise return for the Magpies in a pre-season friendly against Shamrock Rovers on Saturday.
Barton's Newcastle career looked to be over after his sending off at Liverpool in May led to a dressing-room bust-up with caretaker manager Alan Shearer.
The 26-year-old was suspended but with Shearer's future at the club unclear, Barton has returned to training.
The former Manchester City player has been linked with a move to Birmingham.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is still trying to sell the club leaving the future of some players uncertain. Barton, who has played once for England, was a controversial figure at City before joining Newcastle for £5.8m in 2007.
He has started only 26 matches for the Tyneside club, with another six appearances off the bench.
Michael Owen has completed his surprise move to Manchester United after the free agent signed a two-year deal with the Premier League champions.
The 29-year-old ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid striker's contract with Newcastle ended earlier this week.
"Michael is a world-class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level," said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Owen had also been linked with Everton, Aston Villa, Stoke and Hull.
But instead he becomes United's second summer signing after the recent addition of Antonio Valencia from Wigan.
"Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish," added Ferguson.
Owen said United's interest in him came as a surprise, adding: "I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me.
"I agreed without a moment's thought. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands.
"I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here.
"I missed pre-season last year and am pleased that I will be starting from day one.
"I'd like to think that everyone was quite surprised with my medical.
"I've obviously passed them before, and my fitness is high. A lot is made out of it but I certainly don't feel like I'm injury prone.
"I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances."
Newcastle United have suspended midfielder Joey Barton until further notice.
The 26-year-old was sent off for the fourth time in his career in the Magpies' 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Manager Alan Shearer entrusted the former Manchester City man to cope with the pressure on Merseyside, but was left fuming after Barton was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Xabi Alonso.
Newcastle have not divulged the reasons behind Barton's suspension, although it is believed to stem from an alleged bust-up between Shearer and the midfielder in the aftermath of the defeat.
This latest move by Newcastle could well end Barton's career on Tyneside after he was backed by the club following his release from prison last summer.
"Newcastle United can confirm that Joey Barton has been suspended from the club until further notice," read a statement on the club's official website.
"The club will be making no further comment on the matter at this time."
Our unbeaten record continued on Sunday, and Joe Kinnear's managerial record at Newcastle got even better, with our annual win against Tottenham. Despite their the confidence of their lovely fans, with one claiming "the cheerleaders look more fearsome [than any of our team]" (although which cheerleaders he's been watching I have no idea), they once again left disappointed from a fixture which they have only won three times since the birth of the Premiership.
The sporadic match reports couldn't miss such a fantastic result, so they return, with the aim of being more regular (but I'm sure I said that before).
Newcastle headed on their longest journey of the season, all the way down to the south coast, to play a match that no one had held much confidence going into. Portsmouth were unbeaten in 5 league games and Crouch and Defoe had formed a somewhat formidable partnership, so Newcastle fans could be forgiven for thinking their record of two clean sheets on the road, and unbeaten in their last 4 games, would end abruptly. The players on the other hand had other ideas.
After a long drought of match reports, they're back, and I'll try and get them going regularly again.
A gutsy performance gave us a very important point, as the defence held strong against what should have been a good Chelsea side. Despite being battered constantly for 90 minutes (26 shots to our 2) a good team performance kept the score level for the whole match, and stopped us shipping yet more goals.
The losses aren't coming as much as a surprise now for Newcastle fns as the crisis at the club deepens, and our team once again failed to deliver as we came up against a side whose manager had left in similar circumstances to Keegan less than 3 weeks ago. Unlike Newcastle, however, West Ham quickly replaced their manager, and succeeded in limiting the damage of Curbishley's departure, bringing in a former Premiership favourite, Gianfranco Zola.
Kevin Keegan's future as Newcastle manager remains uncertain, despite assurances he has not quit the club.
His second spell at the helm looked to have ended after only eight months amid claims he had clashed with owner Mike Ashley over transfer policy.
But the Magpies insisted he had not been sacked, while the League Managers' Association said he had not quit.
"Newcastle Football Club and its fans are massively important to Kevin," said LMA chief executive Richard Bevan.
Bevan revealed he had spoken at length to Keegan, 57, on Tuesday evening.
"He has not resigned, he's in a difficult position and he'll be discussing important issues with the Newcastle board over the next few days," Bevan told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I can understand there is an eagerness for more information on the problems but at this stage it is important that we let the parties communicate and it would be inappropriate for me to pre-judge any outcome or explain the issues much more at this particular point.
"I'm just saying he has not resigned, he will be working hard to communicate with the Newcastle board and we'll have to wait and see what the outcome is over the next few days."
He added that the LMA will keep supporters, media and other stakeholders within the game fully informed of developments.
eegan's future came under the spotlight after he made his feelings plain over the Premier League club's summer transfer activity at a meeting on Monday.
Following those talks, he was again summoned by the hierarchy on Tuesday morning as rumours of his exit started to surface.
BBC Sport understands Keegan had at one stage left the club, although Newcastle issued a statement later on Monday, insisting he was still their manager.
"Newcastle United can confirm that meetings between members of the board and manager Kevin Keegan were held both yesterday (Monday) and today (Tuesday)," it read.
"Kevin has raised a number of issues and those have been discussed with him.
"The club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important, both now and in the future.
"Newcastle United values the effort and commitment shown by Kevin since his return to St James' Park and wants him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the club.
"For the avoidance of doubt, the club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager."
The cause of the latest crisis at St James' Park seems to centre on Keegan's unhappiness with the club's relative lack of signings in recent weeks.
He had voiced his belief on Friday - after winger James Milner's £12m departure for Aston Villa - that he would have three or four more players at his disposal by midnight on Monday.
In the event, only striker Xisco and loan signing Ignacio Gonzalez arrived on Tyneside, while troubled midfielder Joey Barton was the subject of an unsuccessful approach from another top-flight club.
The role of former Leeds manager Dennis Wise, who occupies the position of executive director of football at the club, is another subject likely to have been under discussion at the meetings.
Following news that Keegan's position was under threat, Newcastle supporters flocked to St James' Park on Tuesday to register their support for the manager and protest against Ashley, calling for him to step down.
It was a very different reaction for Ashley back in June 2007, when he was deemed the club's saviour after completing a £135m takeover.
He then sacked Sam Allardyce as manager at the start of 2008 after a run of poor results and shocked the football world by bringing back Keegan for a second spell in charge.
In his first stint as manager, between 1992 and 1997, he saved the Magpies from dropping into the third tier of English football and almost guided them to the Premier League title in 1997.
Keegan's relationship with Ashley was also not helped when in May he said he did not believe Newcastle could become a top-four club.
The Magpies currently lie 11th in the table after a promising start to the new campaign.
After drawing 1-1 with Manchester United, they beat Bolton 1-0 before losing to Arsenal 3-0.
was one of the most respected and well-liked figures in the football world and his managerial career took in further spells with PSV Eindhoven,