Newcastle United are officially back in the big time. After 38 gruelling top flight games, attention now turns to whether it'll be Madrid or Milan for the Geordie faithful next term.
Sunday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge may have been a dead rubber of a fixture but that didn't stop a 3,000-strong away allocation enjoying a huge end of season party in west London. One Newcastle fan even brought a megaphone with him and blared the famous Champions League anthem out as he stepped off the train at King's Cross. Superb stuff.
But how did Newcastle get to this surreal position? It's easy to forget just how mental this first full season under Eddie Howe has been. From not one, but two, social media stars being born, to dodgy dressing room dancing, to some incredible performances at St James' Park and on the road. Chronicle Live has put together a big 2022/23 season recap to help jog your memory.
READ MORE: Eddie Howe's Chelsea decision shows Newcastle boss may be able to stick to transfer plan
AUGUST
Cast your mind back to August. A new campaign had rolled around on Tyneside and there was hope among the fanbase of a top-half finish and a decent run in the domestic cups. Little did we all know...
Newcastle got their season under way at home to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest. A comfortable 2-0 win with Fabian Schar netting an absolute screamer. Quizzed over his favourite game of the season just last week, Howe admitted the curtain raiser was the one that stands out.
"The first game of the season is really important," he said earlier this month. "The performance against Nottingham Forest was really good and in some respects that sets the marker for what's to follow. We never really looked back from that moment."
August also saw Newcastle break their long-running transfer record to sign Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak. The Swede was a target significantly earlier in the transfer window but the Magpies were initially put off by his valuation. However, once Callum Wilson picked up an early injury, Newcastle's ownership personally sanctioned the £58m deal.
Isak's debut at Liverpool will live long in the memory. The Swede wasted no time finding the net with a lovely finish in the first-half before seeing a second ruled out after the interval in one of the closest offside calls of the season. Some fans are still convinced he was onside!
Liverpool snatched a late winner that night as the two benches clashed over Newcastle's alleged time-wasting. That would be the fixture that started the vicious rumour that Newcastle are the league's newest s***house...
Honourable August mentions: Saint-Maximin destroys Kyle Walker in the 3-3 draw with Manchester City. Poor Emil Krafth suffers cruel ACL injury. Nick Pope becomes a social media star out of nowhere.
SEPTEMBER
The following month would prove to be a little bit of a struggle as Newcastle tried to find their feet before the early international break. Howe's men could only manage draws at home to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, with Isak missing a major sitter in front of the Gallowgate End in the former.
Newcastle's record signing would soon join his Sweden team-mates for an international double header but was forced to pull out of the camp after only two days after picking up a thigh issue. The national team head coach initially played the knock down as a minor problem but the injury would rule Isak out for a big chunk of Newcastle's campaign.
Another injury blow came when Karl Darlow picked up a training ground ankle problem, forcing Newcastle into the emergency transfer market. After trying to tempt Ben Foster to Tyneside, the Magpies ended up signing former Liverpool stopper Loris Karius on a short-term deal. I wonder if he ended up playing in any important matches?
Honourable September mentions: Garang Kuol signs for the Magpies. The first VAR howler of the season goes against NUFC as Willock's goal vs Palace is ruled out.
OCTOBER
October could be seen as the month things really started to come together. A near-perfect 31-day period saw Howe's side win five games and draw the other. Newcastle stuck four beyond Fulham and another five beyond Brentford just a week later as the goals started to flow for Miguel Almiron.
A draw at Old Trafford was followed up with a hard-fought win over Everton at home. A tricky trip to Spurs proved no problem days later as Howe's side sent a clear message to the 'Big Six' with an assured performance and 2-1 win to boot.
The month ended with a 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa as fans maybe ever so slightly started to wonder if Newcastle could really upset the apple cart this season. The club confirmed they would be returning to Saudi Arabia for a warm-weather training trip during the World Cup break.
Honourable October mentions: Callum Wilson makes Hugo Lloris look a fool with a superb Spurs goal. Richard Keys proves he's still got his finger on the pulse by suggesting Newcastle should relocate their training ground...... to London?
NOVEMBER
If anyone thought October was a fluke month of results for Newcastle, they were thinking otherwise by the middle of November. Newcastle tore Southampton apart on the road, winning 4-1 at St Mary's. Howe's tight-knit group progressed to the next round of the Carabao Cup with a nervy penalty win over Crystal Palace before beating Graham's Potter's very average Chelsea at St James' Park to sign off before the World Cup break.
Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope got the call off Gareth Southgate and went off to represent England in Qatar as the Premier League season came to a halt. Fabian Schar, Garang Kuol and Bruno Guimaraes were also selected for their respective countries.
The remaining Newcastle stars were given a short break by Howe before the squad reconvened for a trip to Jeddah during the winter break.
Honourable November mentions: Shoutout to Jamaal Lascelles for picking up a yellow card while not even on the pitch at Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo is linked with a Newcastle move after his Manchester United fallout.
DECEMBER
The World Cup ended with Lionel Messi's Argentina lifting the famous Jules Rimet Trophy after a thrilling final with France. Newcastle's representatives failed to make an impact in the Middle East as Australia and Switzerland crashed out in the last-16, while England and Brazil both suffered defeats in the quarter-finals.
Back home, Howe admitted he was pleased with the work shown by his players in Saudi Arabia as attention turned back to the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. Just 24 hours after the Qatar showpiece had concluded, Newcastle hosted Bournemouth in the cup competition and progressed with a 1-0 win thanks to an Adam Smith own goal in the second-half.
The Carabao Cup progression was followed up with a stellar 3-0 Boxing Day win over Leicester as Newcastle wasted no time putting the Foxes to the sword. Only 32 minutes had passed when their third goal was scored.
Was *this* the moment fans really started to believe a historic campaign was unfolding? Probably. "We can do anything," Howe told the media after the game. "The season is still young enough for all possibilities to exist for us. I want the fans to believe we can do anything."
Honourable December mentions: Leeds become master of the dark arts at St James' Park in New Year's Eve stalemate. Eddie Howe praises Allan Saint-Maximin for attempting to persuade Marcus Thuram of a move to Tyneside
JANUARY
Speaking of transfers, the January window was open for business. Plenty of high-class names were touted throughout the month, though Howe decided to keep his powder relatively dry. Anthony Gordon arrived for £40m and Harrison Ashby was drafted in as Kieran Trippier's backup from West Ham.
On the pitch, there were contrasting cup fortunes for Newcastle as they crashed out of the FA Cup but progressed in the Carabao Cup over the space of three days. Howe named a much-changed XI for the trip to Sheffield Wednesday as the Magpies' FA Cup campaign started at Hillsborough but a 2-1 defeat led to a third-round exit for the Premier League side.
That was swiftly forgotten 72 hours later as Dan Burn netted in front of the Gallowgate to give Newcastle a narrow win over Leicester in the Carabao Cup last-eight. The left-back was cheekily asked to dance in the dressing room at full-time and grabbed the opportunity with both hands, busting some moves for the Sky cameras, and the world, to see.
Burn's heroics brought about a double-header with Southampton for a place at Wembley. The Magpies made no mistake on the road or at St James' Park, with Sean Longstaff snatching the local hero mantle from Burn as he netted in the second-leg. At this point Wembley-bound Newcastle were simply flying.
Honourable January mentions: Mikel Arteta gets RATTLED as Newcastle take a point from Arsenal. Dan Ashworth pulls off a financial masterstroke selling Shelvey and Wood to Nottingham Forest.
FEBURARY
Where else to start than with WEMBLEY. Newcastle United fans flocked to the country's capital in their thousands by car, train, bus or plane to soak up one of the best weekend's in a long, long time. Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and everywhere in between was flooded with hopeful Geordies on both the Saturday and Sunday as Newcastle prepared to take on Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final.
It simply wasn't to be on the day as Newcastle were beaten by the better team. There's no shame in losing to a squad that boasts serial winners such as Casemiro and Raphael Varane, after all. Had the game been played at another time in the season? Who knows... It certainly feels as though the fixture came at the wrong time with Newcastle enduring a minor blip, with the Red Devils in fine form.
In sad news, former Newcastle United forward Christian Atsu passed away following severe earthquakes across Turkey and Syria. The Ghanian star had been playing for Hatayspor in Antakya just hours before his hotel collapsed after a severe quake. Atsu's final moment on a football pitch was scoring a 97th-minute winner in a 1-0 win.
Honourable February mentions: Those Trafalgar Square scenes.... Darren Eales enjoys pints with Newcastle supporters before Wembley. Nick Pope forgets which sport he is playing and receives a ban for the cup final...
MARCH
Howe was keen to ensure heads didn't drop after the cup final disappointment and his players responded. A 2-0 defeat at eventual champions Manchester City wasn't too much of a big deal but important games against Wolves and Nottingham Forest would define Newcastle's season.
The Magpies dispatched Wolves at home before an impressive turnaround at the City Ground to beat Forest 2-1. Sven Botman made his first error in a black and white shirt to gift Steve Cooper's side the opening goal but Isak popped up with a fine brace, including a last-minute penalty, to seal all three points.
Isak had now scored six Premier League goals in just 10 appearances for Newcastle at an impressive rate of a goal every 115 minutes. Could they have climbed even higher if he'd been fit all season?
While it was a good month for Isak and most of the Newcastle first-team, Howe did confirm that Ryan Fraser would play no part in the rest of season after being demoted to the U21 squad. "Ryan’s training with the Under-21s. I made the decision to concentrate on players that are committed to Newcastle. For the benefit of the group, I’ve made that call," the Toon boss confirmed.
Honourable March mentions: *That* away end in Nottingham. Spare a though for poor Elliot Anderson as his first goal Newcastle goal is harshly chalked off
APRIL
Simply a mammoth month of football. Seven games that would go an incredibly long way to deciding which European competition Newcastle would ply their trade in next season. Pressure? What pressure? Seven games, six wins, TWENTY TWO goals and 11 points clear of 5th-place was the outcome heading into May after an incredible month for Howe's men.
Wilson was a striker reborn as he started to get the nod over Isak in April. The England forward broke Alan Shearer's long-standing record for Newcastle goals in a calendar month as he netted eight times.
Wilson showed strikers around the world how it was done as Newcastle beat Manchester United 2-0, West Ham 5-1, Brentford 2-1, Tottenham 6-1, Everton 4-1 and Southampton 3-1. The only blip was an uncharacteristic 3-0 reversal to Aston Villa sandwiched in the middle of all those wins!
The Spurs game will go down in history as one of the best ever witnessed at St James' Park. Newcastle had already put five goals beyond their Champions League-chasing 'rival' inside 19 minutes and all but ended Tottenham's slim chances of climbing into the top four. A crucial month and one where Newcastle certainly delivered.
Honourable April mentions: That Isak finish at West Ham. That Isak assist at Everton. That Willock assist vs Tottenham.
MAY
They've done it. Champions League football returns to Tyneside after two decades.
A 2-0 defeat against Arsenal and a nervy 2-2 draw with Leeds United made a few supporters a tad nervous but a fine win over Brighton and a 0-0 stalemate with Leicester City was enough to get Newcastle over the line. As the players and staff took in their usual lap of honour at St James' Park after the Leicester tie, Howe let out some of his emotion as he basked in the applause and support from the stands.
It's hard to some up what a fine season this has been. Newcastle fans certainly didn't want it to end. Many of them were still singing, topless, in the Stamford Bridge away end over 30 minutes after full-time on Sunday. Though it may be hard to say goodbye to this incredible, crazy, surreal campaign... next year promises to be just as special. Who knows what Newcastle will achieve under Howe next?
Honourable May mentions: Jason Tindall takes Nick Pope's crown as social media king. Joelinton finally earns deserved Brazil call-up.
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