For roughly the first half of Newcastle United's 130-year history, the club was one of the most successful in English football.
When Magpies' skipper Jimmy Scoular hoisted the FA Cup above his head at Wembley Stadium in 1955, it was the third time in five years the Magpies had claimed the revered trophy and the sixth since the club formed around six and a half decades earlier. Along with the four league titles in the bag, it added up to a substantial haul of major trophies.
Since then, for myriad reasons, on and off the pitch Newcastle have slipped way behind their one-time equals - Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and the likes - with the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup being the only meaningful trophy to find its way into the St James' Park trophy cabinet since those distant '50s triumphs.
