Newcastle United are on their way to Wembley after booking their place in a domestic cup final for the first time since 1999. The Magpies secured a 3-1 semi-final aggregate win over Southampton at St James' Park on Tuesday night to progress to the Carabao Cup final.
Manchester United or Nottingham Forest now stand in the way of Newcastle winning their first major domestic trophy since 1955. Eddie Howe's side are still only in their first full season since the takeover which transformed ambitions on Tyneside, and the prospect of silverware at this stage of the owners' ambitious project is beyond all expectations.
The rebuild at St James' Park has been compared to previous takeovers at Chelsea and Manchester City, with both clubs now firmly entrenched in the so-called 'Big Six'. The League Cup was the first major trophy both sides lifted en route to prolonged periods of success both domestically and abroad.
