page_title: History of Newcastle United F.C.
section_title: Into the Premier League (1992–2007)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Newcastle United F.C. / Into the Premier League (1992–2007)
caption_attribution_description: Wise Counsel. A Man of real Talent, Class and Dignity. Congrats on a fantastic job at the Republic of Ireland. In your debt.
context_page_description: The history of Newcastle United Football Club is an article about an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Formed by a merger between Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End in 1892, the club was elected to the Football League, which they entered in 1893.
  Newcastle are England's ninth most successful club of all time. They have been English champions four times and FA Cup winners six times. The club have also won the 1909 Charity Shield, the 1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and the 2006 Intertoto Cup. Newcastle have reached the League Cup final once, finishing runners-up. They have played in England's top league from 1898–1934, 1948–61, 1965–78, 1984–89, 1993–2009, 2010–2016, and 2017–present, playing in the second tier at all other times.
context_section_description: Kevin Keegan returned as manager in the 1991–92 season, and survived relegation from the Second Division. The club's finances were transformed, with Hall aiming to put Newcastle among Europe's biggest clubs, and signings like Rob Lee and Andy Cole helped Newcastle to promotion the following season, 1992–93, as champions of the new First Division. The finish also secured qualification for the 1993–94 UEFA Cup upon return to the top flight in the 1993–94 Premier League season.
  St James' Park was redeveloped during this time into an all-seated stadium with a capacity of 36,000. This increased to 52,000 in the late 1990s, after the rejection of Hall's proposal to build a larger stadium at Castle Leazes.
  Keegan stunned fans and critics alike in 1995 when prolific striker Andy Cole was sold to Manchester United in exchange for £6 million and midfielder Keith Gillespie, leaving many to blame the sale to have affected Newcastle's title chances for the 1994–95 season, in which they finished sixth. The club, however, continued to build up a reputation for playing attacking football under Keegan. In the 1995–96 season, high-profile foreign stars David Ginola and Faustino Asprilla, in addition to British players Peter Beardsley and striker Les Ferdinand, guided the team to a second-place finish. During the 1996–97 season, Keegan made one signing, securing the services of England striker Alan Shearer for a then-world record transfer fee of £15 million to produce a shrewd partnership with Les Ferdinand, and claim a 5–0 victory over title rivals Manchester United. whilst remaining in contention to win the league.
  With the team having failed to win any trophies under his reign, Keegan resigned as manager on 8 January 1997, saying, "I feel that I have taken the club as far as I can."
  Kenny Dalglish replaced Keegan as manager, and maintained the club's good form through to the end of the season, finishing second. In the 1997–98 season, Les Ferdinand and David Ginola both left the club, whilst Alan Shearer broke his ankle in a pre-season friendly, keeping him out for the first half of the season. Dalglish signed Ian Rush, John Barnes, Duncan Ferguson and Stuart Pearce to bolster the squad, and achieved a 3–2 victory over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League through a Fausto Asprilla hat-trick, but Dalglish's cautious brand of football, as opposed to the attacking style played under Keegan, did not prove successful—the club failed to progress beyond the Champions League group stage, finished 13th in the Premier League, and lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal. Dalglish began the 1998–99 season signing Nolberto Solano and Dietmar Hamann, but was soon dismissed following the club's declining form.
  Ruud Gullit replaced him, however the club again finished the league in 13th place  and again lost in the FA Cup final, this time to Manchester United F.C. Gullit resigned early in the 1999–2000 season, having fallen out with several senior players, including Alan Shearer  and captain Rob Lee. Keith Gillespie later blamed Gullit's arrogance for his failure as manager of the club.
  Ex-England manager Bobby Robson was brought in to replace Gullit in September 1999. He ensured Newcastle's survival in the Premiership, but the club remained in the bottom half of the table, finishing 11th in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Robson, however, built up an exciting young squad, and an unlikely top four challenge emerged in 2001–02 season—Newcastle finished in fourth place.
  Playing in the Champions League in 2002–03, Newcastle progressed to the second group stage in unlikely circumstances, beating Italian squad Juventus 1–0 along the way. United finished the 2002–03 season third in the Premier League, but lost their Champions League qualifier and played in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup instead, reaching the semi-final. In 2003–04, Newcastle finished fifth in the Premiership, lower than in previous seasons, and outside of Champions League contention.
  Robson was then sacked following a poor start to the 2004–05 season and alleged discontent in the dressing room. In his autobiography,
caption: Bobby Robson managed Newcastle from 1999 to 2004
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