Five of Newcastle United's biggest mistakes - appointments, sackings and signings

Newcastle United are now seemingly on the road to recovery, but there is a long way to go after falling so far, and no doubt mistakes will be made along the way.

What the new owners of Newcastle must ensure however, is that they do not make the kind of mistakes which put the club into decline, as happened on these five occasions:

In the 1980s, Newcastle United were a club just ticking along and it cost them dear. The first big loss was Chris Waddle, who went to Spurs for £590,000, a fee which was set by tribunal and considered too low by then-manager Jack Charlton.

“I wish I could buy a Chris Waddle for £590,000,” said Charlton.

The fee was less important than what the sale said about Newcastle though. Explaining why he chose not to stay on Tyneside, Waddle said: “It would have been cruising. I wanted a challenge.”

Waddle’s departure precipitated the departure of Peter Beardsley in 1987 which precipitated the departure of Paul Gascoigne in 1988. All three had ambition beyond a club which was ticking along. And it cost Newcastle dear. In 1989, assessing the wreckage, a journalist at the Times wrote of Newcastle: “It is hard not to conclude that over the years they have been one of the worst run clubs in football.”

In January 1997 Kevin Keegan resigned, having never come to terms with losing the title to Manchester United the season before. Newcastle tried to hire Bobby Robson as a replacement, but he was loyal to his club, Barcelona. Having failed to lure their top choice from Spain, Newcastle hired Kenny Dalglish. Few were thrilled.

The team was fourth when Dalglish arrived but finished the season second on goal difference: Champions League qualification. Not bad. Then came the great dismantling: out went good players