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Newcastle's rise fuelled by 'obsessive' Howe and Saudi cash

LONDON: After decades in the doldrums, Newcastle's progress to their first League Cup final in 47 years underlined the Saudi-funded club's emergence as a serious threat to the English football establishment.

Sean Longstaff's double sealed a 2-1 win against Southampton in Tuesday's (Jan 31) semi-final second leg at a raucous St James' Park, sending the Magpies to their first domestic final this century after a 3-1 victory on aggregate.

Manchester United are likely to be their opponents in the final at Wembley on February 26, holding a 3-0 lead over Nottingham Forest heading into Wednesday's second leg at Old Trafford.

Revitalised by the astute leadership of Eddie Howe and the financial muscle of a Saudi-backed ownership group, a club once regarded as the laughing stock of the Premier League can finally hold their heads high.

Newcastle sit third in the Premier League and look to be on the cusp of a golden era as serial trophy contenders.

"It is amazing. If you'd have said to anyone 12 months ago what was going to happen, they would have laughed," said Longstaff, a boyhood Newcastle fan.

"Since the takeover we have brought in quality players. It is really special and emotional for me what we are building here."

Their previous domestic final ended in defeat against Manchester United in the 1999 FA Cup.

That loss came in the dying embers of Newcastle's last sustained period of relevance.

They finished second in the Premier League in 1996 and 1997, but memorably collapsed in the first of those title races when Kevin Keegan's acclaimed "entertainers" blew a 12-point lead.

It was a meltdown that epitomised their chequered history.

They have not won a major domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup, while their last major silverware in any

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