Get to know Southampton's next Premier League opponents, Newcastle United, a little better with ten facts you may not have known about the Magpies.

1 – Newcastle United’s St James’ Park will play host to a number of 2015 Rugby World Cup games during October of this year. The first match there sees South Africa take on Scotland on 3rd October.

2 – In 1993/94, Newcastle claimed the record of the highest finish in the table by a promoted club, when they finished third in the Premier League. The only other club to have equalled this is Nottingham Forest (1994/95).

3 – Newcastle United’s official club photographer in 1908, Gladstone Adams, on his way home from their FA Cup final, came up with the idea of windscreen wipers. Adams was driving home in the snow when he realised what a could idea it would be to have a device that cleaned your windscreen as you drove. Adams’ invention was patented in 1911 but was never manufactured.

4 – Known for their black and white stripes, Newcastle United once played in red and white – the colour now worn by their arch rivals, Sunderland.

5 – Newcastle United took part in the first ever Football League match to be played under floodlights when they faced Portsmouth at Fratton Park in February 1956.

6 - During the early years of St James’ Park, there was a drop of 18 feet from the north to the south goal, while local butchers were still able to graze their animals on the pitch before being led to slaughter.

7 – During the 1950s, Newcastle won the FA Cup trophy three times in five years. They beat Blackpool in 1951, Arsenal in 1952 and Manchester City in 1955.

8 – Other than the seven teams who have been involved in every Premier League season, Newcastle United are the team to have played the most games in the top flight since its inaugural campaign.

9 – Andrew Cole, once of Newcastle United, holds the record for the most goals in a 42-game Premier League season, along with Magpies legend Alan Shearer. Cole scored 34 during the 1993/94 campaign, while Shearer scored the same number the following year for Blackburn Rovers.

10 – From 1892 to 1929, Newcastle United’s team was selected by a committee, whose secretary had the same powers and role as a manager has today.



