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With just one match to go until we reach the halfway point of the Championship campaign, Newcastle United are sitting pretty at the summit of the table - and they will occupy No 1 spot for Christmas Day.

The only side the Magpies are yet to face, Carlos Carvalhal’s Sheffield Wednesday, will visit St James’ Park on Boxing Day for Newcastle’s first game of a busy festive schedule.

It will be interesting to listen to what Carvalhal makes of United this season given the enlightening thoughts of the other 22 managers - many of who are no longer in situ at their clubs - on Rafa Benitez’s men.

There have been varied opinions about the fairness of Newcastle having such a talented and expensive squad, whether the Magpies get favourable refereeing decisions, and the gulf in class between teams in the division - but one theme appears to have been constant: that the vast majority expect United to be a Premier League side again next term.

So, to refresh your memory, here’s what every Championship manager to have faced Newcastle this season has made of the Magpies:

Slavisa Jokanovic (Fulham)

(Image: 2016 Getty Images)

Fulham 1-0 Newcastle United (August 5)

The opening-day defeat at Craven Cottage now seems a long time ago but this result - followed by the reversal at home to Huddersfield Town - were arguably the tonic Newcastle needed to spark their season into life.

After Jokanovic’s side won a dour match 1-0 in west London in early August, the Serbian did not have too much to say about the Magpies - instead choosing to focus on his own side.

“My job is here, and there are many big names like Newcastle - we’re a big name too,” the 48-year-old said.

“It’s an important competition with many clubs of big histories and both fans were really good.”

David Wagner (Huddersfield Town)

(Image: 2016 Getty Images)

Newcastle United 1-2 Huddersfield Town (August 13)

That Fulham defeat was followed by a Terriers victory on Tyneside as Huddersfield set the early-season pace in the Championship.

However, after the game Wagner was keen to stress that under the world-class tutelage of Benitez, once the United squad had settled and become accustomed to one another, the Magpies would become a force to be reckoned with.

“They have a lot of expectation and one of the best managers in the world,” Wagner explained.

“They need time to find that harmony, so there’s no reason that they can’t be the best team in this division.

“Their business isn’t done in this window I think.

“They’re still at the beginning, while we’re a few steps further than Newcastle after doing our business four weeks ago.”

Jaap Stam (Reading)

Newcastle United 4-1 Reading (August 17)

When the Royals appointed former Manchester United defender Stam over the summer, eyebrows were raised - but Reading are flying high in third and are a side United must be wary of.

Interestingly, Stam wasn’t impressed by Newcastle’s display during their 4-1 victory over the Royals, but stressed that the “beautiful club” would improve on the field once the side gelled together.

“Well, when we played them [Newcastle], no I didn’t think at that time they played particularly well,” Stam said a fortnight after his side’s defeat at St James’ Park.

“But to be fair, it is a great club, a beautiful club, they’ve brought a lot of new players in so they need to get used to each other as well.”

Lee Johnson (Bristol City)

(Image: 2016 Getty Images)

Bristol City 0-1 Newcastle United (August 20)

Despite describing Newcastle as a “top side” immediately after his side’s 1-0 defeat at Ashton Gate in August, a month later Johnson stressed that it was not the Magpies who he believed were the best team to be relegated from the Premier League last season.

Rather, Norwich City were his pick of the trio who were demoted in 2015/16.

“I think Norwich are [the best] - I think that’s fair to say,” Johnson said.

“They have some real senior players in there, who are established Championship and Premier League players.

“They are quick, powerful and big and they tick a lot of boxes that it takes to get promoted.”

Chris Hughton (Brighton and Hove Albion)

Newcastle United 2-0 Brighton and Hove Albion (August 27)

The former Magpies boss is still remembered fondly on Tyneside and received a warm welcome at a stadium he described as a “very special place for me” in August.

United defeated their automatic-promotion rivals 2-0 and Hughton stressed that, although Newcastle “weren’t great”, they were “very efficient” and that’s “what is needed in this division”.

He added: “If we’re very close to where Newcastle are at the end of the season, we won’t be too far away.

“It doesn’t matter what division you’re in, there’s a support here who want to see the team winning.

“That’s why there’s still such a massive crowd here.

“It’s nice for this support to see the team winning again.”

Nigel Pearson (Derby County)

(Image: 2015 Getty Images)

Derby County 0-2 Newcastle United (September 10)

Pearson’s disastrous tenure at the iPro Stadium did not last long and ex-United boss Steve McClaren is now back at Derby for a second stint in charge.

Benitez took Newcastle to the Midlands in September and saw his side triumph 2-0.

A spiky Pearson lauded the Magpies during a bizarre post-match Press conference, admitting he “fully expected” Newcastle to go up - as long as they could “manage the expectation”.

“They’ve flexed their muscles in terms of ability to strengthen their squad,” Pearson stated.

“They’ve got an experienced manager so I would fully expect them to be up there as frontrunners.

“I think the expectation’s there for them to do that, but expectation is one thing. And dealing with expectation is one of the key elements of being able to fulfil potential.

“They’ve showed early signs that they’ve got those capabilities.”

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Queens Park Rangers)

(Image: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Queens Park Rangers 0-6 Newcastle United (September 13)

Perhaps the most impressive display of the season to date came at Loftus Road on September 13, when Newcastle handed QPR their biggest ever defeat in a home league game.

After the match, now former-QPR boss Hasselbaink claimed that the “difference” between the two sides, and the reason United are a “great team”, is because of the multi-million pounds worth of talent Benitez has at his disposal.

“It was hard, but I must say that Newcastle is a great team,” Hasselbaink stressed.

“They have big players. Newcastle is a good side.

“They have Mitrovic £15million [actually £13m], Shelvey £12m, Ritchie £11m [actually £12m] - shall I go on?

“There is the difference.”

Walter Zenga (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

(Image: 2016 Newcastle United)

Newcastle United 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (September 17)

After their early-season struggles, Newcastle had gone undefeated until a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Wolves.

Following the game, Zenga - who has since been sacked, something which will be a common theme throughout this piece - stressed that Wolves deserved their victory.

He was complimentary about Newcastle as a club but gave little indication of where he thought United would finish this term.

He said: “Playing at this stadium in front of 52,000 fans against a team that came from five victories in a row, four games without conceding a goal and the last game was 6-0 for them away and we lost 4-0 at home, the approach was very important, and that is my satisfaction.”

Roberto di Matteo (Aston Villa)

(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)

Aston Villa 1-1 Newcastle United (September 24)

Another manager who is no longer in a job is Di Matteo, who was at the Villa helm when Newcastle visited the Second City.

United took the lead at Villa Park and dominated the first half, but struggled during the second period and, after the home side equalised, could have lost the match.

After the game, Di Matteo described Newcastle as a “really strong team” with a disciplined defence.

“To come from 1-0 down against a really strong Newcastle team who are solid defensively is pleasing to see,” Di Matteo said.

“We created good chances, equalised and we went on to try to win the game as well.”

Alex Neil (Norwich City)

(Image: 2016 Getty Images)

Newcastle United 4-3 Norwich City (September 28)

Seen as Newcastle’s primary promotion rivals at the start of the season, Norwich are seriously stuttering right now - with their fortunes having taken a dramatic dip for the worse since their injury-time defeat at St James’ Park on September 28.

Heading into added time, United trailed 3-2 - but came back to win a dramatic clash 4-3.

After the game, Neil said Newcastle “didn’t do anything out of the ordinary” to win the game and claimed the six minutes of added time at the end of this “bizarre match” was “nonsense”.

Since then, both sides’ respective fortunes have gone in drastically different directions...

Alan Stubbs (Rotherham United)

(Image: PA Wire)

Rotherham United 0-1 Newcastle United (October 1)

The Millers were rock-bottom of the table in October, and they still are now even though Stubbs was dismissed several weeks ago.

Clearly the pressure was already beginning to tell on Stubbs by the time of the United defeat, after which he claimed the referee wanted to “become the centre of attention for some reason” - despite the official’s reasonable-enough display.

What’s more, Stubbs also highlighted the value of the Magpies squad compared to his at Rotherham as the “contrast” between the two sides.

“The contrast between these two teams - I mean you’ve got a team in Newcastle that are fielding players worth about £60m, £70m or £80m,” he stressed.

“They spent more than £50m over the summer alone.”

Dean Smith (Brentford)

Newcastle United 3-1 Brentford (October 15)

Another routine home victory over Brentford sent the Magpies second in the table and, after the game, Smith admitted that his side gifted United a two-goal lead.

He also pinpointed just “how big” Newcastle United football club is too, suggesting promotion seemed likely for the Magpies.

“With the quality they have, they don’t really need a helping hand, but unfortunately we’ve given them a very big one with the two-goal lead,” Smith added.

“It just shows how big this football club is, to have 52,000 people here and players like Gayle and Jonjo Shelvey, but we felt we could compete with them.”

Paul Heckingbottom (Barnsley)

(Image: PA Wire)

Barnsley 0-2 Newcastle United (October 18)

Unlike some rival supporters and managers, Heckingbottom did not claim that Newcastle were somehow trying to buy the league - and said that would merely be hiding “behind an excuse” as to why his side lost 2-0.

“You can’t hide behind the excuse that they’ve spent more money than us,” Heckingbottom said on a night when United went top for the first time this season.

“They’ve got quality all over.

“They took three really good players out of their side, and brought three really good players in.

“But that’s the situation we’re in, and it doesn’t mean we can’t compete.”

Despite that, Smith did highlight Gayle as “the difference” between the sides - and praised Newcastle’s willingness to “dig in and work” in order to claim the victory.

“I’ve been impressed with the way in which this Newcastle team has proved it’s prepared to dig in and work in order to get a result,” he continued.

“They [Newcastle] gave us nothing. They matched our effort and endeavour, and ultimately they’ll be over the moon with their result.”

Mick McCarthy (Ipswich Town)

Newcastle United 3-0 Ipswich Town (October 22)

Although many managers had hinted at it, McCarthy was the first second-tier boss to state outright that Newcastle would be “champions”.

In a frank, honest and pretty amusing Press conference after a 3-0 defeat at St James’ Park, McCarthy said: “We didn’t get anywhere near them.

“We tried everything - and none of it worked.”

Asked whether he thought Ipswich offered an attacking threat at times, McCarthy added with a smile: “I think we got in their half a couple of times, yeah.”

And, while praising Newcastle, McCarthy made his prediction that the Magpies would win the league.

“We got beaten by a better team. We got beaten by the champions, if anything,” he continued.

“If I see a better team than that this year I’ll be surprised.

“They were better than us, they are better than us - they are the champions in my view.”

Simon Grayson (Preston North End)

(Image: PA)

Preston North End 1-2 Newcastle United (October 29)

Twice inside the space of a few days Newcastle faced Preston - demolishing North End 6-0 at home in the EFL Cup before triumphing 2-1 at Deepdale.

After the first match, Grayson lauded United’s “exceptional players”.

He explained: “Premier League teams could have come here and lost to Newcastle tonight, that’s the level of the opposition that we were up against but you can’t make the basic mistakes like we’ve done.

“This time last year, their manager was at Real Madrid; they are a fantastic side.”

A few days later, however, he insisted that United would have felt fortunate to leave Lancashire with a solitary point, never mind all three.

“We asked questions of a really good team; the only difference was, when they got half a chance, they punished us,” Grayson said.

“We can draw a lot of positives from the game and Newcastle will go away feeling very relieved that they have got three points, when they would probably even have been relieved to have taken one.”

Neil Warnock (Cardiff City)

(Image: PA Wire)

Newcastle United 2-1 Cardiff City (November 5)

Relegation-threatened Cardiff put in a stubborn display on Tyneside but Newcastle eventually claimed a 2-1 victory over the Bluebirds.

However, an incensed Warnock blasted the referee for failing to spot a potential penalty decision - despite the fact Cardiff’s goal had stood following a clear handball.

“The referee and the linesman should be more educated,” Warnock fumed.

“To rub salt into the wounds, the linesman gave the free-kick to them.

“It hurts. We should have got a penalty.

“You don’t often come here and see Newcastle waste time trying to get the points.”

A few days later, Warnock did eulogise about the quality of Benitez’s squad though, even if he did claim Brighton had a “better team” at that moment in time.

“Newcastle have got the best squad by a mile,” Warnock said.

“I think Brighton probably have a better team at the moment but they [Newcastle] have got the best squad.”

Garry Monk (Leeds United)

(Image: 2014 Getty Images)

Leeds United 0-2 Newcastle United (November 20)

Having already described Newcastle as a “Premier League team playing in the Championship” earlier in November, Monk then bigged up the Magpies even further ahead of the clash between the two sides at Elland Road.

“They have an excellent manager, a top-calibre manager who has obviously shown his worth for sure,” Monk said.

“They have the biggest budget in the league, they have the most expensive players, and you expect them to be where they are - simple as that.”

Following Newcastle’s 2-0 victory in west Yorkshire, Monk claimed there “wasn’t a gulf of difference” between the two sides - but admitted the visitors showed their “quality” in crucial moments.

“In terms of competing and attitude, you can see there wasn’t a gulf of difference,” Monk explained.

“We were playing a very good side. Their second goal was the one moment where you really saw their quality.”

Owen Coyle (Blackburn Rovers)

Newcastle United 0-1 Blackburn Rovers (November 26)

After nine successive victories in all competitions, Newcastle’s run came to an end with a shock home defeat to Rovers on November 26.

Benitez made six changes for the game with the midweek EFL Cup quarter-final in mind, and ultimately paid the price.

Yet Blackburn boss Coyle stressed after his side’s victory that Newcastle would still “win the league” - and that he’d love to have the back-up players Benitez has at his disposal in the Rovers squad.

“The only thing I would say is I would love to have a Mitrovic, I would love to have an Atsu,” Coyle explained.

“They are the sort of outstanding players that are coming in and they are the luxury they have.

“If you want to put it in those terms, one of our biggest assets [Grant Hanley] was sold to Newcastle for £6m and he’s not making the team.

“We were prepared to stand toe to toe with very good opponents, against a team that will win the league.”

Philippe Montanier (Nottingham Forest)

Nottingham Forest 2-1 Newcastle United (December 2)

United fans will not need reminding of this highly-controversial defeat at the City Ground in which Newcastle had two players sent off and saw many other clear-cut decisions go against them.

Though Forest boss Montanier claimed he “could not see” either red-card incident during a “crazy” game, he did praise the Magpies.

Montanier described Newcastle as the “best team” in the division - and admitted the Magpies were even difficult to beat with only nine men.

“For me they are the best team in the Championship,” Montanier said.

“They have the best attack, the best scorer, one of the best defences and technical quality, as well as physical strength and very good organisation with a top manager like Benitez.

“For me it is the best team.

“For that, even 11 against nine it was difficult because that team have a lot of qualities.”

Gary Rowett (Birmingham City)

(Image: PA Wire)

Newcastle United 4-0 Birmingham City (December 10)

Benitez’s men responded to those back-to-back defeats by hammering Birmingham 4-0 at St James’ Park.

Rowett accepted that his side had been tough a “football and athletic lesson” by Newcastle, who he not only described as a “Premier League team” - but also the best side he had ever seen ply their trade in the Championship.

“Not only was it a bit of a football lesson, it was an athletic lesson as well,” Rowett, who was bizarrely sacked just a few days after this match, stressed.

“Make no bones about it that is a Premier League team we were playing against and in a stadium like this if you don’t start well and hang on a little bit longer you are going to find it’s a very, very tough afternoon.

“I would say they are probably the best team I have seen in the Championship in terms of how they can hurt you.”

Warren Joyce (Wigan Athletic)

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Wigan Athletic 0-2 Newcastle United (December 14)

Before the match, Joyce hailed Newcastle as a “proper Premier League club”.

After a 2-0 home defeat to the Magpies, Joyce then stressed that his side had “hurt one of the best teams in the league” - but were undone by “small margins”.

“We played some good football in that spell in the second half and we actually hurt one of the best teams in the league but unfortunately we end up with nothing to show for it,” Joyce said.

“The last three conversations with the players after games have been the same unfortunately, where we’ve given everything but been undone by small margins.”

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Nigel Clough (Burton Albion)

(Image: PA Wire)

Burton Albion 1-2 Newcastle United (December 17)

In a very complimentary post-match Press conference, Clough described Burton hosting Newcastle as “probably one of the biggest mismatches in English football”.

The Brewers boss then lauded Benitez, Newcastle and the club’s fans.

“So we’ve had one or two big-name managers down here in their time, but just to see Newcastle here I think is great,” Clough said.

“Seeing Newcastle United playing here, locals would never ever had dreamt of seeing that in a league game.

“It’s one of the biggest mismatches but he [Benitez] conducts himself, as ever, immaculately so I’m looking forward to having a drink with him.”

After seeing his side fall to a narrow 2-1 defeat, Clough then stressed that he expects Newcastle and Brighton to go up this term.

“I think they’ll go up - we think Newcastle and Brighton are the outstanding teams in this division,” Clough explained.

“We expect those two to go up and then everybody else to fight it out for the other spots.

“We’ve got Newcastle out of the way at home when really you don’t expect to get anything from them.

“The likes of Newcastle punish you for errors.