Match Facts

38 0-1 Duff (og)

90 Edgar sent off

Final Whistle: Relegated

Aston Villa

Subs not used:

 

Newcastle

Subs not used:

Bookings: Edgar ,Steven Taylor (Newcastle)

Ref: Chris Foy
Att: 42,585

Results

Barclays Premier League Final Table

17 Hull City 38 35

18 Newcastle United 38 34

19 Middlesbrough 38 32

20 West Bromwich Albion 38 32



 

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nufc.co.uk will this season be giving it's readers the chance to download the official team sheet from EVERY game of the 2009/10 campaign.

This offer is exclusive to nufc.co.uk users and will be available following every game for supporters to add to their collection.

Simply click on the links below to start your collection today ...

NUFC 2009/10 Team Sheets (Please allow a few minutes for each file to download as they are quite large to enable a high-quality print)

West Brom (a)

Reading (h)

 

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match programmeAston Villa 1 Newcastle United 0

Barclays Premier League, Villa Park

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Kick-off 4pm

Newcastle United's 16-year stay in the Premier League came to an end on 'Survival Sunday' when they lost to Aston Villa at Villa Park in Birmingham in the sun.

For twenty minutes in the first half we made a game of it however, we missed our chances and an element of bad luck summed our season up. For the record they scored from a Barry long shot which deflected off Duff into our net. To many of our players were just not good enough, again. We went down to the championship with no fight or passion or without putting on a performance.

There was a complete lack of creativity from our midfield, during the second half we didn’t trouble Brad Friedal in goal, a statement in itself which is trifling. Due to injuries and suspensions, Alan Shearer was stuck with having to bring in two second choice defenders into the back line in Fabricio Coloccini and young David Edgar. Ashley Young of Villa won the first race with the Argentine, which described his season as well. David Edgar eventually was only beaten in the last few minutes of the game, and fell foul to a couple of easy dives by Young and was sent off.

 

Manager Comments: Alan Shearer

After the game Alan Shearer recognised and paid tribute to the travelling fans... "I know how much they're hurting because I'm feeling it too. "It's devastating and they deserved better. "I've always said that if we had a football team as good as our fans then we'd be top of the league. "They were amazing again at Aston Villa and I thank them for that. "They've supported us all of the way and I'm extremely sorry and disappointed that we couldn't keep the club in the Premier League." "This is the worst feeling of my career. "It's painful and it hurts. "But I can't say we were unlucky. "We went down because we were not good enough over 38 games.

"Look, you can point the finger at me, at Joe Kinnear, at the players, at Mike Ashley but it really just comes down to the fact that we weren't good enough this season nor the season before and you can go back over a number of years and it's the same," added Shearer.

You can talk about luck, about refereeing decisions and so on but the teams that are in the bottom three at the end of the season are the teams that deserve to go down. "I can't fault the players for their effort, the simple fact is we're just not good enough."

Next Steps:

"This club needs big changes, that is there for all to see. "This is a fantastic football club, with amazing support, but it needs a hell of a lot of hard work for whoever comes in. It needs totally rebuilding. "I was shocked at the state of the club when I came in. I was aware of mistakes that had been made. There are huge problems at the club. They are there for everyone to see.

"Everyone is hurting and, I'm sure, bitter, but what we need is a time of calm and for us to get our thoughts together, see what mistakes have been made before deciding where we go from here.

"I know everyone wants to know what I am going to do. You won't believe me when I say I have not had time to really think about it. "But we need to have the meeting sooner rather than later and make decisions. It does not take a genius to see what is wrong with the club.

"Those guys have some major decisions to make. There are millions of questions to be answered. I will give them my thoughts but they might not ask me to be the manager."

"We are all hurting and I feel desperately sorry for everyone associated with Newcastle United," he told the club's website. "For Mike Ashley, who has invested heavily in the club, and for all the supporters who have given the team magnificent backing up and down the country all season long. "Mike and I will sit down with Alan this week to discuss how the club moves forward again, and I hope to be able to say more to our supporters later this week."

Martin O'Neill Villa Manager Said

"I have sympathy for Alan. The Premier League will be poorer without Newcastle in it. He came in at a very difficult time but I think it was the right thing regardless of whether he had the experience or not," he said.

"I thought it was a short period of time where he could galvanise not only the team but the whole club and the support they had against us was extraordinary.

"It is an extraordinary club and I am sure they will bounce back again. Alan will reflect on it and I think, like Roy Keane, he can be anything he wants to be."

 

Head to Head

Newcastle @ Villa Park - Premier League era: