St James' Park
Newcastle United's St James' Park(Image: Getty Images)
Newcastle United are among the many Premier League clubs who can only wonder what might have been following the verdict in Manchester City’s case with the Premier League. An independent commission found City guilty of 114 charges, including financial rule breaches, spanning from 2009 until 2018, although the club were cleared on one count relating to non-cooperation with the investigation.
The sanctions are yet to be decided and City still strongly maintain their innocence, having made it clear they intend to appeal the verdict. However, Newcastle fans, and football supporters more generally, will have their own thoughts on what would constitute an appropriate punishment.
The situation has rocked the footballing world, with City winning three Premier League titles during this period and their on-field success causing countless knock-on effects for other clubs.
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Several figures, even including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, have called for the City to be stripped of their aforementioned titles, relegated and heavily fined. Voiding City’s results creates intriguing new-look Premier League tables that show how Newcastle were potentially wronged.
2009/10 Premier League
1. Chelsea 86
2. Man Utd 85
3. Arsenal 74
4. Tottenham 64
5. Aston Villa 63
6. Liverpool 61
7. Everton 55
8. Blackburn 50
9. Birmingham 49
10. Stoke 46
11. Fulham 45
12. Sunderland 43
13. Bolton 38
14. Wolves 37
15. West Ham 35
16. Wigan 33
17. Burnley 29
18. Hull 26
19. Portsmouth 19
20. Man City 0
Newcastle stormed to the Championship title during the first season in question. Chris Hughton’s side clocked up 102 points as they emphatically earned a return to the top-flight.
In the Premier League, City’s switch from fifth place to 20th sees Everton earn a European place, while Burnley are bumped up to 17th, escaping relegation.
2010/11 Premier League
1. Man Utd 76
2. Chelsea 68
3. Arsenal 64
4. Tottenham 61
5. Liverpool 55
6. Everton 48
7. Fulham 48
8. West Brom 47
9. Newcastle 46
10. Stoke 45
11. Bolton 45
12. Aston Villa 45
13. Sunderland 44
14. Blackburn 42
15. Wigan 42
16. Blackpool 39
17. Wolves 37
18. Birmingham 37
19. West Ham 33
20. Man City 0
In their return to the top tier, Newcastle move up from 12th to 11th place. The campaign saw Alan Pardew replace Hughton in December, beginning the manager’s four-year reign.
Elsewhere, City’s removal from third place sees Spurs climb into the Champions League places. At the bottom of the table, Blackpool would beat the drop, while Wolves fall into the bottom three after having the three points they picked up off of City scrubbed out.
2011/12 Premier League
1. Man Utd 89
2. Tottenham 69
3. Arsenal 67
4. Newcastle 65
5. Chelsea 61
6. Everton 53
7. Liverpool 51
8. Fulham 51
9. Norwich 47
10. West Brom 46
11. Swansea 44
12. Stoke 44
13. Wigan 43
14. Sunderland 41
15. Aston Villa 38
16. QPR 37
17. Bolton 36
18. Blackburn 31
19. Wolves 25
20. Man City 0
In Pardew’s first full season, Newcastle would have finished in the top four, without the Premier League champions’ results impacting the league table. However, Chelsea winning the Champions League would still have prevented Newcastle from qualifying for Europe’s top club cup competition, with that misfortune originally falling to fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United would have topped the table in City’s absence.
Hatem Ben Arfa celebrates with Newcastle United teammates
Newcastle United were a high-flying team under Alan Pardew in the 2011/12 season(Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
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2012/13 Premier League
1. Man Utd 86
2. Chelsea 74
3. Arsenal 72
4. Tottenham 69
5. Liverpool 59
6. Everton 59
7. West Brom 49
8. Swansea 45
9. West Ham 45
10. Fulham 43
11. Stoke 41
12. Aston Villa 41
13. Newcastle 41
14. Norwich 41
15. Southampton 38
16. Sunderland 36
17. Wigan 36
18. Reading 28
19. QPR 24
20. Man City 0
While Newcastle’s league form slumped as they reached the Europa League quarter-finals, the Magpies would have been comfortably midtable in the alternate league standings. Rising three places, Pardew’s side finish 13th.
Meanwhile, Spurs would claim a Champions League spot, Liverpool would qualify for the Europa League, and FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic would also beat the drop.
2013/14 Premier League
1. Liverpool 81
2. Arsenal 78
3. Chelsea 76
4. Everton 72
5. Tottenham 69
6. Man Utd 64
7. Southampton 55
8. Stoke 49
9. Newcastle 49
10. Crystal Palace 45
11. Swansea 42
12. West Ham 40
13. Hull 37
14. West Brom 36
15. Aston Villa 35
16. Sunderland 34
17. Norwich 32
18. Fulham 32
19. Cardiff 27
20. Man City 0
Manchester City being stripped of their second league title would also allow Newcastle to go up from 10th place to ninth. Liverpool would claim their first Premier League trophy, ending their wait for a league title six years before Jurgen Klopp led the club to glory. Norwich City, who Hughton managed for most of the campaign, survive relegation.
2014/15 Premier League
1. Chelsea 85
2. Arsenal 71
3. Man Utd 67
4. Tottenham 64
5. Southampton 60
6. Liverpool 59
7. Swansea 56
8. Stoke 51
9. Everton 46
10. Crystal Palace 45
11. West Ham 44
12. West Brom 44
13. Leicester 41
14. Newcastle 39
15. Sunderland 38
16. Aston Villa 38
17. Hull 34
18. Burnley 29
19. QPR 29
20. Man City 0
It was another mid-table finish for Newcastle, who are bumped up from 15th to 14th. John Carver replaced Pardew in December 2014.
City’s fall from second allows Spurs another Champions League campaign, while Swansea City qualify for Europe and relegated Hull City finish 17th
2015/16 Premier League
1. Leicester 77
2. Arsenal 67
3. Tottenham 64
4. Man Utd 62
5. Southampton 60
6. West Ham 58
7. Liverpool 54
8. Chelsea 50
9.Stoke 48
10. Swansea 46
11. Everton 45
12. Watford 45
13. West Brom 43
14. Crystal Palace 42
15. Bournemouth 42
16. Sunderland 39
17. Newcastle 36
18. Norwich 33
19. Aston Villa 16
20. Man City 0
The most significant difference for Newcastle. The alternative table shows the club would have avoided relegation without City’s results influencing the bottom three. Rafa Benitez replaced manager Steve McClaren in March 2016 and would have steered the team to safety.
Rafa Benitez
Newcastle were relegated under Rafa Benitez in 2016(Image: Ian MacNicol/Getty images)
Premier League 2016/17
1. Chelsea 87
2. Tottenham 82
3. Arsenal 74
4. Liverpool 72
5. Man Utd 68
6. Everton 57
7. Bournemouth 46
8. West Brom 45
9. Southampton 45
10. West Ham 45
11. Stoke 43
12. Crystal Palace 41
13. Leicester 41
14. Swansea 41
15. Burnley 40
16. Watford 40
17. Hull 34
18. Middlesbrough 26
19. Sunderland 24
20. Man City 0
Consequently, Newcastle spent the 2016/17 season in the Championship, once again claiming the title. Benitez’s side narrowly finished ahead of a Brighton team managed by Hughton.
In the Premier League, without Man City’s results, Arsenal rise from fifth to third place to secure a Champions League spot and Hull once again survive relegation.
2017/18 Premier League
1. Man Utd 78
2. Tottenham 77
3. Liverpool 72
4. Chelsea 70
5. Arsenal 63
6. Burnley 53
7. Everton 48
8. Leicester 47
9. Newcastle 44
10. Bournemouth 44
11. Crystal Palace 43
12. West Ham 42
13. Watford 41
14. Brighton 40
15. Huddersfield 36
16. Southampton 36
17. Swansea 33
18. Stoke 33
19. West Brom 31
20. Man City 0
Returning to the top-flight, Benitez would see his Newcastle squad move up one place to ninth. Man City are stripped of a third league title, with Jose Mourinho’s Man United taking top spot. Elsewhere, Everton qualify for Europe and Swansea remain a Premier League side.
Newcastle impact
The most significant consequence of Man City's results being voided for Newcastle would be that the club would have escaped relegation under Benitez in 2016. While the Magpies were able to rebuild in the Championship, Newcastle could have used Benitez’s early success to help propel them further up the Premier League table instead.
The eye-catching 2011/12 squad also notably missed out on a top four spot. However, voiding City’s results would not have hugely altered Newcastle’s fortunes without Bayern Munich also overcoming Chelsea in the Champions League final.
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