User:DaveJB/1977–78 Newcastle United F.C. season

Despite a relatively strong showing in the previous campaign, the 1977-78 season would prove to be statistically the worst in the Newcastle United's history, ending with the club being relegated to the Second Division for the first time since 1965.

Caretaker manger Richard Dinnis was given the manager's job on a permanent basis, but was given little allowance for signing new players, something which would have disastrous consequences when several key players, including captain Geoff Nulty, were injured early in the season. Newcastle won their first match of the season against Leeds United, but then went on a horrific run of ten successive defeats, leaving them bottom of the table come the start of November. On top of this they suffered a first-round League Cup exit at the hands of Second Division Millwall, and embarrassingly struggled to defeat Irish side Bohemians in the UEFA Cup before being sent packing by French team SC Bastia in the following round. Things briefly improved with a run of three games unbeaten, but Dinnis's position had become completely untenable by now, and his fate was sealed after he publicly criticised chairman Lord Westwood after a 1-1 draw with Bristol City, leading to his dismissal three days later. Westwood himself did not last much longer, and stepped down as chairman shortly after the turn of the year.

Youth team coach Willie McFaul briefly took charge of the team, before Bill McGarry was recruited as the new manager. Newcastle's form initially saw a significant improvement under McGarry, who won 4 of his first 7 matches in charge. After a victory over Leeds United (the only team who Newcastle would beat twice in this season) on January 2 however, the team failed to win a single league match for the rest of the season, consigning them to relegation in second-bottom place, only being kept off the bottom by Leicester City having a considerably worse goal average – though even this did not prevent Leicester from inflicting a 3-0 defeat on Newcastle in the season's final game, the final insult of a dreadful season. The FA Cup only provided further humiliation, as Newcastle needed a replay to defeat Third Division Peterborough United, before being knocked out 4-1 by another Third Division side, Wrexham in the following round.

As the season wore on, McGarry began gradually breaking up and selling the squad that had been assembled by Dinnis and previous manager Gordon Lee, and while this came too late to prevent the club's relegation, it led to hopes that McGarry would be able to steer the club to an immediate promotion back to the top-flight.