On this day in 2000, nearly 74,000 people watched Newcastle v Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at the old Wembley stadium. The official attendance was 73,876 and Newcastle unfortunately suffered a 2-1 defeat, courtesy of a Gus Poyet brace.
It’s the 17th biggest attendance in Newcastle’s history. Chelsea booked their place in the final against Aston Villa and went on to win the cup, but the Magpies failed to win a trophy in the 21 years that followed.
In fact, the last time Newcastle made the final of a major competition was in their 1998/99 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United. The Toon Army have such a large following and remain a big club with prestige but haven’t managed to deliver any silverware in the last few decades.
Steve Bruce’s side currently sit 17th in the Premier League with 29 points from 30 games, so they’re at risk of relegation. Fans have been made to settle with disappointment and failure for a long time, and it seems those heady days of reaching cup finals and having strong league finishes are firmly in the past.
