Jackie Milburn, Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah - three players who are written into Newcastle United folklore. Why? Because they netted the goals that handed the Magpies a 3-1 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City on May 7th, 1955. Milburn popped up after just 45 seconds to give Newcastle the lead - as he did with such regularity - before Bobby Johnstone equalised for Man City right on half-time. Newcastle were undeterred, however, and Mitchell (52 minutes) and then Hannah (59 minutes) ensured the trophy was heading from Wembley up north to St James' Park once more. The Magpies dominated this competition in the early-1950s, claiming it in 1951, 1952 and then for the third time in five seasons in 1955. If you were to have told Newcastle fans then that they would still be waiting for another major domestic trophy 60 years on, they would have scowled in disgust. A gate of 100,000 were at Wembley to watch Doug Livingstone's Magpies lift the trophy - including tens of thousands of Geordies - and they must have been expecting to return for similar glory soon after. Yet here we are, exactly six decades to the day on from that last FA Cup triumph, and Newcastle are further away than ever from winning another major trophy. In fact, what's worse is there is actually no ambition to add to that collection. To put that 60 years into perspective, Queen Elizabeth II was 29 years old when the Magpies last lifted a trophy, World War II had been over for just 10 years, and the Prime Minister of Britain was still Anthony Eden, with Sir Winston Churchill having left office just a month previously (he is pictured above before the 1952 FA Cup final triumph). Discounting the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup - which UEFA have been so kind as to devalue in recent years so that it doesn't count officially as a major trophy, even though it certainly was - and the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup (apologies for mentioning it), Newcastle have failed to add a single trophy to their collection. Four domestic cup finals have been reached during those 60 years - in the FA Cup in 1974, 1998 and 1999, and in the League Cup in 1976 - and the Magpies were runners-up in the Premier League in both 1995-96 and 1996-97. Newcastle United is a club with a proud and rich heritage of four First Division titles (1904-05, 1906-07, 1908-09 and 1926-27), six FA Cups (1910, 1924, 1932, 1951, 1952 and 1955) and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1969) - yet Mike Ashley and the current hierarchy do not want the Magpies to add to that haul. It is all about Premier League survival - because that's where the money in. The fans want trophies and excitement, and understandably so, but Ashley and Lee Charnley want a Premier League club who can continue to bring in revenue and TV money year upon year (something that isn't exactly going according to plan this campaign, either). Since Ashley took control of Newcastle in 2007, the club have reached beyond the fourth round of a domestic cup competition just once - when they were eliminated from the League Cup in the quarter-finals this season - and were knocked out of the 2012-13 Europa League at the same stage in their only European campaign under the Sports Direct owner. In fact, the club explained the reasoning behind their stance towards cups in May 2014. It read as follows:
The board outlined research into Premier League clubs in relation to domestic cup competitions in the last five years, with Swansea City the only club outside the traditional top six to win a domestic cup and not be relegated in the same season (Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic were both relegated). Independent research into the cost of relegation over the past 10 years showed there is a 50% chance of not gaining promotion back to the top flight and a 30% chance of being relegated to League One or further. In addition, if clubs do return to the Premier League, it takes four years on average.
The failure to win trophies is one thing, but the sheer lack of ambition really kills. This year the Magpies crashed out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage in early January, meaning their supporters had nothing left to hope for. Newcastle United fans want to be able to dream - even if those dreams don't come true. They want to be able to experience the thrill of Kevin Keegan's Entertainers side once more - and they want a day out at Wembley. Unfortunately, the club do not want to relive the glory days of 1955 - or even give their supporters the chance to dream that they could. It may well be another 60 years before the Magpies lift that famous FA Cup trophy if things carry on as they are... For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.