12 Connections Newcastle United Have With The USA

Newcastle United jetted off for the next leg of their pre-season tour yesterday after Friday's 1-0 win away at Gateshead. Papiss Cisse netted a penalty on the night for The Magpies, who showed that the future under new head coach Steve McClaren is a lot brighter than many would have anticipated. Now, the former England manager has taken his squad over to the United States for three games, against three clubs, in three US cities. Newcastle will come up against against Mexican and American opposition in Milwaukee, Sacramento and Portland, with the first game to be played at 1am on Wednesday morning UK time in Milwaukee against Club Atlas. The Black and Whites will then go on to face Sacramento Republic FC and Portland Timbers before returning to England to play Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on July 26. In a footballing sense at least, you would be forgiven for thinking that the less United have in common with America, the better. Although the likes of Stephen Carr and Mark Viduka's waistlines may show that there is more than initially meets the eye when it comes to Tyne-Atlantic relations... United and the United States go way back and their respective histories transcend many areas far reaching from the football pitch... Here are 12 things that prove Newcastle United and the United States of America have that Special Relationship Winston Churchill once claimed existed between the United Kingdom and the USA...