All 21 Of Newcastle's Premier League Opening Day Fixtures

Date: 19 August 2006

Venue: St James' Park

Result: 2-1

Starting XI: Given; Carr, Bramble, Moore (S. Taylor), Babayaro; Solano, Emre, Parker, Butt (N'Zogbia), Duff; Ameobi (Luque).

Goals: Parker (38), Ameobi (64)

Yellow Cards: Luque

Debuts: Duff

Manager: Glenn Roeder

What Happened?

New captain Scott Parker led from the front as Newcastle recorded an opening day victory for the first time in five seasons - coincidentally against teams starting with the letter W. This was Glenn Roeder's first match as permanent manager, having been granted special dispensation by the Premier League to take the job, and he witnessed Parker and Ameobi either side of half time to claim the three points.

League Position: 8th

Was It A Sign Of Things To Come?

Sadly, it wasn't. Injuries and a hectic UEFA Cup schedule proved a detriment to Newcastle's league form and the glaring limitations of Roeder's managerial mettle soon became apparent. One win in 12 followed the success against Wigan as the Magpies sank to the foot of the Premier League table, as fans protested against Freddie Shepherd. To Roeder's credit he did drag Newcastle away from danger and into mid-table before resigning after the penultimate match of the season - a 2-0 loss at home to Blackburn.

Final League Position: 13th