Chris Hughton

Following Keegan rejecting talk of an unlikely third return to Newcastle, feeling the fans had "had enough" of him,Chris Hughton was given the caretaker's job and was later confirmed as the club's full time manager in late October 2009 until the end of the 2010/11 season after Newcastle's more than impressive start to life in the second tier of English football. He stated "It's a very proud day for me to be named as the manager of this magnificent football club," and that he "will be doing everything in my power to get the club back into the Premier League at the first time of asking."

On 27 October 2009, Ashley announced that the club was no longer for sale, reporting that he had been unsuccessful in finding a buyer who could produce proof of funds, despite reducing his asking price to £80 million. The club claimed that Ashley would continue to invest money into reducing the club's financial debt and he had the best intentions for the club at heart.

The start of the 2009–10 season in the Championship saw the club placed top of the table at Christmas with an 8 point lead and a defensive record of only 12 goals conceded in 22 games. Manager Chris Hughton was named Manager of the Month for August, September and November 2009. In 2009 under Hughton in the league Newcastle won 15, drew 6 and lost just 3 against Blackpool, Scunthorpe and Nottingham Forest. The January transfer window was active with permanent signings of on-loan defender Danny Simpson,defender Mike Williamson from Portsmouth,Queen's Park Rangers winger Wayne Routledge and Leon Best from Coventry.These were added to by the loanings of Fitz Hall from QPR and defender Patrick Van Aanholt on a month's loan from Chelsea.

On 5 April 2010 the club secured automatic promotion with 5 games remaining after Nottingham Forest were held to a goaless draw by Cardiff City.Chris Hughton announced a promotion party at the stadium following their match against Sheffield United, which they celebrated with a 2–1 victory.Newcastle were promoted back to the Premier League after just one season away, 316 Days after being relegated on the final day of the 2008/2009 season against Aston Villa.Newcastle secured the league title after a 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle on 19 April 2010 at Home Park with goals from Andy Carroll and Wayne Routledge. 2,500 fans made the 420-mile (680 km) trip to Plymouth to watch United win the Championship title. Newcastle lifted the trophy at St. James' Park after a 2–2 draw against Ipswich Town which made United the only team in the country to have an unbeaten home record. The game was also watched in front of a Championship record crowd of 52,181. The club finished the season with a 1–0 victory at QPR on 2 May, completing a total of 102 points earned during the season which is a club record and the first time the Magpies had achieved 100 or more points in any league campaign.

During the summer of 2010, Chris Hughton completed the signings of defender James Perch from Nottingham Forest, young midfielder Dan Gosling from Everton after a administrative error at Goodison Park allowed the 20 year-old to move to Newcastle on a free transfer and experienced centre-half Sol Campbell from Arsenal also on a free in preparation for life back in the Premier League. Towards the end of the transfer window Ivory Coast international Defensive Midfielder Cheik Tioté was also signed by the club from FC Twente for a reported £3.5 million and Hatem Ben Arfa on a season long loan from Marseille for a reported £2 million, with the view of a permanent move for a further £5 million should he make more than 25 appearances for the club but after only 4 appearances, Ben Arfa suffered a double leg fracture in an away match against Manchester City when Nigel de Jong made an unpunished challenge on Ben Arfa just 7 minutes into the match which saw the Frenchman taken straight to hospital. This season also saw the departure of captain Nicky Butt who opted to retire from football, and Fabrice Pancrate due to his contract expiring and no new deal being agreed.

The opening match of the season away to Manchester United saw the club lose 3–0, they continued to remain unbeaten at St James' Park with a 6–0 victory over Aston Villa on 22 August 2010, which welcomed a hat-trick from the new number nine Andy Carroll, as well as Joey Barton shaving his moustache, which was part of the "Magpies Moustache Challenge". Following games saw Andy Carroll on the score-sheet, with people calling for a call up to the senior England squad for the 21 year old. Newcastle showed an impressive run of form with an largely unexpected 4–3 win at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the Carling Cup, marking the first match since the 1980s the club had won at Stamford Bridge. After their Carling Cup heroics Newcastle lost their unbeaten home record to an unexpected defeat to Premier League newcomers Blackpool FC but the geordies bounced straight back with a fantastic away win on Merseyside against Everton. A brace of 2–1 defeats followed this result at the hands of Stoke City(h) and Manchester City(a). In the next game United found themselves down by 2 goals to nil after 23 minutes at home to Wigan Athletic, gaining no mercy from old boy Charles N'Zogbia. Luckily for Hughton he managed to rally his troops at the interval and scrape an injury-time equaliser through Argentine centre-back Fabricio Coloccini after a Shola Ameobi header mid way through the second half.

The ninth game of the season, away to West Ham United, was played on 23 October and resulted in a stunning 2–1 victory with Joey Barton winning Man of the Match. On 31 October, Newcastle beat local rivals Sunderland 5–1 in a famous victory which included Kevin Nolan's first hat trick in the Premier League. This impressive run of form continued with a famous 1–0 away victory at Arsenal, which was Newcastle's first win at Arsenal since the 2001–2002 season.

A disappointing run of draws and losses however followed the victory, seeing Joey Barton given a 3 match ban for assaulting Blackburn player Morten Gamst Pedersen, and Ameobi injured. During this period nonetheless, Andy Carroll made his debut for the England national team.

Newcastle parted company with Chris Hughton on 6 December 2010 following Newcastle's 3–1 defeat to West Brom. The NUFC board stated that "the board now feels an individual with more managerial experience is needed to take the club forward." Hughton's dismissal was an unpopular decision with the fans and the players, and was highly criticized by many pundits.