Newcastle’s luck in the FA and League cup during the 1970-71 term took a turn for the worse, they were woeful in all their cup matches, crashing out of both tournaments in the first hurdle, losing to Bristol Rovers and Ipswich Town respectively. The Geordies had a respectable league campaign finishing off in mid table in eleventh place.
The 1971-72 season saw the arrival of Malcolm Macdonald and he instantly became the star of the team. During his five year spell at the club he was top scorer in every season and he was instrumental during the 1971-72 campaign. Newcastle had a decent league campaign, finishing off in 11th position in the table, they however suffered one of their worst defeats during their history in football, losing an FA cup match against non league, Hereford United.
The 1972-73 season saw a battling performance by the Newcastle football players through out the season and they finished off the campaign strongly in ninth place. They crashed out of the FA Cup in the forth round, losing at home to Luton Town.
The following two seasons saw Newcastle stall in the league, they finished in 15th place during by the end of the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons. They went on an incredible run in the FA cup during the 1973-74 season and found themselves in the final, however they lost a thrilling encounter with Liverpool, 3-0. They should have progressed further in the league cup during the 1974-75 season, however they lost in the quarter finals against Chester City.