Newcastle found themselves in a sticky position during the 1980-81 season, they could not haul themselves out of the second tier of English football as they stalled in the second division, only managing to finish in 11th place. They suffered a humiliating fifth round exit of the FA Cup, embarrassingly losing 4-0 to Exeter City.
The 1981-82 campaign saw little improvement for the Geordies, they improved their second division positioning to ninth place, however, they suffered another set back in the FA cup, this time crashing out, losing 2-1 to Grimsby Town.
The start of the 1982-83 season saw the arrival of Kevin Keegan who instantly became a fans favourite. His arrival made an immediate impact at the club and they surged up the league into fifth position. Once again they had no luck in the FA Cup, losing in the third round against Brighton. Newcastle were fully repaid by Keegan at the end of the 1983-84 campaign, he was outstanding through out the season and in turn helped  Newcastle finish the season off  in third place, in turn resulting in automatic promotion to the first division. They were once again awful in the FA Cup, suffering a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Liverpool and the following season also saw Newcastle eliminated out of the competition in the third round. The 1984-85 season, their first back in the top flight, witnessed Newcastle finish off the season in a credible 14th position.