The 1990-91 season showed that Newcastle had little to offer in the league, they only managed to finish in 11th position in the second division, a decent position considering that some of their performances during the campaign were woeful. They were poor in the cup competitions, stumbling out the league cup in the second round losing to Middlesbrough 2-1 and the FA cup in the forth round, losing to eventual finalists, Nottingham Forest. Mick Quinn, however, was prolific in front of goal, finishing the campaign off as top goal scorer; Roy Aitkin was also installed as the clubs skipper.
The 1991-92 season proved to be a debacle for Newcastle; they were terrible in the league and luckily avoided relegation. They finished the campaign off in 20th place, playing some poor football during the campaign. They were knocked out of the cup competitions early on as well, losing to so called weaker opposition, they lost to Bournemouth in the third round of the FA Cup and suffered an embarrassing defeat again to Peterborough in the second round of the league cup.
The start of the 1992-93 season saw the appointment of former Newcastle player, Kevin Keegan, as their manager. The response was immediate; Newcastle topped the division the entire season and won the division gaining a staggering 96 points en route to the climax. Newcastle reached the last sixteen of the FA Cup; however they lost to Blackburn Rovers.
The 1993-94 season saw the return of Newcastle to the top flight and they enjoyed their first season back in the spotlight. They were outstanding through out the season, finishing the season off in third place, resulting in a birth into the UEFA Cup. They signed Peter Beardsley at the start of the season and it proved to be money well spent. Gain Peakock was outstanding for the club through out. Newcastle were eliminated from the FA Cup in the forth round, losing 2-0 to Luton Town.