We Are Newcastle United episode 1 recap: Howay The Revolution

We Are Newcastle United: Manager Eddie Howe posing with the new team kit
Manager Eddie Howe was involved in the club's takeover. (Image credit: Getty Images)

We Are Newcastle United is the latest installment in Prime Video's sports documentary slate, which focuses on the North East football club after it was taken over by Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

The club's takeover came at a turbulent time when many fans were feeling dissatisfied with the performance of the players. There had been heartache for Magpies fans as the team kept falling down the Premier League table, with a real risk of relegation.

But things have changed dramatically since then, and the documentary opens by going behind the scenes of what happened, giving fans a bit more information about it.

The series is narrated by Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer and is a must-watch for fans of the game, especially as we're finally getting an in-depth look at what goes on both on and off the pitch.

Here's a recap of what we learned in We Are Newcastle United episode 1...

The Big Takeover

Saudi Arabian chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Newcastle United's English minority owner Amanda Staveley

Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and minority owner Amanda Staveley in the crowd. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Episode one begins with the current Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan explaining how he first found out about the club, revealing that Amanda Staveley had brought it to his attention as a "really good investment".

We then flashback to October 2017 which saw Newcastle United take on Liverpool FC, where Amanda was in the crowd watching the game. The commentator introduces her and reveals she was looking for a club to buy.

Amanda explains how she felt when she was at St James', commenting on the atmosphere and how it gave her "goosebumps", and that she fell in love with Newcastle alongside her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

Alan Shearer explains the heartache that fans faced during their time supporting the club such as two relegations and cycling through ten different managers, and they were in an incredibly difficult position.

So the takeover was crucial to help bring the club back up the ranks again and ensure that the risk of relegation wasn't going to be a reality for a third time.

Fans were seen celebrating the takeover after growing tired of Mike Ashley's ownership, and there were chants of "We've got our club back", so everyone remained hopeful that there'd be big changes coming to Newcastle United.

Supporters hold a banner up which reads "We don't demand a team that wins, we demand a club that tries".

Supporters pictured at St James' Park after the takeover. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Shortly after the takeover, Eddie Howe was brought in as manager where he replaced Steve Bruce. But pundits were calling Eddie a "gamble" as his former club had been relegated.

The pressure was on, as Newcastle soon dropped to 20th in the Premier League table and Amanda Staveley says there was a 96 percent risk of relegation, so the club was in a very difficult spot at the time.

The show also explores new signings such as Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimarães, and how a new and improved squad helped to make some serious changes, bringing them up from 20th to 11th and saving them from relegation by the time the season was over.

We then move on to the 22/23 season which saw some massive changes and lots of spending from the club. This included bringing in Alexander Isak and by the time November rolled around, they were third in the Premier League, behind Manchester City and Arsenal. 

It's so good, in fact, that Alan Shearer reveals the club was starting to dream of Champions League football which felt like an impossibility only a few months ago. With the club going from strength to strength, everyone was feeling positive.

We also get to hear from some of the players in the documentary and go behind the scenes to learn a little more about their thoughts, but Eddie Howe was remaining humble and claimed that "the work starts now".

However, it wasn't all positive as some clubs did pushback against the takeover and it became quite controversial. The documentary features vox pops from Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp saying that the club became a "new superpower", while fans weighed in with some admitting they had "reservations" about the takeover.

A New Era

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe with player Anthony Gordon

Anthony Gordon was a huge signing for Newcastle United. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Then, we cut to January when the Premier League has restarted and there's a glimpse of some training between Eddie and the players. Not only that, but they had FA and Carabao Cup fixtures to play as well.

Amanda explains that they needed "more" remarkable players to join the existing ones, and we focus on the January Transfer Window which fans know is an absolutely crucial time in football.

Anthony Gordon's name was top of the list, and the board debated whether or not it was worth putting an offer in for the player. He was a "bright young talent" at Everton so they didn't want to part with him that easily.

There were other challenges too as Newcastle was booted out of the FA Cup by Sheffield Wednesday and started to see a dip in form, which was hugely disappointing for fans.

Newcastle completed the signing of Anthony Gordon which was a huge win for the club, and things started to improve again, especially when they got through to the Carabao Cup final after beating Southampton. 

However, the club hit big trouble when goalkeeper Nick Pope was red-carded, meaning he wouldn't be joining them for the cup final.

There's plenty more to come in episode 2, as fans well know! 

We Are Newcastle United is streaming on Prime Video. Episode 2 is released on Friday, August 18.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress