Newcastle United chiefs will have mixed emotions when they look back on the year 2024.

In some ways they will be glad to see the back of it, in other ways it was 12 months of steady progress that included a lot of lessons in the new financial landscape the Magpies now reside in. The first half of the year was difficult for Eddie Howe and his staff as they were dealt one injury blow after another.

After a New Year's Day stutter at Liverpool, which Newcastle lost 4-2, fans were then chanting Eddie Howe's name at Sunderland in a memorable FA Cup win over the Wearsiders at the Stadium of Light. Was this going to be the year?

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As so often in the world of Newcastle United, though, things are never straightforward. Controversy was around the corner!

February would also see sporting director Dan Ashworth leave controversially after leaked emails showed he'd been talking to Manchester United over a possible move to Old Trafford. In a Press conference, Howe stated he felt uncomfortable that Ashworth was privy to sensitive transfer information and the former FA supremo's time on Tyneside was up.

Howe said then: "It never sleeps and, yes, Dan is in a position of power and privy to a lot of intelligence and information." United's problems were only just starting though.

By the time the season ended, Newcastle had suffered more than 40 individual injuries, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson, Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier, and Nick Pope all spending crucial hours in the treatment room when they were needed on the field.

Howe's squad was not equipped to deal with four competitions in the Champions League, Carabao Cup, Premier League and FA Cup. But in fairness they made a good fist of all the tournaments, reaching the last eight of both domestic cups and taking the fight for a European place into the final game of the season with only Manchester United's surprise victory in the FA Cup final denying them a Europa Conference League spot.

Howe guided his team to seventh place in the Premier League, not a disgrace but not where many had dreamed of when the campaign kicked off in earnest on the back of a top four finish. The year also saw Newcastle coming to terms with the grim realities of the profit and sustainability rule book.

CEO Darren Eales had kicked off 2024 by saying that every Newcastle player had a price tag in the world of PSR. Some questioned whether Eales should have said it, but he wasn't saying it to be clever.

The financial situation was underlined in a few ways. Firstly, Howe found himself fighting with his board to prevent the sale of Trippier to Bayern Munich.

The £15million bid for Trippier would have been good money but with no replacement likely, losing the full-back would have left a big hold in Howe's squad. Howe would win that battle but he could not win the war on squad decisions.

In May, he wanted to offer Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie extensions, but his board refused, and the pair were released on free transfers. Howe and his squad also found themselves on a flight to Australia to pocked a seven-figure cheque for playing two exhibition games in Melbourne, against Spurs and an A-League XI.

With his squad fatigued after a long hard season, Howe was forced to name a reserve team in the second game against the A-League All Stars and could only sit back and endure an 8-0 defeat at the Marvel Stadium.

The trip was described as "not ideal" by senior squad members but they had to get on with it as Newcastle tried to spread the global brand Down Under. If May was tough, June would be an even bigger test for Howe.

With a PSR health check deadline looming, many wondered what action would be needed to avoid a potential points deduction. There were shockwaves when it turned out that former youth team captain and Academy star boy Elliot Anderson would have to be sold to Nottingham Forest while Yankuba Minteh would go to Brighton to stave off a Premier League penalty.

A boardroom shake-up then followed as Amanda Staveley resigned three years after spearheading the Saudi-backed takeover. Key C-suite appointments were then made as Paul Mitchell arrived as sporting director and James Bunce was appointed to sort out the injuries.

On arrival Mitchell said: "I've seen the recent growth and ambition of the club. This, plus the amazing fan base, made the decision to join an easy one.

"I can't wait to get started and help continue the organisation's growth and long-term competitiveness in all areas of elite football performance."

July wasn't short of drama as Howe made it clear in a pre-season interview that he needed to be "happy" on Tyneside and "boundaries" had to be set with the new backroom team if he was to resist the England job. An underwhelming transfer window did little to improve the mood with free transfer Lloyd Kelly, out of contract keeper John Ruddy and cash signings Will Osula and Odysseas Vlachodimos the only arrivals.

A trip to Japan for pre-season saw Howe's squad pushed to the limits again physically with a 2-0 defeat in Tokyo against Yokohama offering cause for concern. Despite a sluggish start to the campaign, Newcastle sat third in the table after four matches and edged past Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on penalties.

By autumn, Newcastle had started to splutter, and with results not where they should be, Newcastle slipped to 12th in the table. They would rally with victories over Arsenal and Forest, but a home defeat against West Ham even had some fans calling for Howe to leave.

Things worsened after a 4-2 loss at Brentford had team captain Bruno Guimaraes describing the situation as a "mess". But the year has ended on a high note.

Four Christmas Premier League wins on the spin and progress to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup have painted a different picture at St James' Park. Impressively, Newcastle beat Leicester, Ipswich, Aston Villa and Man United to sign the year off on a high.

While the victory over Brentford secured a semi-final shoot out against Arsenal with Wembley now in sight. The year ended at Old Trafford in a similar manner to the way it had started, with Howe's name chanted loudly by fans desperate to see him be the manager to finally ended decades of hurt.

Newcastle start 2025 with every chance to do exactly that. For all the change at St James' Park, Howe has been a permanent fixture and is standing the test of time.