A remarkable season of participation in four different competitions reached a partially successful conclusion in West London on Sunday, leaving Newcastle poised for European qualification.

Occupying a top ten position since September, Eddie Howe's side eventually retained possession of seventh spot and with it, a provisional place in the Europa Conference playoffs next August.

One place behind them lie Manchester United though, with the opportunity to leapfrog the Magpies should they overcome double-chasing Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup Final.

Victory over Pep Guardiola's side would put the Red Devils in the Europa League, push sixth-place finishers Chelsea into the Europa Conference and deprive us of European football entirely.

The final round of games began with Newcastle holding a slim chance of automatic qualification by making sixth or even fifth, but anticipated victories for Spurs and Chelsea ended those hopes.

Instead the players were left to acknowledge optimistic chants of "Europe again, ole ole" from the away corner, before collecting their bags and boarding a flight to Australia for the latest ludicrous manifestation of profit and sustainability rules, a meaningless kickabout against Spurs.  

Along with signing off in blazing sunshine, it's customary at this point to harp on about how long a season it was, but for once, using words like epic hardly covers the last ten months. 

It seems like another era since Sandro Tonali (remember him?) had the ball in the Aston Villa net after six minutes on opening day: the first of any incredible 147 goals at both ends that anyone completing a full set of Premier League games will have seen.

Adding in the 13 cup ties - two of which went to penalties - harvests an additional 41 goals, to leave final figures of 51 games and 188 goals, within which were contained wildly varying highs and lows.

The phrase "fortress St.James'" was justified by our largest home points haul in a top-flight season since 2003, but on the road it was wild - and not just due to the sequence of away cup draws.

Conceding 40 away goals is five more than relegated Burnley let in, but scoring 36 is more than any Newcastle side containing Messrs Cole, Beardsley, Ferdinand or Shearer ever managed. It's never been harder to access away tickets thanks to the club's current admission policy, but those privileged enough to have got in saw some rare sights - and a good few less memorable ones. 

All told, the fatigue, injuries, loss of form and perpetual comedic misfortune of this club amassed 60 points to make that seventh spot - 11 fewer than resulted in last season's fourth place finish.

Where 2022/23 was a comparative breeze, 2023/24 was like sailing the Atlantic on an airbed - navigating through calm passages with deceptive ease, only to be blown off course an instant later. 

For a squad tested beyond their natural limit that spent significant periods in their discomfort zone, the achievement is perhaps greater this time round though: lamentable lapses quickly accompanied by heroic attempts to make amends. That just isn't part of our DNA, other clubs yes, just not us.  

Certainly much to take in and lessons to be learned, once the sheer exhaustion subsides anyway. Beyond the summer of fevered transfer talk will come an early chance to judge whether playing two domestic sides after a longer journey to Japan than three PL rivals in the USA is better preparation.

For the most part though this has been an engaging season; unpredictable, engrossing and a total contrast to many mundane campaigns we've been willing to end to once the clocks changed. 

Without doubt, losing Joelinton and Nick Pope to injury were destabilising; Tonali's ban happening before conclusions could be really be reached as to how quickly he'd be genuinely effective. 

Elsewhere, the availabilities of Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak may have meant that a twin strike force comprising them was only rarely seen, but their absences managed to offset each other. 

Like Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon's new-found discipline to avoid further suspension that looked so inevitable soliciting bookings in order to ensure their availability for particular games seemed viable. Whether an injury-free Joelinton could have followed suit is rather less certain. 

Much of what went wrong in defence meanwhile came from Howe's obvious determination not to be browbeaten into moving Dan Burn from left back despite evidence to the contrary. The upturn that followed Burn's forced move to centre half was noticeable, even if the talent and promise of Lewis Hall is critically devalued by an overall lack of pace for such a young lad.  

Less remarked upon though was the uncertainty that became infectious when Martin Dubravka was recalled. Never mind the softness of some the goals he conceded, the indecisiveness of coming off his line, staying on it or doing a bit of both did nothing for my nerves - Botman in particular spooked on occasions as he waited in vain for an assumed intervention to arrive from behind him. 

To the 38th and final segment of this latest marathon then and the absence of Anthony Gordon due to an ankle injury that VAR and the referee decreed wasn't the result of a foul at Old Trafford.

Recalls to the starting line-up for Pope, Fabian Schar, Harvey Barnes and Joelinton gave more of a "strongest XI" feel to the line-up, while Callum Wilson returned to give the bench a boost. 

Pope would go on to concede twice, but beat away two goalbound efforts that may well have eluded his Slovakian rival. The returning custodian's first action of 2024 was to pick the ball out of his net, but Ivan Toney's second minute strike was ruled out by VAR thanks to an earlier offside call.

Soon after a glaring miss from Joelinton barely six yards though came United's opener; Barnes meeting Bruno's cross to head home. A swift second from Sean Longstaff was wiped out by VAR for offside, but Jacob Murphy soon doubled United's advantage before Alexander Isak joined the goal party.

What appeared to be an unassailable 3-0 half-time lead seemed rather less secure after two home goals, prompting thoughts of once blowing a four goal interval advantage along the road at QPR.

News of Manchester United taking the lead at a compliant Brighton added to the feeling of mild peril before the Bees comeback was stopped in its tracks by Hall's dash into the box and the trip from Bryan Mbeumo that illegally halted his progress.

What seemed a clear penalty award prompted no protest from home players, but a VAR-inspired downgrade to a free kick on the edge of the box followed, just as footage of the incident was replayed on the screens above the away end - prompting lusty choruses of "f*ck VAR".

Isak's free kick was parried by Mark Flekken, the rebound falling for Bruno to stick it in the net and celebrate in front of the travelling support clad in a bucket hat thrown in his direction.

That reinstated a two goal advantage for the visitors and ended any jitters over failing to collect three points - Manchester United's second goal at the Amex mercifully by then an afterthought.