of Newcastle United in August 1985 after Jack Charlton had resigned after a pre-season friendly against Sheffield United after a row with the Newcastle fans over the sale of Chris Waddle and the failure to sign Eric Gates from Ipswich Town.[citation needed] His first game in charge was away to Southampton, where he made the bold decision to make 18-year-old Paul Gascoigne the playmaker of the team.[citation needed] By the end of August, Newcastle had beaten Liverpool 1–0, a result that was good enough to earn McFaul a permanent deal as manager.[citation needed] Ian Stewart and Alan Davies were early signings as Newcastle made a great start to the 1985–86 season. By November, they were in the top six, with McFaul signing giant striker Billy Whitehurst to boost the forward line. More impressive results followed, including a 2–2 draw with champions Everton and a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool, as well as beating Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest away 2–1 and beating Arsenal 1–0 at St James' Park with Glenn Roeder getting the winner. Newcastle finished the season in 11th place, a good position for McFaul given the chaos at the start of the season when he took over as manager.[citation needed] Little transfer activity over the summer of 1986 meant that Newcastle had a bad start to the 1986–87 season and found them bottom of the table in November. McFaul was given money to spend and he brought in Andy Thomas and spent a club record £400,000 on Paul Goddard from West Ham United.[citation needed] Goddard's arrival inspired the team to wins over Chelsea, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest. Newcastle were still bottom in March 1987 and they found help from Gascoigne and Goddard, with Goddard equalling a club record of scoring in seven straight games, to finish the season in mid-table.[citation needed] Peter Beardsley was sold to Liverpool on the eve of the 1987–88 season for a British record £1.9m, to the anger of Newcastle's fans. McFaul signed Brazil's flamboyant striker Mirandinha to replace Beardsley, and with Wimbledon winger Glyn Hodges coming in as well as Irish teenager Michael O'Neill, Newcastle had their best season under McFaul finishing eighth, with Gascoigne taking all the plaudits winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award.[citation needed] The summer of 1988 brought McFaul's biggest challenge as manager of Newcastle United, as key players Paul Gascoigne, Neil McDonald and Paul