Charlton Athletic Newton started his career at second-tier
Charlton Athletic and worked his way up to the first team, making his debut as a 17-year-old on 14 August 1993 as a substitute in a 1–0 win over
Birmingham City. He quickly became a first-team regular and was a virtual ever-present between 1995 and 1998. He was part of the team that reached the
1996 First Division play-offs, scoring inside the first minute of the first leg, which
Crystal Palace won 3–1 on aggregate. This era also saw him recognised by his country as he won three
England Under-21 caps during 1996. His debut came in a 2–0 win over Moldova U-21 on 31 August 1996. He won promotion to the
Premier League in 1998 after a play-off final victory over
Sunderland, winning on penalties after a 4–4 draw, with Newton scoring Charlton's seventh penalty. Newton had earlier scored in the semi-final success over
Ipswich Town to take them to
Wembley. The midfielder's first season in the top flight was interrupted by a knee ligament injury, but, although he recovered, the club's fortunes did not and they were relegated. He regained his spot in the side in the
1999–2000 season as the club won promotion again at the first attempt as champions. He found him often on the sidelines in the Premier League though, as
Claus Jensen was signed and youngster
Scott Parker emerged. His only goal of the
2000–01 season came in an FA Cup third round replay against
Dagenham and Redbridge on 27 January 2001. Frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities as the team remained in Premier League, he requested a transfer in February and was placed on the transfer list. Although he remained at Charlton for a further six months, he finally left
The Valley in August 2001, joining
First Division club
Wolverhampton Wanderers for £850,000, rising to £1 million if Wolves were promoted with him registered at the club. In total, he had made 285 appearances for Charlton, scoring 26 goals.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Newton made a bright start at Wolves, scoring on his debut against
Portsmouth and producing a career-best seasonal goal tally of 8. Despite this, a late slump saw the club fall away from the top into the play-offs, where they lost to
Norwich City. However, the following season saw the midfielder win a third promotion to the top flight as the club won the play-offs, beating
Sheffield United 3–0 in the
final. He was a first choice for the West Midlands club in the
Premier League, something that had evaded him in his Charlton days, but Wolves only managed one season at this level. He retained his place as the
2004–05 season began, but the arrival of
Glenn Hoddle as manager saw his opportunities diminish and he left the club in March 2005. In total, he made 130 appearances for Wolves, scoring 12 times.
West Ham United Newton moved to
West Ham United in March 2005 for an initial fee of £10,000. His transfer fee later rose to £125,000 after the club gained
promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in May 2005. He appeared regularly for West Ham in their return to the top flight, albeit mostly as a substitute, and he was not selected for their
FA Cup Final squad to face
Liverpool at the season's end. His only goal for West Ham came during this season, the winner in a victory over Manchester City on 15 April 2006. In July 2006, Newton was suspended for seven months, backdated to 20 May 2006, after testing positive for cocaine following West Ham's FA Cup semi-final victory over Middlesbrough in April 2006. He remained with the club, but only made five further appearances under his recently arrived former Charlton manager
Alan Curbishley upon his return. He made a total of 49 league and cup appearances for West Ham, scoring once. He scored his first goal for Leicester against Birmingham on 17 April 2007. He was given the number 16 shirt, the third player to wear the number that season after
Josh Low and
Luigi Glombard. He signed a permanent one-year deal with the
Championship club on 6 July 2007 after the appointment of
Martin Allen. However his time at the club came to an end in January 2008, with Leicester now onto their third manager of the season in
Ian Holloway, when his contract was terminated by mutual consent. He retired later that year, after spell on trial at
Yeovil Town in April. ==Personal life==