Fan favourites who could have given much more to club but didn’t stay the distance
STARS WHO SHONE BRIEFLY
WHO’S the one player you wished was given more time at Newcastle?
That signing who came and went that has been lost to the history books but you felt could have made an impact at the club given more patience?
That’s what we asked fans on our Facebook page – and we were rewarded with some brilliant answers.
It seems there are plenty of players who fit the bill as we were inundated with your suggestions.
So in no particular order, here are some of the names which came up – how many did you see in black and white?
Jon Dahl Tomasson
Tomasson joined Newcastle in the summer of 1997 having impressed for Dutch side Heerenveen in the Eredivisie.
The young Danish forward couldn’t translate his goalscoring form to England, though, while the pressure on him to score goals intensified after Alan Shearer suffered a serious injury and Les Ferdinand was sold to Spurs.
He managed just four goals in his only season at the club and, despite Newcastle reaching the FA Cup final, he was sold to Feyenoord at the end of the season.
His goals helped Feyenoord win the Eredivisie in 1999 and in the last of his four seasons in Rotterdam, he helped his side win the 2001/02 UEFA Cup.
After an impressive World Cup with Denmark, Tomasson joined AC Milan in the summer of 2002 and won the Champions League in his first season at the club.
After four years in Milan, Tomasson moved on to Stuttgart and Villarreal before returning to Feyenoord to end his career.
Fraser Forster
Forster is considered as one of those “who got away” when it comes to academy talents blossoming elsewhere.
With first team opportunities hard to come by, Forster joined Celtic on a permanent basis after two successful loan spells.
Forster would go on to impress in the Champions League as he helped the Bhoys to six major trophies, before joining Southampton in 2014.
The Hexham native has also won six caps for England and was part of England’s World Cup squad in 2014 and European Championships squad in 2016.
After falling out of favour at Southampton, following a positive start initially, he returned to Celtic this summer and helped his side win the Scottish League Cup with a heroic performance against Rangers at Hampden Park.
Duncan Ferguson
“Big Dunc” has gone down as an Everton legend but the former Scotland international spent the best part of two seasons away from Goodison Park at Newcastle as well.
Between 1998 and 2000, Ferguson impressed up front alongside Alan Shearer, despite suffering from injuries, and remains popular among the fanbase.
The general feeling is that Newcastle didn’t see the best of Ferguson on a consistent basis before he returned to Merseyside ahead of the 2000/01 campaign.
Mikel Merino
It seemed as if Newcastle had unearthed a gem when Merino joined the club on loan from Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 2017/18 season.
The former Spain under-21 international impressed instantly in the centre of midfield and scored a crucial winning goal against Crystal Palace.
His technical ability on the ball was above most of the squad but in the second half of the season issues of fitness and home sickness began to derail him.
Newcastle had already turned his loan deal into a permanent transfer by this stage and in the summer of 2018, Real Sociedad activated Merino’s release clause to bring him back to Spain.
The Basque native has impressed for La Real and has helped them reach the final of this season’s Copa Del Rey.
Still just 23, the feeling is Merino could well go right to the top of the Spanish game. If only he continued to realise his potential at Newcastle.
Jonathan Woodgate Woodgate is widely considered
Newcastle’s best centre-half of the Premier League era – despite a number of injuries during his 18-month spell on Tyneside.
He helped Newcastle to a thirdplaced finish and a UEFA Cup semifinal and it is a huge regret he wasn’t fit enough to play in the second leg of their defeat to Marseille in the last four.
It is an even bigger regret that he was sold to Real Madrid in the summer of 2004.
He would return to England to enjoy spells with Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Stoke before becoming Boro’s manager at the start of this season.
Les Ferdinand
Sir Les enjoyed a blistering two seasons in front of goal as Newcastle twice finished second in the Premier League between 1995 and 1997.
Alan Shearer often says it was one of his biggest regrets that he only played alongside Ferdinand for one season after he was sold to Tottenham in the summer of 1997.
Demba Ba
Arguably Newcastle’s best ever Bosman transfer, the Senegalese forward is considered the Magpies’ best forward since Shearer.
His 29 goals in 58 appearances saw