Newcastle United's Top 10 Premier League Signings.

Chris Kirk by Correspondent Written on May 02, 2008
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276 appearances, Speedo was signed by Dalglish from Everton for £5.5m in February 1998. A long serving general in midfield he currently holds the record for most Premier league appearances, a true professional and honest hard-working individual, his presence was long missed at the heart of Newcastle's midfield. He also weighed in with 40 goals.

5. Robert Lee. Keegan famously persuaded Lee to join Newcastle instead of Boro by telling him that Newcastle was closer to London than Middlesborough. Lee eventually put pen to paper in a £700,000 deal and went on to record 368 apps for Toon as well as breaking into the England set-up.

A career that lasted 10 years, he was a real fans favorite and a consistent performer. He fell foul of Ruud Gullit though who dropped him from not only the first team but wouldn't even select him for the reserves.

4. Nolberto Solano. A player described by Diego Maradona as "the little genius," Nobby was a fantastic bargain from Boca Juniors at £2.5m. A flamboyant Latino from Peru, Solano had two spells at the club making 247 apps scoring 44 goals, goodness knows how many assists he made in that time.

His passion for the trumpet and jazz music never distracted from his commitment to NUFC, he eventually moved to West Ham due to family problems otherwise he would have almost certainly seen his playing career out on Tyneside.

3. Shay Given. If this selection was based on value for money, Shay would have been a clear number one. A free transfer from Blackburn, Given has been one of the best keepers in the league consistently over the last decade.

He famously went three seasons in goal for Newcastle never missing a Premier League game, how frustrating that must have been for Stevie Harper, one can only guess. A Republic of Ireland international, Given has been a great servant to NUFC, twice winning the fans player of the year award.

2. Peter Beardsley. Wow! In all my time watching football, I have still never seen a player as naturally gifted as Beardo. Every time the ball arrived at his feet you just knew something special was going to happen and invariably it did.

A Geordie lad, he spent his early days at Carlisle Utd before a brief spell at Man Utd, he then moved to Vancouver Whitecaps before coming back to play for Newcastle in the early 1980s. A truly, special, special player in two spells at the club he made a whopping 320 apps scoring 119 goals.

My dad played against him in an amateur match and Beardsley scored 9 goals in a 12-0 drubbing. Classic!

1. Alan Shearer. A true local hero, Shearer was the most sought after player in world football when he signed for his hometown club Newcastle in July 1996 in a then world-record deal of £15m.

He resisted the courtship of Alex Ferguson and Manchester Utd to return home to his spiritual home on the banks of the Tyne and went on to break "Wor Jackie's" goalscoring record at Newcastle finishing on 206 goals in 345 apps for the Toon.

A real living legend in the modern game, the question will always remain, has Newcastle seen the last of Alan Shearer? I would guess that we haven't and he will eventualy return as manager one day, once the club is set on a sound footing.

My opinion: That is why Keegan was appointed manager, to get the club stable again and set on good foundations.

Again this is only my personal opinion and many people will disagree. There are lots of players that nearly made my list, so come on then, let's see if they are the same as yours.

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written on May 02, 2008 History

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