10 Best Free Signings Ever Made By Newcastle United

2. Olivier Bernard

Bernard arrived a St James' Park as a precocious, young French defender after leaving Lyon at the end of a three-year training contract to join Newcastle in 2000 and placed his future in our hands. A year on loan at Darlington was the making of the muscular Paris-born defender before he evolved into Sir Bobby Robson's first choice left-back during the 2001/02 campaign, in which he scored on his full Premier League debut against Blackburn after filling in for Laurent Robert on the wing.

Cultivating a strong partnership with Robert on the left flank, although he rarely received a helping hand from his France compatriot, Bernard was a pivotal figure during Robson's reign as we finished fourth, third and fifth in consecutive seasons. He featured prominently in our glorious run to the Champions League second phase before the rhythm was upset when Sir Bobby was sacked in 2004 to be replaced by an antiquated Graeme Souness. Despite being a regular under Souness in 2004/05 he departed Tyneside on the final day of the winter transfer window to sign for Southampton following a dispute in negotiations over a new contract.

Not until we signed Jose Enrique in 2007 was Bernard adequately replaced.