10 Candidates To Be Steve McClaren's Newcastle Captain

7. Cheick Tiote

A large proportion of Toon supporters may laugh - or even scoff - at the suggestion that a player who has not featured since January and who struggles to string five games together could be the next Newcastle captain, but it is not as ludicrous as it may first appear. For a start, Tiote was a key cog in McClaren's Eredivisie-winning side at FC Twente in 2009-10, controlling the midfield and marshalling the troops in Holland. In fact, in the second-half of McClaren's first match in charge at Gateshead once the entire XI had been altered, Tiote was given the captain's armband - is that a sign of things to come? Should McClaren believe that he can once again get the best out of the Ivorian international then he may not only reinsert him into the Magpies midfield as the screen in front of the back four, he may also give Tiote the captaincy. Let's not forget that during Coloccini's absence due to a muscle injury in October and November 2013, Tiote was made captain - and he played arguably his best football aside from the 2011-12 season as he led the Magpies to victories over Tottenham Hotsur and Chelsea, as well as a draw with Liverpool. The captaincy could inspire a similar revival in Tiote this time around - even if he does have a tendency to pick up yellow cards at far-too regular intervals. Likelihood Of Being Captain For 2015-16 Season: 4/10