10 Embarrassments That Made Newcastle A Laughing Stock

2. The In-Fighting

When Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer fell out on the pitch in front of Match Of The Day cameras over the former's disappointment at not being passed to, it was far from the first (or the last time) Newcastle players would come to blow. And there's something fundamentally ridiculous about the idea of team-mates or work-mates fighting among themselves. Unfortunately, because of the scandals and ridiculous stories that have emerged in the past - like the Toongate Tapes predominantly - the media see Newcastle as the gift that keeps on giving, so it's very rare any fights go unnoticed even behind the scenes. Coaches have fought youth players, team-mates have clashed on the pitch, Joey Barton has squared up with his then-manager Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy tried to fight John Carver and Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor fell out over some sexy text messages sent to a mutual interest. Sadly, it seems the "goldfish bowl" team is as happy to provide stories as the media are to print them.