10 Exceptional Players Newcastle United Should Never Have Turned Down

5. Douglas

Anybody who listens to Joe Kinnear needs to have their head removed and jet washed with bleach, but Mike Ashley has been sucked in by the former Wimbledon manager on at least two occasions. First he appointed him as manager unexpectedly, and then even more unexpectedly - and wholly undeservedly - he made him Director Of Football above Alan Pardew. In that second illustrious spell at the club the man affectionately dubbed the Director Of F*ck All managed to annoy Derek Lambias - to that point the scourge of Newcastle fans - so much that he up and quit on the club. And the reason for that clash was Kinnear's completely unfounded opinion that Brazilian defender Douglas, who was about to sign for the club on a free, simply was not good enough for the Premier League by virtue of the fact that he had not heard of him. In hindsight, the list of players that Joe Kinnear has not heard of is probably infinite, and Newcastle's decision to heed it as a warning looks like utterly idiocy, considering the defensive issues at the minute. Newcastle's loss was Dynamo Moscow's gain, where Douglas is currently proving how much better than Mike Williamson he is.