Once upon a time Newcastle United weren't afraid to spend money. Austerity didn't really exist at St James' Park before Mike Ashley dropped into town while financial planning was a mystery concept to ex-chairman Freddy Shepherd and chief note burners Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Ruud Gullit. It was a strategy that proved more miss than hit over the years as the club would often fork out a kings ransom for a throughly average player and lumber itself with a financial burden on a lucrative five-year contract. Our roll call of extravagantly priced flops is so bad it's impressive. But among the masses of damp squibs that Toon supporters have had to grin and bear in the Premier League era there are 10 useless individuals that stand out from the crowd as our most costly transfer mistakes. Honorary mentions for the following flops: Stephane Guivarch, Patrick Kluivert, Andreas Andersson, Silvio Maric, Christian Bassedas, Alessandro Pistone, Diego Gavilan, Titus Bramble, Geremi and Sol Campbell. You will always be forgotten.
10. Damien Duff
It was considered something of a coup when Newcastle landed Duff for a measly £5 million from Chelsea in 2006 where the winger had won two Premier League titles and a League Cup in three seasons. Little did we know that the Republic of Ireland winger was already a spent force when he pitched up on Tyneside. In his pomp Duff was a lighting quick and purposeful wide-man capable of inducing clammy-handed terror in the full-back he was about to decimate when the ball was funnelled out to him on the left flank. In a black and white shirt he seldom exhibited that same menacing threat down the channels, wilting into a dull and impotent shadow of his former self as knee and ankle injuries began to take their toll. From the 114 games we contested during his time at the club he was absent for 40% of them. A thorough waste of time. Duff did briefly come alive during the 2008/09 campaign, his best return in terms of appearances and goals, as we battled to avoid relegation to the Championship but it was his deflection in the final day defeat at Aston Villa that hammered the final nail into out coffin. He began the next season at St James' Park and notched our first goal in the second tier during a 1-1 draw with West Brom. Within a matter of days he was gone, packed off to Fulham to be forever regarded as just another flop.
