10 Former Newcastle Players Who Criticised The Club

2. Obafemi Martins

''I was left with no option but to leave Newcastle. The place had become a total shambles. No one seemed to know what was going on. The club was just left to drift after relegation and the worst thing was there was no communication with the players. The players were hoping that Alan Shearer would get the manager۪s job, but the people supposedly running the club didn۪t seem capable of making a decision. And with no manager and most of the top players wanting out, I felt I had no future there. There is absolutely no direction. The players are demoralised by the lack of leadership and I just can۪t see things getting better.۪۪ - Obafemi Martins, July 2009.

It probably wasn€™t meant as a jibe. Indeed, the above statement was probably just Obafemi Martins wishing the best for a club he had grown to care for, having spent three seasons there. He probably should have got his own house in order before being so quick to worry about the fortunes of the club he had just left, however, considering the direction his career has taken since leaving Tyneside five years ago. He has scored just 49 goals since Newcastle slid out of the top-flight, with 27 of those strikes coming in the MLS for Seattle Sounders. The man has only just turned 30, and his CV is beginning to look rather ragged - which is a shame considering he once bagged 49 goals in 138 appearances for Inter Milan before the age of 22.