10 Former Toon Players Who Returned To Haunt Newcastle

5. Titus Bramble

Let's be honest - whenever a club sells a player, there is always an element of the support worrying that the player in question may return to sting their club in the future. The likes of Craig Bellamy, Kevin Nolan and Damien Duff are all dangerous, attacking threats in the Premier League, and in way, it wasn't a surprise when they struck against their former employers. In all honesty, however, the last player Toon supporters would have been worrying about haunting them in the future upon his removal from he club was the bumbling Titus Bramble. Error-strewn, calamitous and prone to losses of concentration, the former Nottingham Forest youth was quite simply a disaster waiting to happen as he stumbled over his own feet at the heart of the Newcastle defence. So, when Sam Allardyce flogged him to Wigan Athletic on a free transfer as soon as he assumed the reigns of control in May 2007, a hushed cheer could be heard from corners of the city. Bramble would have at least one laugh at the expense of those who mocked him for so long, however. Arriving at St. James' Park to tackle a troubled Newcastle outfit in December 2008, Wigan took the lead through a Ryan Taylor free-kick, and despite having a man sent off early in the second half, it took the Toon until the 80th minute to break them down. Following Michael Owen's late equaliser, it looked like victory had been snatched from the jaws of defeat following Obfaemi Martins' 87th minute strike, but there was to be another twist in the tale. Enter Titus. Rising at the near post, Bramble powered home a header, maintaining Wigan's position of 16th in the table - above 17th placed Newcastle. Following Abdoulaye Faye's couple of goals, it truly seemed to be the season where the ghosts of Newcastle's past conspired to finally condemn the Tyneside club to relegation. Fitting in a way.