10 Newcastle Centre-Backs Chancel Mbemba Should Look To Emulate

3. Philippe Albert

The Belgian was signed by Kevin Keegan from Anderlecht after the World Cup in 1994 for £2.6 million, after an eight-year stintin his homeland. Famous for his gloriously nonchalant chip over Peter Schmeichel to seal the 5-0 win over Manchester United in 1996, Albert was not a conventional defender, with his attacking tendencies occasionally leaving the side exposed at the back. That being said, he was blessed with excellent distribution and quickly established himself as a vital component of Keegan's defensive unit. "The Entertainers" were - and still are - criticised for blowing a 12-point lead to Man Utd during the 1995-96 campaign but the Magpies finished that season with one of the best defensive records in the division in terms of goals conceded. Notably, it was after Christmas, when Albert struggled with injuries, that the club's progress started to slip. Forming a solid-enough partnership with Darren Peacock, the club were not as defensively suspect as many claim and Albert played a big part in that. Ultimately, he was the perfect centre-half for that team at that time, combining attack and defence to set the Magpies up at both ends of the pitch. Newcastle fans should be hoping that Mbemba's move from Anderlecht is not the only similarity between the two.
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NUFC contributor for whatculture.com/nufc. University of Edinburgh graduate with a love of sport, in particular Newcastle United surprisingly enough. When I'm not shaking my head at Paul Dummett and Yoan Gouffran, I'm usually reading something or watching films of varying quality.