Who Newcastle choose as their greatest and most beloved heroes is a strange affair: talents as diverse as Antoine Sibierski and Alan Shearer would probably make it onto most fans' lists of most memorable, or favourite strikers, but not the BEST strikers in black and white. Dietmar Hamann might have been the best player in 1998/99, but he will never be counted as anything close to a hero, because of how he treated the club in the final days of his contract. Love and admiration, after all, are surprisingly different things: players can actually be pretty terrible and earn the right to be counted as cult heroes, like Clarence Acuna, because of one great performance (against Arsenal alongside Jamie McClen) and one ridiculous story about being pulled over for drunk driving dressed as Captain Hook. And some - like Tino Asprilla - can be roundly criticised in the media as the reason we lost the league title in 1996, but can also be cherished as one of the greatest idols ever to pull on a black and white shirt. It all comes down to specific moments; if any player is responsible for one of those irresistible moments that crops up in conversation for 20 years, and brings a glimmer of joy to even the most cynical fan's eye they will be protected as a hero forever. And with Newcastle currently missing any heroes, now's the perfect time to remember the biggest hero-making moments of the modern era.
