On first viewing this one may seem unusual, but it was not Rossi's talent that was in question - it was the way in which he was used by the Magpies. The Manchester United youngster was signed on a six-month loan deal in August 2006 yet he made just 13 appearances and scored only once. A terrible return for a forward, no doubt, but the Italian was far-too regularly used off the bench or played out wide on Tyneside. For a player who has gone on to receive 30 Italy Caps and score 79 league goals for Parma, Villarreal and Fiorentina to get so little gametime at St James' Park is just bizarre - although again, admittedly, this is with the benefit of hindsight. Rossi's solitary Toon goal came in a League Cup tie against Portsmouth at St James' Park and he was mainly used out wide by Glenn Roeder - meaning he was unable to really showcase his talents. The Magpies should have asked to take Rossi on loan once again for the following season to see if he could cut it in the Premier League and, if he still hadn't impressed by then, they would have been fully justified in cutting their losses. One of the many examples of somebody not being given a fair crack of the whip on Tyneside.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
