A solid Premier League centre-back is all that Abdoulaye Faye may have been, yet Newcastle United decided to dispense with him after only a season, in spite of their regular defensive deficiencies over the past decade. The Magpies have needed a sturdy if unspectacular presence at the heart of their defence for far too long, and Faye could have at the very least provided cover to two first-choice centre-backs. Faye was a favourite of Sam Allardyce - which may have gone a long way towards tarnishing his reputation somewhat unfairly on Tyneside - and followed the former West Ham United boss to Newcastle from Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2007. His 24 appearances for the Magpies brought a number of decent displays - and, yes, a couple of horror shows - but Kevin Keegan allowed the defender to depart for newly-promoted Stoke City in 2008. After 81 further Premier League appearances for the Potters where, under Tony Pulis' management, he helped captain Stoke into becoming a mid-table top-flight side, Faye then moved to West Ham and Hull City. Newcastle wouldn't have exactly been pulling up trees with Faye in their ranks for a longer period, but they would have at least had a reliable if unspectacular centre-back to call upon when necessary.
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.
