It could be argued that David Ginola was a game-changer. The year was 1995, and Kevin Keegan was trying to turn Newcastle into one of the major forces in English football. While the side boasted the brilliance of Peter Beardsley, it was the European flair and je-ne-sais-quoi flavour of French winger David Ginola that truly added the spice that injected the impetus for a title push. Having wowed French audiences with audacious trickery, and sumptuous goals, the PSG winger shocked the Parisian outfit by letting it be known that he was seeking pastures known in the summer of 1995. Having excelled against the previous campaigns finalists Barcelona in the Champions League during the season, helping the French club to knock them out, the 28 year old wide-man was widely tipped to join the Catalonians in the summer. He had even been dubbed El Magnifico by certain sections of the Spanish press, as they awaited his arrival. Surprisingly, however, it never came and he ended up in rainy England for a fee of £2.5 million instead. St. James Park, October 1996. Newcastle United 4-0 Ferencvaros. Trapping a ball on his chest, knocking it around his marker with a gentle flick off the right foot and smashing a volley into the net with his opposite foot, the crowd were on their feet before it even left his boot. This was what Ginola was bought for - beautiful goals in a frenzied atmosphere on a European night.
''When youre drooling over Real Madrid and Barcelona, get a tape of tonights game and youll see something better. It was breathtaking. For me, it eclipsed our performance against Manchester United. There are stunning teams left in the competition and the most stunning are Newcastle United. - Kevin Keegan, October 1996.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
