10 Players Who Regret Leaving Newcastle United

3. Olivier Bernard

Here is a Frenchman who learned English in Newcastle, resulting in a rather endearing Geordie twang to his accent. Popular with fans thanks to his role in Newcastle's raid on the Champions League in 2003 under Sir Bobby Robson which saw him face up against the likes of Barcelona at the Camp Nou and Inter at the San Siro, Olivier Bernard left somewhat under a cloud, only to bizarrely return years later but not play a game.

It was Graeme Souness, Robson's replacement, who ushered Bernard out of St James' Park in 2005, as he did with a number of stars from the previous regime, with a lot of fans sad to see him go, despite a nose-dive in performance levels.

To the wider footballing world, Bernard is rather famous for the wrong reasons. In a game at Goodison Park against Everton, the left back, signed from Lyon in 2000, was knocked out by a Laurent Robert free kick (surprisingly, the only one on record) resulting in a cartoon-like fall to the ground as he lost his bearings and seconds later, his consciousness.

It is rather cruel that that is what he is best known for, especially if you had the pleasure of watching him running up and down the left wing. Spells at Southampton and Rangers followed in the twelve months before his Newcastle return, with the man they call "Ollie" still living in the area and once owning non-league side Durham City, clear evidence that he is a man that wished he'd never left.