10 Strangest Ever Newcastle United Signings

1. Lionel Perez

How lucid was Kenny Dalglish when he thought it a wise decision to hand Perez a Premier League lifeline following his release from Sunderland? Quite honestly there wasn't a Toon supporter about that didn't question Dalglish's sanity when the bleached haired Frenchman landed on Tyneside in 1998 after spending two years down the road at the Stadium of Light where he became a cult hero.

Luckily for us, Perez was restricted to appearing for the Magpies' second string, unable to break up the monopoly Shay Given and Steve Harper had on the goalkeeping positions at St James' Park. His cause wasn't aided any further by Dalglish's dismissal just a few weeks after he joined the club with Ruud Gullit and Sir Bobby Robson constantly overlooking him.

In fact, the highlight of his two-year stint with us was probably when he featured as an unused sub for a 0-0 draw at Arsenal in 1999 during an injury crisis, although we doubt he relished the fact John Karelse, equally as hopeless between the sticks, was chosen ahead of him.

For what it's worth, however, Perez can at least consider himself something of a trend-setter to modern goalkeepers with many following in his footsteps by wearing short-sleeved jerseys as opposed to the traditional long as he did back in the day