Remember when I said Shay Given was arguably the greatest goalkeeper in Newcastle United history? Well I was wrong. Lionel is. The Frenchman became somewhat of a cult hero in Sunderland after signing on from Bordeaux in 1996 to become their number one stopper at the time. Two seasons later and he was packing his bags and heading up the A19 to Newcastle, where he would become an understudy to both Shay Given and Steve Harper. It was almost as if Newcastle, and manager Kenny Dalglish, were making a point to Sunderland by signing their first choice 'keeper and relegating him to The Magpies' reserves, proving their status as the superior force in North East football. Perez never played a senior minute of football for Newcastle, instead playing his football while out on loan to the likes of Scunthorpe and Cambridge Untied. He would leave the club in 2000, joining The U's of Cambridge on a permanent deal. What a pointless signing...
