10 Underwhelming Newcastle Signings Who Became Cult Heroes

9. Sebastien Bassong

It seems strange for a player to make the list when his only season at St. James' Park coincided with the club's ignominious relegation to the second-tier of English football for the first time in 16 years. However, despite his so-so and pithy displays for Spurs and Norwich City since, he was possibly one of the Tyneside's club's only shining lights in that bleakest of seasons.

Offered a one-week trial in July 2008 by Kevin Keegan, the Toon Army barely took note of the announcement, as trialists usually follow the same formula. Defender Lamine Diatta had been the most recent to have availed of an invitation to showcase his skills at a trial four months earlier, and subsequently donned the black and white jersey on just two occasions before being released at the end of the season. Surely, this 23-year-old French centre-back from FC Metz would just be the latest 'Diatta'? Not quite. While £10 million signing Fabricio Coloccini haplessly floundered as he struggled to come to terms with the frantic pace and tenacity of the English league, Bassong's physique, composure and presence allowed him to settle into his new surroundings with relative ease.

Having forced his way into the first-team, he quickly won over Toon supporters with passionate, towering performances, as his competent performances were made to look Bobby Moore-esque by his flailing partner at the back. Inevitably, his cult status at the club was besmirched as soon as he expressed a desire to leave the club after one just one season, following the club's relegation to the Championship. Instead of sticking around to help the club back to where they belonged like so many of his colleagues, the player who nobody outside of France had heard of a year earlier was intent on jumping ship, signing a five-year deal at Spurs. Sometimes, the grass isn't always greener, Seb.

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Contributor

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.