That famous piece of commentary from Martin Tyler couldn't have happened if it wasn't for the 1994 World Cup, which of course was held in America. The '94 World Cup featured no Newcastle United players, which was a little bit shocking considering the club had just finished third in the Premier League. Then again, Graham Taylor failed to qualify so no England meant the majority of The Magpies squad couldn't pack their bags and head to the USA expecting a game somewhere. However, what the World Cup did was open the eyes of Newcastle and showed there was plenty of talent that could be exploited from foreign lands. (Only Pavel Srníek and Nikki Papavasiliou came from outside the British Isles at the end of the 93/94 campaign.) Defenders Philippe Albert and Marc Hottiger were signed, with the Belgian at least going on to be one of United's best signings of the last 25 years. Swiss international Marc did a job but was ultimately replaced by Warren Barton and his centre partin'.
