5 Awesome Newcastle United Captains (And 5 That Sucked)

2. Geremi

Has it ever felt like we overpaid for a free transfer before? Sam Allardyce thought he'd snapped up a bargain when he persuaded Geremi to join him at St James' Park in 2007 with the Chelsea midfielder a free agent after running down his contract at Stamford Bridge. Allardyce immediately thrust the club-captaincy upon the Nigerian international in the hope that his diplomatic nature and peerless experience - he'd won the Champions League twice with Real Madrid - would bring an air of tranquility to a midfield that would consist of the perennial ragamuffin Joey Barton and an ageing Nicky Butt. Not to mention he'd be an excellent mediator in the dressing room should things become heated. But it didn't quite work out as Allardyce had planned. In his short incumbency of the armband Geremi demonstrated himself to be a captain unable to motivate the players around him and it was clear that it was clear to us that he was past his sell-by-date by the time he came to Newcastle despite only being 28. Whilst he still had the technique and vision to pick out a pass he was hamstrung by a general lack of mobility and fitness. Long story short; his legs were gone. By January he'd lost the armband to Michael Owen following Kevin Keegan's self-indulgent return to Tyneside. Which leads us on to...