5 Awesome Newcastle United Captains (And 5 That Sucked)

3. Scott Parker

It was Glenn Roeder who appointed Parker as Newcastle captain in 2006 and gave him the unenviable task of following in the enormous footsteps of Alan Shearer in the aftermath of the Geordie striker's retirement. And it was accepted that whoever stepped into Shearer's shoes would face an uphill battle - as Obafemi Martins found out when becoming the first to wear the fabled no.9 shirt - but there was a strong feeling that Parker was the outstanding candidate to succeed our all-time record goalscorer in the role. Little did he know that he was on a hiding to nothing. The England midfielder soon discovered the pitfalls of being the Magpies skipper and that raw on-field enthusiasm which made him such a fan favourite quickly became his downfall. For starters Parker didn't carry the presence of Shearer and was far from the type of leader to organise the rest of the team on the pitch, while he was forced to issue a grovelling apology after gesturing to the Toon supporters during the humiliating home defeat to Sheffield United. Parker, for all he was a dependable lynchpin in midfield, was not captain material.