Newcastle United supporters will be much more focused on incomings rather than outgoings this summer, and why shouldn’t they? They will all remember transfer windows gone by where it was all about clinging onto their best players, something they often failed to do.
In the Premier League era alone, some real fans’ favourites at St James’ Park were sold as matters of business, and because the ambition at United was minimal. We have taken a look at a handful of departures that have left the Toon Army dejected over the years.
Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain – January 2014
In the first of a few January sales on this list, Yohan Cabaye agreed a move to Paris Saint-Germain midway through the 2014/15 season. The money recouped -understood to be around £20m – still didn’t make up for the gap his departure left in the Magpies midfield.
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A fantastic relationship between Cabaye and the fans in the North-east started to sour when he refused to play in the first game of the 2013/14 season against Manchester City. He admitted that he felt betrayed at that moment as those in charge at the club had denied him a move they had promised when he signed for United.
Alan Pardew managed to restore the Frenchman’s loyalty and he delivered on the pitch for the rest of his time at the club, as he always had, which is why the eventual move to PSG hurt those on the terraces so much.
Demba Ba to Chelsea – January 2013
Just a year earlier, United supporters had dealt with similar heartbreak when Demba Ba’s £7m release clause was met by Chelsea halfway through the season. His goalscoring record and his partnership with international team mate Papiss Cisse made him a hero at St James’ Park but fans knew that a departure was always likely, especially with such a cheap release clause.
Pardew confirmed the news that he would leave for Stamford Bridge during January of the 2012/13 campaign, claiming he would go with the blessing of everyone at the club and he certainly did. Unsurprisingly, the striker admitted after retiring that his time at Newcastle was the best period of his career after he was largely a bit-part player at Chelsea.
James Milner to Aston Villa – Summer 2008
The first of the summer departures on this list concerns James Milner’s move to Aston Villa in 2008 which came a couple of years after his loan to Villa Park. He admitted to loving his time working under the great Sir Bobby Robson at United before his relationship at the club began to briefly break down under Graeme Souness.
That was eventually restored by Glenn Roeder before Kevin Keegan made it clear a couple of years later that Milner and some of his team mates should have been offered new, improved terms on their contracts at United. That didn’t happen and what the Magpies legend feared came true as Milner was signed by Villa for £12m, much to the dismay of the supporters.
Craig Bellamy to Blackburn Rovers – Summer 2005
Along with being a high-quality operator with the ball at his feet, Craig Bellamy was a very controversial character. To no one’s surprise, he clashed with Souness at United and the breakdown between the pair ultimately led to his departure to Blackburn in 2005 following his loan move to Celtic.
Similarly to Cabaye (but also very differently), it all began when Bellamy refused to play against Arsenal in January of that year. He was quickly shipped out to Glasgow on loan before the Magpies did everything they could to sell him in the summer, which they did when he joined countryman Mark Hughes at Blackburn.
Jermaine Jenas to Tottenham – Summer 2005
At the very end of the same summer, Jermaine Jenas also left St James’ Park but the club weren’t anywhere nearly as willing to sell him as they were Bellamy. The young central midfielder was reportedly unhappy in Newcastle and he agreed a move to Tottenham with the allure of living in London standing out as one of the key factors.
The £7m that was brought in for his services was a decent amount but, like with Cabaye, it didn’t come close to making up for the frustration at his departure amongst the fans. Unfortunately, comments made by Jenas since have frustrated the Toon Army with Alan Shearer taking issue as well a few years ago.
Les Ferdinand to Tottenham – Summer 1997
Another United player moving to Spurs rocked the United fanbase eight years before when Les Ferdinand made the same move to White Hart Lane. He became a hero on Tyneside and his admission a few years ago that he wanted to play out the rest of his career with the Magpies only further frustrated the fans that adored him.
Such was his influence at the club, he was inducted into the Newcastle United Hall of Fame in November 2017. While he continued to score goals elsewhere, Ferdinand was never quite able to recreate the heroics he managed in front of goal at St James’ Park.
Andy Cole to Manchester United – January 1995
The devastation amongst the fans at Ferdinand’s departure came largely after they had seen another of their prolific goalscorers leave the club a couple of years beforehand. Andy Cole scored at an unprecedented rate for United with 68 goals in 84 matches in all competitions.
His exit to rivals Manchester United, which came totally out of the blue in January 2005, led to clashes between Keegan and the club’s supporters who were unable to fathom why he had been sold. The decision was eventually justified but it still annoyed fans who had idolised Cole despite him only playing one and a half Premier League seasons on Tyneside.
We would love for you to share your own personal experiences of the players mentioned above in the comments section. Also, feel free to let us know if we missed any or if there were any slightly more obscure departures that you found particularly upsetting or frustrating.
