Newcastle United were on the hunt for a new boss. After Graeme Souness 'never clicked' with the fans, late chairman Freddy Shepherd admitted it was 'vitally important that the new manager is popular, that the supporters like him'. With that in mind, ironically, all roads pointed to a boyhood Sunderland fan in 2006.
Yes, it was Martin O'Neill, who, of course, went on to manage the Black Cats, that repeatedly came out on top of opinion polls at the time - and with good reason. After all, this was the man who was Celtic's most successful manager since the great Jock Stein.
O'Neill may have been out of the game for around nine months at the time, while he cared for his wife, Geraldine, who had cancer, but the Northern Irishman was open to a return to management and met with Shepherd. So was it ever close?
