Best Newcastle United XI of All Time

After the Saudi Investment Fund took over the shares of Newcastle United and initially hired Eddie Howe as the manager, the club will fight for its place as a top Premier League club as the club has been in the Premier League for all but three years and has played in 88 English Premier League seasons as of 2020. Besides that, Newcastle United’s history is big enough to secure the necessities for their uprising.

is the unforgettable legend of Newcastle. He managed to score 148 goals in 303 games for the club, but picking the best Newcastle United players ever would be essentially hard as the club has won 4 English First-tier League titles, 6 FA Cups, and a UEFA Intertoto Cup.

The home stadium of Newcastle United is called "St. James' Park" with a capacity of 52,305 people. The club has been in the Premier League for all but three years and has played in 88 English Premier League seasons as of 2020. This team has never been relegated from the second tier of English football since joining the Football League in 1893.

This club's traditional clothing is black striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. Newcastle's old rival is Sunderland, and Eddie Howe has a hard job making Newcastle United squad 2021 into a title contender as they are currently sitting 19th in the Premier League table.

Honors of Newcastle United

Among the honors of Newcastle United we can mention these honors:

Domestic

• Champions (4) in 1904–05, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1926–27

• Champions (4) in 1964–65, 1992–93, 2009–10, 2016–17

• Winners (6) in 1909–10, 1923–24, 1931–32, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55

• Winners (1) in 1909

• Winners (1) in 1906–07

First Division/Premier League

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Second Division/Championship

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FA Cup

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FA Charity Shield

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Sheriff of London Charity Shield

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European

• Winners (1) in 1968–69

• Winners (1) in 2006 (Outright Winner)

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

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UEFA Intertoto Cup

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Other honours

• Winners (2) in 1973–74, 1974–75

• Winners (1) in 1973

Texaco Cup

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Anglo-Italian Cup

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All You Need to Know About the Best Newcastle United XI of All Time

Set out in a 4-4-2 formation, we've compiled Newcastle's greatest players into one fearsome team. Players that have played at least two seasons were considered eligible for selection. Here, we face the best Newcastle United players ever in their position and learn more about this huge Premier League club. All of the entries could have been a great addition to

Newcastle United squad 2021

.

GK: Jimmy Lawrence

At the goal-post of our

best Newcastle United XI of all time

, we have their pre-World War veteran, Jimmy Lawrence.

Lawrence holds the record for the most competitive appearances in a Newcastle shirt with 507 appearances. He played with the Magpies for 18 years after moving from Hibernian in 1904, and won three league titles and an FA Cup medal during his time in the North-East. He is also Newcastle’s oldest ever player making his last appearances at age of 43.

Durable and consistent, along with John 'Jock' Rutherford and Colin Veitch, he was one of only three players to take part in all of United’s Edwardian era successes. He won the English Championship in 1905, 1907, and 1909, and the FA Cup in 1910, also playing on the losing side in the finals of 1905, 1906, 1908, and 1911.

Popular on and off the pitch he was a puncher rather than a catcher of the ball and was renowned for making stunning saves. He loved the Tyne-Wear derby clashes too, saving four penalties in matches against neighbors Sunderland.

After he retired from playing, his first appointment as a manager was with then-Second Division side South Shields before joining Preston North End. He stayed with the Lilywhites until 1925 when he relocated to Germany to manage Karlsruher FV. With this club, he won the regional championship of Württemberg/Baden in 1926 and of Baden in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1932 which qualified the club to participate in the matches for the German football championship. He died on 21 November 1934 at Glasgow, Scotland, aged 55.

CB: Philippe Albert

Confident on the ball and with an eye for goal, the Belgian defender spent five years with the Magpies after his exploits at the 1994 World Cup earned him a £2.6 million transfer to

's Newcastle United.

He was an immediate success in the side as he helped them win their first six league games of the 1994–95 season, and became a cult hero at the club due to his less-than-defensive tendencies in "the Entertainers'" central defense, would often make runs forward and be found roaming on the edge of the opposition box. Albert will best be remembered for his exquisite chip over Peter Schmeichel in the 5-0 win over Manchester United.

With Newcastle’s current -13 goal difference, the Belgian would be for sure the best player of Newcastle United 2021 as he both could defend and score. He made a total of 138 appearances and scored 12 goals in 6 years with the club.

Several injuries limited Albert’s game time as he spent his last season at Newcastle on loan at then-third tier club, Fulham. After leaving Newcastle in 1999, Albert returned to Belgium, rejoining Charleroi for £600,000. He spent one season with the club before retiring from football.

Albert now runs a fruit & vegetable company in his native Belgium, as well as being a television football pundit for Belgian TV.

CB: Bobby Moncur

Next in our line-up for the best Newcastle United XI of all time is arguably the club’s best-ever centre-back, Bobby Moncur captained the side in the '60s and '70s.

Starting his senior career at Newcastle, Moncur helped Newcastle to promotion as Division 2 champions in 1965 as he became a cornerstone for both Scotland and Newcastle United later. Manager Joe Harvey described him as "the supreme sweeper and a most valuable asset both to Newcastle United and Scotland".

Bobby Moncur captained the Newcastle United team that won the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final, against Ujpesti Dozsa. He scored two goals in the first game and one more in the second leg, with Newcastle running out 6 – 2 winners.

Moncur made a total of 296 appearances in the famous black and white shirt, scoring three goals, before being transferred to Sunderland in 1974, finishing his playing career at Carlisle United in 1977. He played 16 times for Scotland between his debut in 1968, against the Netherlands, and a 1-0 defeat to England in May of 1972.

Moncur makes semi-frequent appearances on Sky TV as a football pundit. He currently holds the record of being the last Newcastle United captain to lift silverware with the club and is frequently quoted as wanting to lose this honor as quickly as possible.

LB: Frank Hudspeth

A position that is currently filled with a potential

best player of Newcastle United 2021

,

, was once the playing position of one of the Newcastle greatest, Frank Hudspeth, who played for the club for 19 years and made almost 500 appearances for the club.

Making his debut against Bradford City in December 1910, as a 20-year-old, the Percy Main-born defender was captain when the Magpies lifted the FA Cup in 1924, and when the club landed the league title three years later, which proved to become their last trophy till now.

Hudspeth was a solid and consistent performer who forged a formidable partnership with that other renowned United full-back, Bill McCracken as McCracken would say of his defensive partner:

“He is the essence of reliability, always seeming to be on the very spot required

.”

Hudspeth made 482 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 38 goals, 34 of which were expertly taken penalties. In the years after his retirement from football, Frank managed a Newcastle billiard hall for a while, before retiring to Burnley in Lancashire. He died aged 73 on 5 February 1963.

RB: Bill McCracken

During his career, McCracken captained both the English club Newcastle United and the Ireland national side and played for Newcastle United for 20 years between 1904 and 1924. McCracken made 432 appearances for Newcastle in a 19-year career.

McCracken is one of just a few players whose actions have brought changes to the Laws of the Game when, as a right full-back at Newcastle, he masterminded the technique of making opposition forwards ruled "offside" when the rules stated that three defenders must be between the attacking player and the goal line. So successful was McCracken's defensive ploy that the Offside Law was changed to "two defenders" between the foremost attacker and the goal line".

Bill became the key man in the team with the most effective defense in England, a defense which provided the rock-solid foundation for Newcastle as they went on to further success. They won the League again in 1907 and 1909, and then there was the FA Cup in 1910, which they won with an astonishing defensive record of a mere three goals conceded in the six matches they played on their way to the Final.

After leaving Newcastle he went on to become Hull City manager in 1923 and he took them to the FA Cup semi-final in 1930. He left the club a year later. He later had a short stint in charge of Gateshead F.C., before managing

from 1933-1936. He later went on to manage Aldershot F.C. He died aged 95 on 20 January 1979.

DM: Joe Harvey

Next in our

best Newcastle United XI of all time

is one of the greatest midfielders of his time, Joe Harvey.

A fantastic servant to United as both a player and manager, Joe Harvey was an inspirational captain during the club’s post-war glory years, and later, he coached the Magpies to European success in 1969.

Before playing for Newcastle Harvey was an established inside forward, at Newcastle he began to settle in the half-back position. At the end of his first season with the club he was demobbed. Partly thanks to his time as a sergeant, he was an authoritative figure amongst the Newcastle players who had the utmost respect for him.

He was a subject of controversy at the club. In 1946–47 he was memorably suspended by the club's directors, along with teammate Len Shackleton, after going on strike against the quality of accommodation the club had provided the team.

He captained the team to two successive FA Cup victories in 1951 and 1952. He retired from playing on 1 May 1953 at the age of 34, despite still being a first-team regular. His final game was a 1–0 win over

. However, his involvement in football and Newcastle was far from over as he worked towards becoming a coach.

Two years later he was back at Wembley on the touchline as a member of the backroom team as United defeated Manchester City 3-1 to win the famous old trophy for the third time in five seasons.

As a manager, he rebuilt the club in the early 1960s after a period of decline and his teams always played football in a fine attacking and entertaining style.

His blunt but artful managerial style saw United promoted in 1965 and win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup four years later. A bronze plaque celebrating Joe Harvey's achievements can now be found at the Gallowgate End of St. James' Park.

DM: Gary Speed

Undeniably a fixed part of the best Newcastle United XI of all time is their late legend,

, as Sir Bobby Robson once said:

"We can't replace Gary Speed. Where do you get an experienced player like him with a left foot and a head?"

Scoring 40 goals in 285 appearances across his 6 years stay at Newcastle, Speed was a hard-working and creative midfielder, loved by fans and teammates alike for his incisive passing and commitment to the cause.

A true legend on and off the field, Speed was the beating heart of any team he played for, but especially for Newcastle fans, where he arrived for a £5.5 million fee from Everton. Speed was a versatile player who could play in left midfield, central midfield, and also at left-back, but playing mainly as a left-side attacking midfielder, with a knack for directing powerful headers towards goal. He possessed great tactical awareness, and could both create and score goals. Regularly a captain, he was said by his teammates to have been an 'inspirational figure' who led by example and demanded the best from those around him.

He announced that he was going to fill in his retirement papers in 2009, but he didn’t put football aside and came back to take the lead of his beloved team, Sheffield United. It seemed that his life was very stable and that he was enjoying it but very soon the disturbing news came in and people were informed that Gary Speed committed suicide by hanging himself.

RM: Jock Rutherford

Nicknamed 'the Newcastle flyer', John 'Jock' Rutherford was an outstanding forward for pre-World War Newcastle United, and is the right-winger of our best Newcastle United XI of all time.

John 'Jock' Rutherford enjoyed three separate spells with

over 13 years after spending 11 years at Newcastle United between 1902 and 1913.

At the age of just 17, Rutherford became Newcastle United’s youngest ever scorer and youngest ever debutant. He went on to become a celebrated attacker, earning international recognition with England before he was 20, and scoring 94 goals in 336 appearances for the Magpies.

Newcastle was a dominant force at the time with Rutherford picking up three First Division medals, and playing in five FA Cup finals. Although Newcastle only won the 1910 final against Barnsley, by 2–1 in a replay. Rutherford himself scored the equalizer in the first match, in the very last minute of normal time for a 1–1 draw.

Rutherford was one of United’s most outstanding forwards of any era and enjoyed a 23-year playing career, not retiring until his 40s. He later moved to Arsenal, where he would become the club's oldest ever outfield player, a record which still stands.

After retiring, he settled in Neasden and ran an off-license until his death on 21 April 1963, aged 78.

LM: David Ginola

The post that is currently occupied by the arguably best player of Newcastle United 2021,

, once was the showplace of his fellow Frenchman, David Ginola.

While his stellar displays at Paris Saint-Germain in European competitions against the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona had attracted media attention in Spain, with local media dubbing him "El Magnifico", Ginola joined Newcastle United for £2.5 million. He was signed at a time when manager Kevin Keegan was attempting to turn the club into one of the major forces in English football and a world-class winger like David Ginola became available.

A skillful left-winger, Ginola could go either outside his man or inside to shoot venomously with his right foot; his first goal came in a similar vein when he scored at Sheffield Wednesday. Superb in his first four months, defenders just couldn't stop Ginola, Manchester City's Richard Edghill becoming the first of many sent off in the attempt. Ginola was a catalyst for Newcastle, behind many of their classic performances. Top of the Premiership in January 1996, Newcastle visited Highbury in the League Cup and this, according to Kevin Keegan, was the turning point in his season. Receiving little sympathy from referee Gerald Ashby, after being persistently fouled throughout the game, Ginola was sent off for elbowing Lee Dixon. He returned from suspension a shadow of his former self, his blistering form returning only sporadically. Ginola's dip coincided with Newcastle's slump, famously finishing the season 2nd behind Manchester United.

After the resignation of Kevin Keegan, Ginola, who was out of Dalglish favor, signed for Tottenham Hotspur in July 1997 for £2.5 million.

ST: Alan Shearer

Among the

best Newcastle United players ever

, Alan Shearer is the club's all-time leading scorer with a total of 206 goals.

After winning the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers, Alan Shearer signed for his childhood club, Newcastle United, for £15 million on July 30, 1996, the most expensive transfer in the world at the time. His new team was challenging for the league title and the striker made a significant contribution, scoring 25 goals in 31 games - top scorer for the fourth year in a row - which would earn him the second PFA Player of the Year Award in 1997, the first for a player to win with two different clubs. His good run contrasted with the club's complicated situation after Keegan resigned and was replaced by

, with whom Alan had already worked at Blackburn. Newcastle finished the 1996/97 season in second place.

In honor of his 10 seasons, in which he became an idol for the St James' Park fans, the club organized a tribute match on May 11, 2006, against Celtic F.C. Shearer was unable to play due to injury, but he kicked off and then walked around the pitch in the company of his wife and children.

A great addition for Newcastle United squad 2021 which is struggling in front of goal, Alan Shearer spent his whole career in England, playing for Southampton Blackburn Rovers, and Newcastle United. During a 19 years career between 1987 and 2006, he played a total of 734 matches and scored 379 goals for these clubs. Of these goals, he scored 206 for Newcastle, 130 for Blackburn, and 43 for Southampton.

Of his most notable individual titles and honors we can include UEFA European Championship Golden Boot, ESM Team of the Year, FIFA World Player of the Year – Bronze award, Ballon d'Or – Third place, Premier League Golden Boot, PFA Players' Player of the Year, Premier League Player of the Year, FIFA 100 and English Football Hall of Fame.

ST: Jackie Milburn

We will end our

best Newcastle United XI of all time

with

, who wrote himself into Newcastle's history by his record 200-goal, despite the record broken 50 years later by Alan Shearer, he will forever remain a true icon of Newcastle United. Although Newcastle have had many world-class strikers in their time, Hughie Gallacher, Andy Cole, and Malcolm Macdonald, only one scored more than Milburn.

Not just a great goal scorer but also a scorer of great goals, his second of the 1951 FA Cup Final against Blackpool was a 30-yard rocket into the top corner.

Milburn also set the record, at the time, for the fastest FA Cup Final goal at Wembley when he headed in Len White’s corner after just 45 seconds of the victorious 1955 Final against Manchester City.

He played 13 times for England – a modest figure for a player of such talent – but it was in the black and white stripes of Newcastle that his finest moments came, the peak of which, for many, was a hat-trick in the 1952 FA Cup quarter-final at Portsmouth, which United won 4-2.

A true man of the people, Milburn was a Freeman of the City of Newcastle and had the main stand of St. James' Park, now the Milburn Stand, named after him.

A statue depicting 'Wor Jackie' mid-strike proudly stands outside the ground's Gallowgate End, facing Newcastle city centre. At his funeral in 1988, thousands of people lined the streets throughout the city to pay their last respects to a true and eternal legend of the club.

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