- The greatest Newcastle players ranked
- Shearer, Beardsley and Keegan included
- One of the Magpies’ current squad make the cut
Newcastle United have possessed some astonishingly good players throughout history. Whether it be those breaking records or those gaining cult-hero status in the famous black-and-white stripes. The list of talent is endless.
Creating a top 10 list isn’t exactly the most straightforward task and one that requires a lot of due care and attention. Studying statistics and rewatching players’ legendary exploits help reach a conclusion about the very best to have graced St James’ Park.
With that said, Read Newcastle dives into the top 10 all-time list of Newcastle’s best players. The factors in deciding the all-time greats are legacy, success, and records.
10. Rob Lee
Rob Lee’s first season at Newcastle saw him help the club to a much-needed promotion under Kevin Keegan.
From that moment on, he was destined for big things in black and white and became an integral part of the entertainers’ era. The midfielder finished his Toon career with 267 appearances, 4th on Newcastle’s all-time list.
Lee is one of the most underrated players in the club’s history, but is undoubtedly one of the best, too.
9. Gary Speed
Gary Speed was the original all-rounder. The centre of the park was both his canvas and battleground, and the Welshman made his presence felt in each one of his 213 games for the club.
Trademarked by late runs into the box, now coined ‘box crashing’, Speed featured in back-to-back FA Cup campaigns where Newcastle fell just short of the mark.
Speed’s passing in 2011 shook the fanbase and everyone involved with Newcastle United, with some fitting tributes at St James’ Park as the fans chorused his songs.
His legacy will always be remembered as a top player and an even better person, and he is well deserving of a spot on this list.
8. Bruno Guimaraes
It may be a tad harsh to omit some of the more storied names in accommodating Bruno. But the current Newcastle captain is up there with the very best for a multitude of reasons.
The current captain of the club, Bruno is adored from all four corners of St James’ Park and beyond. His tenacity, passion and exceptional ability to drag the club to results single-handedly are almost unprecedented.
The Brazilian, of course, led the club to their first domestic trophy in 70 years last season, further cementing his place into Geordie folklore.
Should the current trajectory of Bruno’s Newcastle career continue, we could well be looking at his name up in lights at the top of lists like this before long.
7. Shay Given
Shay Given is probably hindered in this list because he is a goalkeeper, but make no mistake, he is up there with the best to ever don the badge on his chest.
A monstrous 463 appearances see Given third on the Magpies’ all-time list. Given is also the most-capped Newcastle player in European competitions, with 54.
Given was agile, athletic and always a top-tier shot-stopper. He won the club countless points on his own whilst in between the sticks.
For many, he is the best keeper to ever pull on a Newcastle shirt and is a deserved member of this coveted list.
6. Paul Gascoigne
Gascoigne is one who perhaps doesn’t have the longevity of others on this list. But the raw talent and ability were there for all to see.
Gascoigne came through the ranks at Newcastle, winning an FA Youth Cup in the 1984/85 season. He kicked on from there and always looked destined to break into the first team.
At 17, a sprightly Gazza took to the pitch in a senior black and white shirt for the first time. He would go on to make 91 appearances for the club. His performances took him to Spurs for a British record transfer fee of £2.1m.
His time at the Magpies saw him emerge as what many still consider the best prospect Newcastle’s academy has ever produced.
5. Kevin Keegan
King Kev may not have had the most illustrious playing career at Newcastle, and perhaps his managerial tenure also sneaks into the reckoning here.
But even with that, there is no doubt his impact on the field was one worthy of this list.
Keegan himself stated it always felt right that he would one day play for Newcastle. A sentiment that was reflected in fan adoration around St James’ Park.
A two-time Ballon d’Or winner joining a second division side was an almost unfathomable prospect in itself. But to then do exactly as he said he would and help the club back to the promised land of the first division? That’s worthy of legend status alone.
4. Malcolm Macdonald
For a certain generation of Newcastle supporters, Supermac is the gold standard for legendary status in black and white.
Signed for £180,000 by Joe Harvey in 1971, Macdonald repaid the faith tenfold with an exceptional tally of 138 goals across his five seasons at the club.
In many ways, Macdonald was ahead of his time, with supreme technical ability and a confidence in his talent which endeared him to the Geordies almost instantly.
Supermac will always be involved in conversations about the best in Newcastle history. He carries the torch for a long-forgotten generation of footballing brilliance on Tyneside.
3. Peter Beardsley
Peter Beardsley spent two separate terms on Tyneside.
In his first stint, he played an integral role in Newcastle United’s return to the Premier League in his debut season back in 1983. He scored 20 goals that season and quickly became a hero to the passionate fanbase.
Beardsley then scored 17 in his first top-flight season with the club, including a magical hat trick against rivals Sunderland in a 3-1 win.
Beardsley left in 1986/87 after a poor season. He would return to the club in ’93 to play for his previous strike partner, Kevin Keegan, in the entertainers’ era.
The Englishman struck up an imperious partnership with Andy Cole. He scored 25 goals for a newly promoted Magpies side that managed an unlikely European qualification.
By the time he was done at Newcastle, he had amassed an impressive 117 goals in 321 appearances.
Without watching Beardsley, it is difficult to explain just how special he was. Jinking runs, technical brilliance and the nickname ‘Twinkle Toes’ – the man was a magician.
2. Jackie Milburn
Before Shearer came along, no player in history had more goals while donning the famous stripes than Jackie Milburn.
But it wasn’t just those 200 goals that wrote him into Geordie folklore. Three FA Cup trophies, two of which included Milburn heroics in the final, accompanied the monstrous output.
Those mentioned trophies were part of a 14-year stint at St James’ Park, creating everlasting memories in front of the Gerodie faithful.
Those priceless moments have been duly rewarded since. A statue outside the stadium was built in his honour, and a stand overlooking the hallowed turf was named after Milburn in wake of his impact.
A true Newcastle United legend.
1. Alan Shearer
Who else could possibly be number one but the greatest goalscorer in Premier League history?
Never mind a Newcastle all-time list. Shearer is well up there in a Premier League all-time list too and is undoubtedly a top-tier legend of the beautiful game.
A monumental 260 goals and 68 assists across 441 Premier League games throughout his career, with 206 of those goals and 58 of the assists coming in the sacred black and white of his boyhood club.
Shearer could have gone on to bigger and more successful things at multiple points during his tenure on Tyneside. But, as the man himself once said, “It doesn’t matter that I didn’t win a trophy because I did it my way and I lived the dream.
