French Dis-Connection (2)
7 - Franck Dumas [Months: 7 Appearances: 7 Goals: 0]
31 year old Dumas was signed by Gullit from Monaco for £500,000. He had spent 7 years at Monaco but felt he "needed a new challenge". Within weeks of the season starting he became unsettled, claiming that he was being played out of position. He was a sweeper and Gullit was using him as a defensive midfielder. When Robson took over he asked for a transfer back to France, but some impressive performances meant that the club were reluctant to sell
In November, Dumas was allowed back to France to recover from a torn ligament and took the opportunity to speak directly to Marseille officials about returning to the club. He then allegedly threatened to go on strike if Newcastle failed to release him. In January Dumas returned to Marseille, but at least the club made a healthy profit on a £1.25m sale.
8 - Didier Domi [Months: 25 Appearances: 55(15) Goals: 4]
Signed by Gullit from PSG for £3.5m.in December 1988 Domi performed well, but when Robson took over his Appearences became less regular and he was often played in midfield rather than in his favoured left-back slot
In December 2000, website "Football365" covered an interview Domi gave to La Parisien in which it was claimed Domi said "With Bobby Robson, the training sessions are like those in days gone by. I need to work a lot, but we don't train much and I'm not at the top of my game. I'm not going to fulfil my true potential at Newcastle. Does that mean I want to fulfil it elsewhere? Why not? At the moment I am a Newcastle player, but anything is possible."
Domi claimed that the article was a "total fabrication" of the interview he had given. United were forced to call a press conference in support of the player; but the publication stood by their story. Meanwhile Domi was allowed to return home to "get his head right"
The following Monday Domi failed to turn up for training. At first the club thought he would return within the week, but Robson admitted that "We don't know when, or if, he is coming back.. we will try to get him to come back and, until he does, we will keep suspending him. When his money runs out, he might want to return and play football." Domi did not return and the club considered an appeal to FIFA to ban Domi from playing anywhere for the remaining two years of his Newcastle contract, having already halted the L20,000 a week wages paid to Domi.
Domi's agent claimed he had been hounded by hate mail and threatening letters from Newcastle fans since his walk out and said, "It has become impossible for Didier to stay at Newcastle. He was afraid to go back after receiving letters and phone calls threatening him. He also claimed later that the other players and the press had ridiculed his Muslim beliefs and non-drinking habits. Eventually, Newcastle agreed to sell him back to PSG for £3m
9 - Stephane Guivarc'h [Months: 5 Appearences: 2(2) Goals: 1 ]
French international Guivarc'h was signed just before the 1998 World Cup and was described as the French Alan Shearer having been top scorer in the French League over the past 2 seasons. Magpies fans waited eagerly for a glimpse of their new hero playing against the best players in the world, then had to try and justify his apparent ineptitude in front of goal.
Even before he had made his debut Dalglish had been sacked and Gullit had taken over. Despite scoring on his debut neither the crowd nor the manager were impressed, and in a fine example of his subtle managerial style Guivarc'h was soon banished to the reserves.
The grouchy, apostrophed Frenchman stated that he felt "humiliated". "I am a world champion and here I'm second choice". He would later state that Gullit was Guivarc'h said: 'Gullit? A s**t, man. I was happy at Newcastle. We had a lovely house in the countryside and we were very cosy. The city itself was very lively and we liked that. The only problem was the coach. Gullit gave me a total lack of respect.
Amazingly the club got their money back when he was sold onto Rangers, where he again failed to impress. He returned to France but has now been forced to retire through injury
10 - Louis Saha [Months: 5 Appearances: 6(6) Goals:2]
Gullit signed the youngster on a short-term loan deal from Metz, but despite showing flashes of skill including a fantastic strike in an FA Cup fifth-round replay victory at Blackburn he never really had a chance to prove himself (injury curtailing his availability).
Despite having first option on the player, Gullit didn't make the deal permanent. He moved to Fulham a year later and was the country's leading scorer with 32 goals as the Cottagers were promoted to the Premier League.
11 - David Ginola [Months: 24 Appearances: 70(5) Goals: 7]
The man who started it all. At first he was the darling of the fans as they were mesmerised by his fantastic skills, but soon dissention began to grow among some supporters. He thought defending was beneath him, often adopted a very casual approach and annoyed many with his propensity to go-to-ground at the earliest opportunity. He also infuriated other players, especially John Beresford who had to play behind him and memorably got involved in a slanging match with Keegan during a home match against Villa
After his first season on the Toon Barcelona tied to sign him but were scared off by the price. From then on Ginola - despite still showing glimpses of his true ability - seemed to lose interest. Then when Dalglish replaced Keegan the writing was on the wall and in the summer of 1997 he was sold to Spurs for a mere £2m
Since he left Ginola has made no secret of the fact that he regretted ever having signed, claiming that coming to The Toon was "the worst mistake I ever made. I'm sorry I never played for great European clubs like AC Milan, Real Madrid or Manchester United, I should have taken another springboard rather than Newcastle when I left Paris St Germain. That would have enabled me to be fulfilled and really come into my own on a personal level. My career would have taken a different turning."
Ginola returned to SJP on a number of occasions but the most memorable was on May 24 2001where he faced a public humiliation. The Frenchman was vociferously booed by the home fans and routinely kicked by his former team mates, before having to face the indignity of being hauled off a couple of minutes before half-time. John Gregory could have waited until the break but he had a point to make too.
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