Newcastle's best ever XI ... The team in full 🖤 | OneFootball

With the football on hold at the moment, we’ve been thinking about who gets in Newcastle’s all-time XI.

We are now proud to reveal the team in full …

Goalkeeper – Shay Given

Blessed with outstanding reflexes and capable of pulling off the extraordinary between the posts, Given was a key man in some superb Newcastle sides for over a decade.

The Irishman made over 460 appearances for the club, many of them coming in some of the greatest games fans at St James’ Park have enjoyed in the past 20 years.

A constant source of reliability and rarely committing an error, the club have tried and failed to replace him ever since his exit in 2009.

However, both Tim Krul and Martin Dúbravka have performed admirably in that regard but then again, they are trying to fill the gloves of Newcastle’s greatest.

Right-back – Bill McCracken

How influential was Bill McCracken, we hear you ask? So good that they literally changed the laws of the game because of him.

Due to how adapt the Irishman was at perfecting the offside trap when the rule dictated that three players had to be between the attacking player and goal-line, he almost single-handedly caused it to be changed to two defenders.

In all, he spent 19 seasons at the club, winning three league titles, an FA Cup and competing in two other finals as part of the outstanding early Magpies side.

The fact that his skills at catching players offside time and time again led to the sport being adapted is an astonishing achievement that few can claim.

Left-back – Frank Hudspeth

Hudspeth beats out some very stiff competition for this position as his incredible body of work quite simply speaks for itself and made him a Toon icon.

He is second on the club’s all-time appearances list, having represented his local club for almost two decades, during which time he also scored 38 goals thanks to his accuracy from the penalty spot.

His ‘Old Surefoot’ nickname will give you an example of how dependable Hudspeth was for team-mates and fans alike.

Hudspeth was also captain of Newcastle sides which won both the league title and FA Cup.

Centre-back – Bobby Moncur

An undisputed Newcastle legend who will always be one of the most popular players ever to turn out for the Tyneside outfit.

Composed, classy and with an impeccable reading of the game, he was a nightmare for any centre forward who came up against him throughout his 12 years at the club.

Moncur is also the last Newcastle captain to lift a major trophy, having hoisted the Fairs Cup aloft in 1969 after more than doing his bit by scoring three times over the two legs.

Not bad at all for a defender!

Centre-back – Philippe Albert

Although he made less than 150 appearances for Newcastle, his impact was such during his five-year spell at the club that he more than earns his place in the side.

Given that he played as a centre-back in the famous Entertainers side, the Belgian doesn’t get close to the credit he deserves for being en excellent defender.

He was a real physical presence, strong in the air and dominant in one-on-one tussles, although he is perhaps best remembered for his enjoyable forays forward.

You think of Albert, you think of that chip in the 5-0 win over Manchester United.

Midfield – Peter Beardsley

You could make a case for including Beardsley among the forwards but we’re putting him in midfield. Either way, what isn’t up for debate is his place in this side.

He is one of the first names on the team sheet for his performances over two separate spells at the club and the fact that they spent less than £2 million in total on fees for him, it will go down as some of their great bargains.

Beardsley was fast and intelligent with perfect poise and balance and his control of the ball was simply mesmerising and his dribbling was a joy for all who watched him.

Another of Newcastle’s local lads come good, the skilful standout scored 119 goals in 326 appearances for the club.

Midfield – Rob Lee

The paltry £700,000 fee that Newcastle paid in 2002 to sign the all-action Rob Lee will always be looked at as one of the greatest steals in club history.

He was part of some of the finest sides in recent memory at St James’ Park where his blend of tenaciousness, passing and eye for goal made him one of the best central midfielders in the division.

It showed what folly it had previously been that he was viewed as a winger as Lee ended his decade-long spell in the north east from 1992 until 2002 with 56 goals.

Perhaps the highlight of that was his three-goal salvo against Antwerp as he became the first Newcastle player ever to score a European hat-trick.

Midfield – David Ginola

The only downside to the Frenchman blessed with extraordinary flair and technique was that his spell in the north east wasn’t longer, having spent two superb seasons at Newcastle.

He was the epitome of Kevin Keegan’s exciting Entertainers outfit, one of the classiest and breathtaking players to wow the Gallowgate with his grace, elegance and movement.

As if he needed any more weapons in his arsenal, the former PSG man was truly two-footed and could have played for any side in the world at that time.

Ginola is the perfect example of a player whose time may have been briefer than most but whose impact was such that he simply cannot be left out.

Forward – Hughie Gallacher

There is simply no way that you can leave out a man with the best goals to game ratio in Newcastle history.

The Scot is the fourth highest goalscorer for the Magpies, scoring a phenomenal 143 times in 174 games between 1925 and 1930, averaging 0.82 goals per game.

Although he was rather small in stature, he became famed for scoring all manner of goals, ranging from tap-ins to headers and drives from distance.

In 1926/27, ‘Wee Hughie’ skippered the side to the league title and led by example, scoring a staggering 36 goals in 38 games en route to lifting the trophy.

Forward – Jackie Milburn

Even today, those who never saw Milburn play still speak about ‘Wor Jackie’ in glowing terms and when you look at what he did for the club, you understand why.

He scored 200 goals in 397 appearances and managed another 38 during wartime fixtures so he could technically lay a claim to being Newcastle’s all-time scorer.

Milburn fired his local club to FA Cup glory on three occasions and was devastating in front of goal after being moved in from his previous role wider on the left.

That change proved to be a masterstroke for a man who is so beloved at Newcastle that he has a both a stand and a statue at the stadium in his honour.

Forward – Alan Shearer

Hands up if you were expecting this one? Or should that be right arm pointed into the air in that iconic manner of Shearer’s, which he used to celebrate 206 Newcastle goals.

It is the ultimate Roy of the Rovers tale: a boy who grew up watching from the stands going on to not only play for his boyhood club but who captained them and became an idol.

Shearer finished his career as the club’s top goalscorer of all time, rebounding from serious injuries throughout his career and rejecting several lucrative moves elsewhere.

Although he didn’t manage to win a trophy with his beloved Newcastle, the striker did wind up as arguably the club’s greatest ever player. Not bad going.