Midfielders
No. 7 Rob Lee (club captain)
Age. 32
Country. England
International Caps. 21 caps 2 goals
One of the best value for money signings Kevin Keegan ever made for Newcastle, Lee cost just £700,000 from Charlton in 1992. Having started out at Charlton as right winger Lee transfered to the centre of midfield not long after arriving at Newcastle and has become one of the key players at Newcastle over the past 6 years. Once labeled by Keegan as " the best midfielder in the country " Lee finally got into the international set up in 1995 under Terry Venables but was strangley left out of the final squad for euro '96 a situation Lee has avoided this time around after landing a place in the final 22 for the world cup. Rob made one appearence in the World Cup final's
No. 10 John Barnes
Age. 34
Country. England
International Caps. 82 caps 14 goals
John Barnes has rejuvinated his career at Newcastle after been surplus to requirements at Liverpool, Barnes has provided that spark of creativity Newcastle have been lacking since the sale of Beardsley and Ginola. As well as playing in midfield the former Liverpool and Watford winger played up front at the start of the season when there was the striker crisis at St James. Barnes has proved to be the best of Dalglish's ' old boy ' signings and should prove a usefull squad member this season.
No. 11 Gary Speed
Age. 29
Country. Wales
International Caps. 60 caps 5 goals
After his £ 5.5 million pound move from Everton Speed has yet to shown his true ability for Newcastle. Starting out at Leeds with David Batty ( one of the reasons he joined Newcastle) Speed was a vital part of the team which won the old division one title for Leeds. Speed then moved onto Everton for £ 3.4 million before joing Newcastle. Gary Speed is a rareity in the Newcastle squad in that he has a natural left foot, he is also a superb header of the ball and will work hard for the team. Hopefully this season his form will improve.
No. 14 Temuri Ketbaia
Age. 30
Country. Georgia
International Caps. 33 caps 10 goals (retired)
A relative unknown before his appearence at Wembley for Georgia in the world cup quailfying Ketsbaia arrived on a free from AEK Athens. His attacking style and willingness to take on defenders constantly has made him a crowd favorite at Newcastle. Dispite this Ketsbaia has been on the bench for most of the season and showed his frustration when he equalized against Bolton last season by attacking the advertising boards and his team mates. It was thought that Ketsbaia would leave if he wasn't given a first team place on a regular basis however it seems that he is staying to fight for a place.
No. 15 George Georgiadis
Age. 26
Country. Greece
International Caps. 16 caps 2 goals
Capable midfielder who was signed from Panathanikos for a cut price of £500,000. When he left his club the president of the club didn't know he had gone, when he found out he sent fans to Georgiadis house to attack him, lucky for him he wasn't there. He made 20 odd appearences last season with his team finishing second in the league. Georgiadis is very quick from what I have seen in the pre-season games and isn't afraid to get stuck in. His crossing of the ball is also one of his attributes, although he does seem to run out of ideas sometimes.
No. 22 Des Hamilton
Age. 22
Country. England
International Caps. none
Arrived at the end of the 96,97 season from Bradford for £ 1.5 million. Hamilton can play in either midfield or defence has been mainly used as a squad player. Much was said of him before his arrival but has yet to perform to his best perhaps moving to a large club may have effected him.
No. 24 Nolberto Solano
Age. 23
Country. Peru
International Caps. 22 caps 3 goals
Highly rated 'Wing back' who can also play in midfield, Solano was signed from Argentinian side Boca Juniors for £2.3 million. A regular in the Peruvian national team Solano was once refered to by Diego Maradona as 'Little Maestro' and is thought by many to be a world class player. Such was the interest on his arrival around 9'000 turned up to watch him play in a reserve game, he also scored a superb individual goal in that game.
No. 32 Ralf Keidel
Age. 21
Country. Germany
International Caps. under 21 caps
A promising left sided winger who had made a bit of a name for himself in the German lower leagues before joining the magpies. A pacey and tricky player who could prove to be a good signing by Dalglish. Another player kept in the reserves by Newcastle perhaps to make his debut this season. He scored a minute after coming on for his debut against Bohemians this season. Keidel may have to return to Germany in order to carry out National service.
No. 12 Dietmar 'Didi' Hamann
Age. 25
Country. Germany
International Caps. 11 caps 1 goal
Hamann was signed from Bayern Munich for £4.5 million after a succesfull world cup in France. A rarity in the German squad in that he is under 28 yrs, Hamann had only just forced his way into the german team before the world cup, scoring on his debut against South Africa. Before he joined Newcastle he was said to be more of a defensive midfielder, but on recent pre-season games he looks to be very comfortable going forward scoring in two succesive games. He should prove to be a good signing for Newcastle.
No. 26 David Burt
Age. 20
Country. England
International Caps. none
A fast and solid player who is very attacking, has also impressed in the Newcastle reserves. Yet to break into the full squad.
No. 17 Stephen Glass
Age. 22
Country. Scotland
International Caps. 1 cap 0 goals
Highly rated left winger signed from Aberdeen on a free transfer by Kenny Dalglish. A fast player who crosses the ball well Glass has been in superb form since the arrival of Ruud Gullit on Tyneside, Glass has also just broke into the senior Scotland squad. There were problems getting the deal finished as Aberdeen wanted money for the player it went to a tribunal and Newcastle had to pay £750,000 for Glass, not a bad price in todays transfer market.
No. 29 Garry Brady
Age. 22
Country. Scotland
International Caps. none
Yet another winger signed on a free from Tottenham. Not as fast as the other wingers in the squad Brady a few tricks and is good at passing the ball. He made a number of appearences from the subs bench last season.
