I know, I know, I know. There are going to be disagreements. As ever, you're welcome to air your thoughts in the comments section below (be nice).
Picking an all-time Newcastle United XI is a bit of an impossible task, but it's also a joy to revel in memories left by legends who have worn the black and white.
I hope the thousands who took part in our survey to discover fans' ultimate all-time Newcastle United XI enjoyed it, and I apologise for only allowing you to pick two forwards from a dozen incredible goal-scoring candidates.
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It was last month's conclusion of our Newcastle United history podcast ' Chronicled ' that prompted this survey. Myself and the club's official historian Paul Joannou had spent the previous 30 weeks chronologically walking through the entire history of the club via weekly podcast episodes. That's 140 years of matches, trophies, heartache, drama, controversy, mysteries, relegation, dogs, a lucky penny, World Wars, rivalries and more. Central to the story are of course the players whose performances, personality and talent has kept fans coming through turnstiles since 1881.
We had dozens of special guests join us during the course of the series (two of whom actually make the all-time XI we're revealing today). The entire run is still available to listen to via all major podcast platforms, and is also has been uploaded in video format to the EIBW YouTube channel.
I encourage anyone with a passing interest in the club to listen to try the series, it's taught me so much about a club I thought I knew everything about (I definitely didn't).
On a final bonus episode, I challenged Paul Joannou to come up with a shortlist of the greatest Newcastle players of all-time, and a shortlist of managers, for fans to vote on. I further annoyed Paul by asking him to pick his all-time XI in 4-4-2 formation (knowing that he prefers 4-3-3 to accommodate his three favourite forwards).
You can listen to him discuss his 4-4-2 team (through gritted teeth) HERE.
Well over 5,000 fans took the time to vote on the team. It should be noted, pre-war players are at a disadvantage with little or no footage of players before the 1940s existing, so there is naturally a modern theme to the final XI:
Goalkeeper - Shay Given 71%
Pavel Srnicek 15.1%, Ronnie Simpson 6.3%, Willie McFaul 3.7%
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Right-back - Warren Barton 49.3%
David Craig 20.3%, Irving Nattrass 19.2%, Bill MCracken 8.3%, Bobby Cowell 2.9%
Centre-backs - Philippe Albert 33.2% and Bob Moncur 28.6%
Jonathan Woodgate 26%, Frank Brennan 6%, Glenn Roeder 5.3%
Left-back - John Beresford 51.3%
Frank Clark 36.1%, Alf McMichael 7.8%, Frank Hudspeth 2.7%
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Right midfield - Nolberto Solano 45.2%
Chris Waddle 34.2%, Keith Gillespie 8%, Joe Harvey 6.6%, Jimmy Scoular 5.1%
Central midfield - Paul Gascoigne 33.6% and Rob Lee 23%
Gary Speed 21%, Yohan Cabaye 8.5%, Tony Green 7.8%, Hatem Ben Arfa 3%, Colin Veitch 1.2%
Left midfield - David Ginola 66.9%
Laurent Robert 12.6%, Terry Hibbitt 12.6%, Bobby Mitchell 7.6%
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Forwards - Alan Shearer 45.7% and Jackie Milburn 13.9%
Peter Beardsley 12.2%, Les Ferdinand 7.6%, Malcolm Macdonald 7%, Andy Cole 5.3%, Kevin Keegan 4.9%, Hughie Gallacher 2.2%, Len White 0.7%
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Manager - Sir Bobby Robson 57.3%
Kevin Keegan 35.3%, Joe Harvey 6.3%, Rafa Benitez 0.7%
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Final XI
There we have it, the fans have spoken. The beauty of this is that the conversation never ends. Who knows, perhaps the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes can force their way into the conversation over the next few years. There's an exciting thought.
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