Newcastle United fans have been telling Allan Saint-Maximin about their difficult relationship with former England star Michael Owen.
Owen scored 30 goals in 79 appearances for Newcastle in an illustrious playing career that also included spells with Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Stoke City.
However, the ex-striker is not remembered particularly fondly by the Toon faithful following comments he made about the club in one of his books.
Owen turned 41 on Monday (December 14) and to mark the occasion, Twitter user @toonarmy_com posted: "Sum him up by using ONE word or GIF."
This prompted a response - among many others - which read: "Never one of us... always a stranger... never wanted to be here."
Current Newcastle ace Saint-Maximin then popped up to ask the question: "Why you say that?"
Well, plenty of fans told the 23-year-old Frenchman exactly why.
In his book Reboot - My Life, My Time, Owen claimed that his transfer from Real Madrid to Newcastle in 2005 was a "downward step" and the one move he "really regrets".
"I should have followed my gut instincts, I didn't want to go there - my heart was set on a return to Liverpool," said Owen, who left Newcastle after their relegation to the Championship in 2009.
He also reflected on the moment his bond with Newcastle fans broke.
It came when Owen knocked himself out after running into team-mate Matty Pattison and the striker was stretchered off the field away to Watford.
"When I got home that night, I switched on Match Of The Day to watch the game back," he recalled.
"I watched myself getting knocked out, but in the background I could hear Newcastle fans, my fans, singing ‘what a waste of money!’ as I’m being stretchered off.
"I can’t deny that their actions that day changed things for me.
"I hate generalising about football players, managers or fans, but their reaction to what was just a freak accident told me that the Newcastle fans just didn’t get it at all.
"From that moment onwards, my stubbornness kicked in.
"No longer was I even going to attempt to ingratiate myself with the fans.
"Instead, I flipped it in a slightly more resentful way thinking, I don’t need to justify myself to f****** Newcastle fans.
"And I have a long memory.
"As much as there were some good times to follow at St James’ Park, my relationship with the fans was irreparably impaired that day at Vicarage Road.
"The love affair, if you could call it that, was almost over."
