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The Best Five Players Who Have Played for Manchester United and Newcastle United
Blogs

The Best Five Players Who Have Played for Manchester United and Newcastle United

The Best Five Players Who Have Played for Manchester United and Newcastle



Nicky Butt

We start off the list with a cracker- Nicky Butt made up part of the famous Class of ’92, and became part of an iconic Manchester United team which dominated English football in the 90’s. He spent a glittering 12 seasons at Old Trafford, where he made 271 appearances and he netted 20 goals, always dominating the midfield. His successful tenure included six Premier League titles, and he even got to lift the UEFA Champions League during their historic season where the Red Devils won an incredible treble in 1999.

He moved to Tyneside initially in 2004 however, did not get on with the fans, leading to a loan to Birmingham City. He returned to the Magpies in 2006, scoring a further five times in 134 appearances, and helped them climb back into the top-flight in 2010.


Andy Cole

Perhaps the best player on this list in terms of his success at both clubs, and he is the only Premier League hall-of-famer on this list. Widely known for being arguably one of the best strikers of his generation in the Premier League’s early days, Cole made his move to Newcastle in 1993, signing for a club-record fee £1.75 million in January. He then went on to score 12 in 12 until the end of the season, guiding his team to promotion to the Premier League. Unfazed by the top-tier of English football, Cole went on to score 34 goals the next season, demonstrating his quality which included a hat-trick against Liverpool. This epic goal scoring season for Cole is still one of the best the Premier League has seen.

Sir Alex Ferguson then called, and Cole came immediately, which started an even more impressive spell, as won five Premier League titles over his eight years in Manchester. Add a Champions League and two FA Cups too and it makes it a shame how his quality was never recognised globally, as it seemed to stop nationally. Regardless, all Premier League fans were aware of his quality, as he scored 93 times in his 195 appearances for the Red Devils.


Peter Beardsley

Beardsley has made this list largely to his success at Newcastle, as you may be forgiven for forgetting his one-year loan spell at Old Trafford in 1982 under manager Ron Atkinson. The forward played just once in his short spell- a league cup match and unfortunately, he could never breakthrough into the starting 11 among many already established stars.

After returning to Vancouver following his spell in England, second-tier Newcastle then gave him an opportunity which he grabbed with both hands, starting a very successful spell in English football. Signing in 1983, he was an instant with supporters and became half of an exciting and formidable partnership with captain Kevin Keegan. He went on to help the Magpies secure promotion in his first season, then won consecutive Newcastle United Player of the Year awards in the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. Across his two spells at Tyneside, he scored 121 in 326 appearances.


Louis Saha

Another player who shone at one club much more than another, Louis Saha had an emphatic spell at Old Trafford and became known for his old-fashioned target man and his incredible hold-up play. He was also known for scoring stunning goals at the rate of knots. He first played for Newcastle in what was a short loan-spell in 1999. Here, he scored just once in 11 appearances.

Four years later, he joined Manchester United from after a successful spell at Fulham. During his four years in Manchester, he scored 28 times in 86 matches. Saha was very unlucky and was plagued by injuries. He was a bullish player who always made a significant impact when playing, he won the Premier League twice, even lifting the Champions League in 2008, and had a successful League Cup campaign, scoring six goals en-route to winning the trophy.


Michael Owen

Michael Owen had such an amazing start early on in his career, before unfortunately also being plagued with injuries. His Young Player and Player of the Year awards in 1998 were followed shortly by the most prestigious individual award in football, a Ballon D’or victory in 2001- also an award no English player has won since.

Always pulling off some spectacular goal when on the international stage, his body did not allow him to do this on such a regular basis, he only featured 79 times for the Magpies in his four-year spell, bagging 26 goals. After eventually getting his desired move to Old Trafford, many may remember his dramatic winner in that iconic Manchester Derby, scoring in “Fergie Time” as they won 4-3. Alongside the Premier League in 2011, Owen also won the League Cup a year earlier as well as the Community Shield. He was only able to feature 31 times during his spell, scoring just five goals before playing a year at Stoke before hanging up his boots.


Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Ben Growdon

Content Writer

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