Bye bye Beye

No sooner had I posted about Sebastien Bassong's departure than it was confirmed that Habib Beye has also left Tyneside. Reports yesterday suggested that Hull had had a bid of around £2.5m accepted and that it was only a matter of time before the Senegalese defender signed on the dotted line. But the Tigers were gazumped by Aston Villa, and, faced with a choice between European football with a side capable of challenging for the Premier League's top four and moving to Hull for what is set to be a fruitless relegation battle, Beye no doubt took all of a few nanoseconds to decide.

The transfer fee and the weight off the payroll is what's most important, but I can't help taking some pleasure in the fact that that gloating prick Phil Brown has been left with egg on his luminous orange face by a second Newcastle player this summer (the first, of course, being Little Saint Mick).

After arriving from Marseille (where he was part of the team that defeated us en route to the 2004 UEFA Cup Final), Beye made 48 appearances in his two years at the club. He stood out as a generally assured figure in what was all too often an all-at-sea defence, and his absence from crucial games in last season's run-in through injury proved very costly indeed (even if he did mark his return to the side by putting through his own goal against the Smogs). Named as our Player of the Year in 2008 (though admittedly pickings were decidedly slim), he had the honour of having his own chant: "Sunday, Monday, Habib Beye / Tuesday, Wednesday, Habib Beye"...

So, another one gone with our best wishes - hopefully it won't be too long before we'll get the opportunity to say "Good riddance".