Fab farewell

It was confirmed today that, as was widely expected, Fabrice Pancrate won't be granted the opportunity to reap the rewards of our return to the top flight because we've decided not to take up the option of extending his deal by another season.

Too often peripheral to the action, loose in possession and wasteful when presented with good shooting chances, the Frenchman did a decent job of filling in for Geremi before Wayne Routledge arrived to add some real pace and dynamism to the right side of midfield. But he did at least score a goal, and a superb one at that, in what had been a tight game at home to Watford in December, and he certainly seems to have enjoyed his time on Tyneside: "I am really disappointed not to be a Newcastle player next year. This was the best club that I played for and not to be part of it next year is tough to take. The fans were the best I’ve played in front of and it was a great feeling to play in front of them".