A tough defender who 'took no prisoners' and his determination made him popular with the Toon Army.
But he was struck down with cancer when he left Tyneside, and thankfully he has won the battle of his life.
Not only has he made a full recovery, but he looks set to star for Australia in the World Cup in South Africa in the summer.
He now plays for Brisbane Roar, and has been named in the Australia squad to face Oman in a 2011 Asian Cup qualifier.
One player missing is Mark Viduka, who has seen a sad end to his remarkable career, suffering injury problems ... and looking as though he lives on a diet of pork pies and pizzas.
The fat man has disappeared from the scene, and Australia hoped Celtic striker Scott McDonald would fill his boots.
But that has been far from the case ... McDonald has failed to score for Australia in the 15 matches he has played for his country.
Australia squad:
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough), Adam Federici (Reading); David Carney, Patrick Kisnorbo (Leeds United), Mark Milligan (Shanghai Shenua), Craig Moore (Brisbane Roar), Lucas Neill (Everton), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough), Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow), Scott Chipperfield (Basel); Jason Culina (Gold Coast United), Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers), Brett Holman, Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Carl Valeri (Grosseto), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Tim Cahill (Everton); Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus) Bruce Djite (Genclerbirligi), Dario Vidosic (Nurnberg), Mile Sterjovski (Perth Glory).