Rob Lee

A model professional, the Londoner became Newcastle's current longest-serving player during an exciting decade on Tyneside. Calm on the ball and with excellent vision, Rob retained a tremendous appetite for the game with his hardworking role in midfield.

Calm on the ball and with good vision, he tended to sit deeper in midfield than earlier in his career, delivering sweeping passes to change the angle of attack, or alternatively probing opposition defences with long balls into the heart of the box. Because of injuries he was pressed into service as an emergency sweeper at West Ham where he turned in an excellent performance, and this option was occasionally used in subsequent games. He made the 700th senior appearance of his career at Bradford City in March, but the second half of the season was disrupted by a series of injuries, beginning with a hamstring strain at the end of the year and ending with an injury to his left knee that required surgery to shave the cartilage and remove floating bone debris, thus bringing his season to a premature end in April. He made his last appearance for Newcastle in a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford in January 2001 and joined team mate Warren Barton when he joined Derby County in February 2002.

Rob joined West Ham United in August 2003 in a one-year deal. He signed for Oldham Athletic in November 2004 on a monthly basis.