Editing Lomana LuaLua (section)

===Newcastle United===
[[File:Bobby Robson Cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|left|140px|alt=An elderly man with grey hair smiling at the camera. He is in a football stadium and is wearing a black suit with a multi-coloured tie and a green scarf.|Bobby Robson saw LuaLua as a "very promising talent"]]

LuaLua had been brought to the attention of Newcastle manager, [[Bobby Robson]], by [[Mick Wadsworth]], assistant-manager at Newcastle United, who was a former manager of Colchester.<ref name=nufc /> Robson watched LuaLua before deciding to negotiate the transfer, and said, "I see [LuaLua] as a special talent. He has to learn how to play with the other players but he's a special new talent. He has to be nursed and cherished and taught. But we are buying long-term a very promising talent, a very promising player."<ref name=nufc /> LuaLua signed a five-year contract with the club.<ref name=nufc /> He made his first-team debut in a 1–0 home defeat to [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] in September 2000 and made 23 league and cup appearances for Newcastle in the [[2000–01 in English football|2000–01]] season without scoring.<ref name=sbase /> He scored twice in Newcastle's [[UEFA Intertoto Cup|Intertoto Cup]] campaign at the beginning of the [[2001–02 in English football|2001–02]] season but his first Premiership goal did not come until April 2002, when he scored a last-minute winner in a 3–2 away win against [[Derby County F.C.|Derby County]].<ref>{{cite news | title = LuaLua breaks his duck| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/africans_abroad/1929272.stm| publisher = BBC Sport| date = 14 April 2002| access-date =8 September 2007}}</ref> He scored a further two goals in the remaining four games of the season.<ref name=sbase /> LuaLua's goalscoring form continued into the beginning of the [[2002–03 in English football|2002–03]] season when he scored three goals in his first four games,<ref name=sbase /> but tougher competition for a first-team place meant that LuaLua made only 22 appearances throughout that season.<ref name=sbase /> In January 2003, LuaLua had urged Robson to [[Squad rotation system|rotate the squad]], saying, "I think I deserve a chance now, as do many of the lads on the fringes of the team. Although some people might have the idea that those of us not in the team like sitting on the bench and getting paid good money, nothing could be further from the truth. I'm not in this for the money, I want to play for the first team and show what I can do on a regular basis."<ref>{{cite news | title = LuaLua lashes out|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/2637915.stm | publisher = BBC Sport| date = 8 January 2003| access-date =8 September 2007}}</ref> LuaLua also spent much of the beginning of the [[2003–04 in English football|2003–04]] season on the bench and in November 2003, complained about his lack of first-team football and indicated that he would consider leaving Newcastle.<ref>{{cite news | title = LuaLua considers Newcastle future |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/3263227.stm | publisher = BBC Sport| date = 12 November 2003| access-date =8 September 2007}}</ref> In the ''[[Evening Chronicle|Newcastle Chronicle]]'', Robson responded, saying he would not take advice from a player about how to manage the side: "How dare he say this? I run this football club... LuaLua has been a pretty poor professional about all this. What he should do is keep his mouth shut and get out there and do what he is paid for."<ref>{{cite news | title = Robson lambasts LuaLua |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/3270385.stm | publisher = BBC Sport| date = 14 November 2003| access-date =8 September 2007}}</ref> In the end, he made 88 league and cup appearances for Newcastle, scoring nine goals, having started 21 games and made 67 appearances as a substitute.<ref name=sbase />