This page is dedicated to some of the great Forwardss  who have graced St James's Park over the years. Sadly many did not win honours  with the Toon but certainly won the Hearts of the fanatical Toon Army Fans.  Over the next few months this page will be updated, so if you have a Toon  Favourite please E mail me and I will endeavour to publish that individuals profile.

Malcolm Macdonald

1971-1976

Though he began at Non-league Tonbridge, Malcolm Macdonald was  born within striking distance of Craven Cottage in January 1950 and returned  home when he signed for Fulham in 1968 as a right back. Future England  manager Bobby Robson converted him to a forward and, at one stage during the  1968-69 season, he was top scorer for both the reserves and first team.  Malcolm joined the Magpies in May 1971 for £180,000 to link with John Tudor  and was to follow in the footsteps of  “Wor Jackie” and become a local hero.  He shared Bobby Charlton Philosophy of shooting on sight, and, although the  occasional shot would wend its way towards the corner flag, the majority found  their target and left keepers helpless. Five seasons and 95 goals later, he  was on his way to Arsenal for a third of a million pounds - much to the dismay  of the Geordie fans. He made 14 appearances for England scoring six goals,  five of which were in one game against Cyprus (When still a Newcastle player).  At 29 he was forced by injury to a premature retirement, he had a taste of  management with Fulham and Huddersfield but quit to run a pub in the North  East. He now is a match  reporter for a local North East paper and is often  seen on Tyne Tees Television giving his views.

Tudor

1971-76

Tudor arrived at the Toon in January 1971, shortly before  Malcolm Macdonald , this  partnership was to be highly fruitful over the next  five years. Originally Johns position was as a midfielder with Coventry City  before being converted with great success to a strikers role. Macdonald called  Tudor his work horse he would use his aerial strength and ability to create  openings in the box to great advantage for both himself and Malcolm. In the  five years at the Toon he scored 73 goals in 216 appearances. His most magical  moment was scoring the winner a superb  diving header in the controversial F A  Cup tie against Nottingham Forest in 1974.  Macdonald and Tudor notched up 150  goals between them during this relativity brief partnership. Tudor, played  briefly for Belgium side AC Ghent before retiring through injury in 1978. He  had a brief spell as a publican in Northumberland, before moving to the   United States coaching in youngsters at grass-rot levels.

Jackie Milburn   (Wor Jackie)

1946-57

John Edward Thompson Milburn was nationally and internationally  Known as “Wor Jackie” A Geordie Idol for more than a decade and worshiped  long   after he hung up his boots. Jackie was well renowned for his ability to  rise for the big occasion, coupled with his lightning pace and ability to fire  lethal shots with either foot he was recognised to be the best in this era of  great centre forwards.  As a former pro sprinter with the apt initials of Jet  Jackie  became an  instant hero with the Geordie fans.   Joining United as a  youngster during the war, Jackie worked as a pit apprentice and started his St  James Park career on the right wing. Always in the reckoning for an England  place, it was thought to  anger Tyneside he only achieved half the number of  caps he should have. After a brief spell in Ireland and as a manager, Jackie  returned to his beloved North East becoming a respected journalist.   Given a  belated Testimonial at St James Park in 1967, a massive crowd of 45,404   welcomed him home. Sadly on 9th October Jackie passed away due to cancer, this  working mans hero brought Newcastle to a standstill for his funeral this much  lamented occasion was to be given national media coverage. Today a statue of  “Wor Jackie” stands proudly outside the ground as a tribute to this local  Hero.

Tino Asprilla

1995-1997

The jury is still out as to whether Kevin Keegan's acquisition  of Colombian showman Faustino Asprilla in early 1996 knocked his side's drive  for the Premiership out of gear. There are those that say he should have left  his tried and tested strike force of Ferdinand and Beardsley well alone. As it  was, Beardsley moved out wide to accommodate the newcomer and 'Tino' came off  the substitute's bench just hours after putting pen to paper to mesmerise  opponents and fans alike. He debuted at rivals Middlesbrough's Riverside  Stadium, and stole the spotlight from their own South American, Juninho, with  his skill. That was no surprise to fans of his former club Parma, where he'd  formed a deadly partnership with Swede Tomas Brolin after arriving from NAC  Medellin.

 His three full seasons in Serie A brought 23 goals in 73 appearances, a strike  rate of one in three that was impressive in the circumstances. His goals also  helped his side win the UEFA Cup. Always a player who rises to the occasion,  Asprilla's saved his best for the European stage, scoring twice in the 1996-97  campaign against Ferencvaros. Unfortunately,  his spectacular goal celebrations didn't stop at his  trademark cartwheel, and  high- jinks with a comer flag resulted in a yellow-card ban that kept him out  of the game against Monaco, when his services were much missed. Whether or not he justifies Keegan's description of 'One of the best five  players in the world', Tino has already made himself a Newcastle folk hero  with his elastic limbs, magic control and devastating pace. Nobody will ever  forget his hat-trick on 17 September against Spanish Giants Barcelona in the  Champions league. 

Bryan (POP) Robson

1964-1971

Bryan Robson is one of the few players in the History of the English game have  notched 300 goals yet never received an England cap. Having played Non-league  football for Clara Vale, he waited nearly two years after signing to make his  debut against Charlton in Division Two in September 1964. His goal was the  winner, and would alternate with Trevor Hockey in the Number 7 shirt for the  rest of the season that saw  Newcastle go up as Champions. By the end of the  decade he was the clubs main source of goals, having formed a fruitful big -man small man partnership with Wynn Davies, the lanky Welsh target-man  bought from Bolton in 1966.

He top-scored with 30 goals in all competitions in 1968-69, while Malcolm  Macdonald, who succeeded him, rated him the third best finisher of his  generation behind Greaves and Law. Robson continued to impress, his accuracy  with a dead ball providing the  opportunities for others ,as when a corner  helped Bobby Moncur head Newcastle into the lead against Inter Milan in 1970.  That same year he represented the Football League, but, despite two Under-23  Caps, was destined never to win a full cap. The diminutive striker played a  big part in the Fairs Cup run that followed the Inter game, but problems with  the club led to him moving South to West Ham in 1971 for £120.000 the first of  many moves in that decade. The likable Robson may never have won  International honours, but his value was underlined by the clubs that bought  him, sold him and bought him again He later became involved with Manchester  United Reserves.

Mirandinha

1987-88

Despite what you may hear emanating from Teesside, the first Brazilian to play in English football strutted his stuff at St James' Park. Da Silva Francisco Mirandinha arrived from Palmeiras in August 1987, summoned by manager Willie McFaul to push the side that bit closer to glory.

United splashed a then-record £575,000 for his services, persuaded by a 52-goal haul in he season before his migration. Something of a wanderer, he'd previously played for several clubs, including Botafogo and Santos of Pele fame.

His record of 300 goals in South American football had wonthe  diminutive dribbler international honours -fittingly, perhaps, he won his first cap at Wembley and scored against England in a 1-1 draw -but as autumn turned to winter he failed to reproduce that form with any regularity in the mid-season mud.

He also appeared to have difficulty settling ( a familiar story to Boro fans), yet the first season he graced the side, they hit the heights of eighth in the top flight. He numbered penalty-taking among his skills, and was potentially lethal with any kind of dead ball.  After another, less successful season    during which McFaul packed his bags, new manager Jim Smith, who       understandably gave the Brazilian less leeway than the man who'd first brought him to Tyneside, decided to dispense with his services.

Yet, the magic touches he displayed in his brighter moments remained long in the mind of appreciative fans Whether Mira the Magpie could have integrated better-he clashed with Paul Gascoigne the pitch when Newcastle played Monaco in a friendly-could have been down to his team mates himself.

In flashes, Mirandinha gave glimpses of his undoubted skill. And, unknowing, he gave Faustino Asprilla-the next South American star to come to earth on Tyneside-a bench mark to surpass.