Newcastle United faced a mass exodus of Premier League stars when they were relegated to the Championship in 2009, with one in particular forcing through a move they now reflect on with disappointment.
Obafemi Martins, Sebastien Bassong, Habib Beye, David Edgar, Damien Duff, Michael Owen and Mark Viduka all departed Newcastle that summer, with no new signings coming in to replace them.
The most important player among that list, though, was Bassong. Having arrived from Metz for just £500k the summer before, the defender went onto win the Newcastle Player of the Season award. His 30 appearances in the Premier League at left-back and centre-back impressed - especially considering he was still only 22-years-old and a relative unknown when arriving in the North East.
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Ex-Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong reflects on 2008/09
"I was playing very well," Bassong exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "I was fearless. I won the club’s player of the season award, even though I wasn’t expected to be starting regularly yet.
However, as a team and for the club as a whole, it was really tough. We had several managers during the season, there was no stability and we got relegated. When you don’t have any stability, you pay the price at some point.
"So, I reflect upon that season with mixed emotions. I was so gutted and can remember crying after we went down, as I was fully committed. I fell in love with the English game and all of the Geordies, so that was hard for me. But that’s life and you have to bounce back."
The Cameroon international didn't leave on the best of terms, though. In July 2009 he refused to travel with the squad on their pre-season tour, expressing his desire to return to the Premier League.
Bassong forces through Tottenham move
He later criticised there not being a manager in charge at the start of pre-season - Chris Hughton was eventually appointed on a full-time basis, though by that point Bassong had forced through a move to Tottenham.
Looking back, it's clear he would have preferred things to have gone differently in securing that transfer, though he's keen to stress there's no regrets.
"I believe you make mistakes for a reason," Bassong says. "So, would I have changed anything? Not really. If I knew at the time what I know now, then I wouldn’t have forced a move away from the club – I’d have done it differently. But I was young and you learn from mistakes.
"People know how much I love Newcastle United – I was a kid who didn’t know how to hold his own emotions or know what was right from wrong. I got carried away and my spell there was tarnished by the way I left, although I was able to clear the air with the club and explain what happened. I don’t regret what happened, though.
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"It was a passionate story between me and Newcastle. I owe them a lot and had to apologise at some point; I had to admit what went on in my mind. At the time, I was in a situation where I was suddenly in demand and people tell you loads of things that make you confused. You’ve been forced to not go to training, and that’s difficult to deal with as a young footballer.
"At one stage, somebody was offering me something and then they pulled out. This sort of business was going on behind the scenes. I was instructed by people at different clubs, 'Don’t train, force a move away and we’ll pay the fines'. It was a stressful period."
