'Newcastle have a chance' - Laurent Robert's verdict as two former clubs meet | OneFootball

One former Newcastle United player was quickly spotted by away fans two seasons ago as he walked up to the Parc des Princes ahead of the club's Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain, another of his old clubs.

Everyone knew his name.

That player was Laurent Robert, who was serenaded by travelling supporters outside the ground.

They sang: "Laurent, Laurent Robert - everyone knows his name!"

Robert is long gone from the club - he left two decades ago - but he is not forgotten.

The winger said: "Two years ago, when I came to Paris to see the game, all the fans sang my name! It was fantastic!"

Robert, signed in the summer of 2001, had a fantastic career at United, but had it not been for a chance meeting in Spain, Robert may never have joined the club.

Then-United chief scout Charlie Woods was on holiday with his wife at a golf resort when, coincidentally, the PSG team arrived on a coach.

Sir Bobby Robson, at the time, was looking for a wide player to strengthen his squad.

Woods - who had previously recommended Robert to Tottenham Hotspur during his time at the north London club - asked if he could watch PSG train to get another look at Robert.

He called Sir Bobby, and said: "What do you think about Robert? You know I like him."

The next day, Woods asked Nicolas Anelka, Robert's PSG team-mate, if he felt that the winger would be able to play in the English top flight.

Woods recalled: "He said 'not a problem'. I said 'are you certain?'. He said 'absolutely'."

Robert had grown up on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion idolising Chris Waddle during the former United winger's Olympique Marseille days.

He said: "When I played in Reunion, I had the same long hair as Chris Waddle!"

Robert, like Waddle, was a left-footed player capable of exciting fans on the wing, and he signed a five-year deal at the club after meeting Sir Bobby.

"I know they wanted to sign me," Robert told newcastleunited.com. "My agent told me about Newcastle. With Paris, I had no problems, but some differences with the coach, Luis Fernández, the season before. We talked all together, and they said 'if a club gives a good price for you, we can sell you'.

"Many clubs spoke with my agent. Charlie worked really hard, and Sir Bobby Robson as well. When I came to Newcastle, I had a good feeling, and that's why I signed there."

Robert - who grew up in the tropics - was given a warm welcome in the chillier North East of England.

"You know what, I left my country when I was 15 years-old," said Robert. "When I came to France, this was the hardest experience for me. After that, coming to Newcastle was very easy. The weather? No problem for me.

"You know, players need a good atmosphere, and I had that in Newcastle. My first game, against Chelsea, was very good. We played Middlesbrough, and I scored one goal. Everything was really good for me."

Sir Bobby was the "best" manager Robert played for in his career.

"When I talked with Sir Bobby, he gave me confidence," said Robert. "Players need that. I could play my best football in England for Newcastle. I worked for four years with Sir Bobby. Unbelievable! He was the best one.

"Many games when I didn't play well, he said to me 'no, no, no - continue to work hard, and you know you have a chance to score, to give some good chances for (Alan) Shearer'. That's really important, you know, when your manager talks with you like this. It's crucial."

Robert had Shearer to aim for in the box when he found space to cross from the wing.

"We trained for that. During the games, he knew me, I knew him," said Robert. "When I had the ball, he came in the box. That's really important."

However, Robert - who played Champions League football for United - is remembered as much on Tyneside for his 32 goals, scored with his hammer of a left foot, than his assists, and an overhead kick against Fulham at St. James' Park is his favourite United strike.

He said: "Many goals for Newcastle! I remember one against Fulham, the 'ninja'. And my goal against Manchester United, the free-kick against Fabien Barthez. Not too bad as well! Many goals, but the goals (I remember) were important, when we won, not to draw or lose. The best one, I think, was against Fulham at home."

Many fans will point to his two stunning volleys in a 4-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at St. James' Park when asked to rank his goals.

Robert, though, did not feel that he could play that day due to sickness. Sir Bobby, however, had other ideas, and turned up at his house on the morning of the game to personally assess his readiness to play.

Robert chuckles when asked about the Tottenham game.

He said: "Two goals, yeah! You know what? I will tell you something. Before this game, I'm sick. The day before, I had a temperature, and Sir Bobby came to my house on Saturday morning with the club's doctor.

"He told me 'Laurent, I need you this afternoon!'. I said 'Gaffer, I'm sick! It's not possible for me!'. He said to me 'no problem, Laurent'. He gave me some vitamins, something like that, and he said to me 'you come (to St. James' Park) two hours before the game'.

"Alone in St. James' Park, I started the warm-up, you know, to see if I had a good feeling or not. I said 'okay, I can play today'. After that, you know the result - 4-0, two goals, two passes for Shearer (to set up his two goals).

"All the players said to me 'you need to be sick all the weeks!'. You know when Sir Bobby came to see me, I said 'I will try for you', because he protected me a lot. The players, I think, need that. I did my best for him every time."

Things changed for Robert following the departure of Sir Bobby in August 2005. Graeme Souness - who succeeded him as United manager - did not share Sir Bobby's enthusiasm for Robert's talents.

Robert regrets his own departure, which came at the end of the season. He was an unused substitute for the last game of the 2004/05 campaign against Chelsea, but still made an emotional final appearance on the field at St. James' Park during a lap of appreciation from the team.

He took off his shirt, shorts, socks and shinpads and threw them into the crowd, leaving the pitch in just his underwear.

"For the fans, it was very important to say that I loved them very much," said Robert. "I knew, for the next season, the manager didn't want me. I gave all my clothing, my shoes, socks - everything!

"When you play for Newcastle, you need to work hard for the fans, for the team, for everybody. I was very happy to play there."

Robert had wanted to spend the rest of his career at United.

"I regret when I left," said Robert. "They changed the manager. Graeme Souness didn't want me. This is my regret. I really wanted to stay during my contract for five years. I stayed only four years.

"You know, football is like this. I really wanted to stay for a long, long time in Newcastle, but the manager changed, and everything was different. I really wanted to stay there, and finish my career in Newcastle."

Twenty-one years later, Robert is a coach at the academy of Montpellier, the French club he served early in his career, and he has ambitions to step up the coaching ladder.

"I work in the academy for Montpellier, coaching strikers," said Robert. "I want to work for somebody (as an assistant coach), or be the head coach (in the future).

"If Newcastle's Academy needs a striker coach, I'm okay! I take my luggage, my family - we come back!"

Robert still avidly follows the club's fortunes from Montpellier, and he hopes the team, guaranteed a place in the knockout phases play-offs following last Wednesday's 3-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven, can progress to the Champions League's Round of 16.

United were denied a win at the Parc des Princes two seasons ago by a 98th-minute Kylian Mbappé penalty - the game ended 1-1 - and Eddie Howe's team return to the stadium on Tuesday night for their final league-phase fixture.

"They (United) have a good feeling in the Champions League," said Robert. "Football is football. You need to work hard together. Paris are very strong. They have a chance to win, Newcastle have a chance. It depends on the mentality and many things.

"For Newcastle, I don't know if they will win or not, but they have a chance."

Robert, 50, enjoyed his visits to St. James' Park last season, and he hopes to be back on Tyneside again later this term.

"Last year I came two or three times," said Robert. "For my family, it's very important. One of my boys said 'dad, everybody knows you here - it's fantastic!"

Everyone still knows his name.