Source: Daily_Mail
What a bad Toon: But Xisco's got England in his sights
Francisco Jimenez Tajeda may be an unfamiliar name but his transferproved one of the key moments of the last Barclays Premier Leagueseason. He is better known as Xisco, but that might not help mucheither.
He made just five Premier League appearances and scored a solitarygoal but his arrival at Newcastle is credited with sparking the club'sdescent into chaos and ultimately their relegation.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE: The true horror will hit home for Newcastle and Middlesbrough on fixtures dayShearer left standing still as Newcastle turn to Hughton to take over the interim reins This week, Xisco was back on the football field, playing for Spain in the European Under 21 Championship, and the smile is back on his face after a torturous campaign on the sidelines. Tomorrow he will face England, anxious to prove he is not an expensive flop.
'I have nothing to prove to people in Spain,' said Xisco in fluent English.
'But I have to show Newcastle fans what I can do. It has been very hard for me. I never thought my first season in the Premier League would be anything like this.'
It was Xisco's £5.8million transfer from Deportivo La Coruna last August which prompted Kevin Keegan to quit Newcastle. The striker had been spotted by Dennis Wise and Tony Jimenez, and was handed a five-year contract worth £50,000 a week.
Keegan left, furious that players were being signed without his consent, and Xisco's debut against Hull turned into a mass demo at St James' Park. Only later did the Spaniard learn he was the reason for the manager's sudden departure and an outpouring of local grief.
'I thought I'd made the right decision,' said Xisco. 'Everyone knew Newcastle was a historic team with great fans, great players and a lot of money. No-one thought Newcastle would go down.
'There were so many problems. At first it was like a small snowball, then the problems rolled, they got bigger and bigger. When it was time to wake up it was too late. I am sad for everyone because the Newcastle fans are amazing.'
Xisco barely spoke to Keegan. 'We'd say hello, that was about it,' he said from the Spain team hotel in Gothenburg. But it was the arrival of Joe Kinnear as manager in September which convinced Xisco he was not wanted.
'When Kinnear came in, there was nothing for me,' said the 22-year-old.
'On Monday morning I knew I would not be playing on Saturday. When you train well you expect a chance but there was nothing.
There was no communication between us. He never said you've trained well or you've trained bad or you have to be like this or that.
'I was very angry. The most important thing is respect. I felt they didn't care if I trained well or badly. It was, "You train for one or two hours and then go home".'
He saw a glimmer of hope when Kinnear suffered heart problems and Chris Hughton took charge but a toe injury in a reserve game ruled him out for another two months. By the time he was fit again, Alan Shearer was in charge and the club were locked in a relegation battle.
Newcastle are now desperate to offload players like Xisco from their crippling wage bill.
'I don't know what I will do,' shrugged Xisco. 'They don't know what they want, what will happen, who is the manager, nothing. I have to wait for a call to see if they want me or if they want me to go on loan.
'It has been a difficult season and I don't want to repeat it. I need to play. If I don't play at Newcastle, then I have to find another team. I am young and two years without playing is bad for me.
'I don't want that. I love England and Newcastle is a nice city to live in. I was surprised because I'd heard many legends about England - about the weather, the food and that everything closes at 5pm.'
Spain's Under 21 manager Juan Ramon Lopez Caro kept faith in Xisco and included him in his squad for the Euros in Sweden. He came on as a sub in a goalless draw against Germany on Monday.
