Newcastle United flop Xisco has lifted the lid on his nightmare season at St James' Park.
The Spaniard's controversial £5.8 million switch from Deportivo La Coruña last summer is seen as the start of the Toon's dismal decline into the Championship.
Having made only five league appearances last season, the 23-year-old striker has come to represent the naivety, tension and lack of planning of the Mike Ashley era.
Xisco's time on Tyneside has been a disaster from the start, being ignored by Kevin Keegan, then Joe Kinnear and finally Alan Shearer.
"This last year has been hard, very hard," he said in The Daily Telegraph. "When I signed from Coruña I knew Newcastle were a historic team, great fans, great players and a lot of money.
"But there were many problems. First it was like a small snowball, then the problems rolled and rolled, got bigger and bigger and then when it was time to wake up it was too late. We did not have time to recover.
"I knew the story that Keegan was not the one who wanted to sign me. We never spoke much. I would say 'hello'. That was about it.
"When Kinnear came... for me nothing. On that first Monday I knew I would not be playing. There was no communication with Kinnear. I was very angry. For a player the most important thing is respect. I felt they didn't care if I trained well or trained badly. It was 'You stay here and train one or two hours and then go home'.
"The first game when Kinnear left I played 10 minutes against West Brom and this day was like 'wow, I play again!' Next reserve game I played against Manchester City and I get an injury with my toe. I was out for 2½ months.
"At the beginning it improved when Shearer came in. But I understand his situation. He had to use players who had played all season. He had only eight games to change it around. That was too short. But no one thought Newcastle would go down."
He added: "I have to wait for a call to see if they want me there or if they want me to go on loan. I cannot afford another year like it.
"I need to play. If I can't play at Newcastle I have to find another team."
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The Spaniard's controversial £5.8 million switch from Deportivo La Coruña last summer is seen as the start of the Toon's dismal decline into the Championship.
Xisco's time on Tyneside has been a disaster from the start, being ignored by Kevin Keegan, then Joe Kinnear and finally Alan Shearer.
"This last year has been hard, very hard," he said in The Daily Telegraph. "When I signed from Coruña I knew Newcastle were a historic team, great fans, great players and a lot of money.
"But there were many problems. First it was like a small snowball, then the problems rolled and rolled, got bigger and bigger and then when it was time to wake up it was too late. We did not have time to recover.
"I knew the story that Keegan was not the one who wanted to sign me. We never spoke much. I would say 'hello'. That was about it.
"When Kinnear came... for me nothing. On that first Monday I knew I would not be playing. There was no communication with Kinnear. I was very angry. For a player the most important thing is respect. I felt they didn't care if I trained well or trained badly. It was 'You stay here and train one or two hours and then go home'.
"The first game when Kinnear left I played 10 minutes against West Brom and this day was like 'wow, I play again!' Next reserve game I played against Manchester City and I get an injury with my toe. I was out for 2½ months.
"At the beginning it improved when Shearer came in. But I understand his situation. He had to use players who had played all season. He had only eight games to change it around. That was too short. But no one thought Newcastle would go down."
He added: "I have to wait for a call to see if they want me there or if they want me to go on loan. I cannot afford another year like it.
"I need to play. If I can't play at Newcastle I have to find another team."
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Related links:
Team
Personal
Also see:
