In a remarkable turnaround of fortunes in his Newcastle United career Fabricio Coloccini has be named the new captain following the sale of former club captain Kevin Nolan to West Ham.

It is a wise move by Pardew as Coloccini was a regular in the side for the past few seasons who rarely gets injured and is an automatic selection. There were many rivals to the role in Steven Harper who isn’t guaranteed his place next season, Joey Barton who could be sold or leave on a free in a year’s time and Steven Taylor who is local born but has not played much in 2 seasons due to various injuries.

Coloccini has become a bit of a cult hero at Newcastle and many fans will be pleased with the announcement, I know I certainly am as his influence from his position on the field will be good. Not to mention he rose to the occasion at times when he was handed the armband last season.

Coloccini said, “I am thrilled to be named captain of Newcastle United. It is one of the proudest moments of my career.

“Leading the team out in front of our supporters in our first game against Arsenal will be a great honour for me and I aim to give my best for the team and the supporters throughout the season.

“I would also like to thank Alan Pardew for putting his faith in me. It means so much to me.”

Pardew also added, “I had no hesitation in choosing Fabricio to be my captain next season.

“He will lead the team in a different manner to Kevin, but his professionalism, attitude, application and fantastic character made him the stand-out candidate and, in my mind, the 100 per cent right decision.”

It also removes pressure on the team as the squad now know the score with regards to who will be leading them going into the preseason games.