Within minutes of his debut for Newcastle United, it was painfully obvious that Cheick Tiote would become a fan favourite at St James’ Park. The Magpies, fresh from winning the Championship the previous season and returning to the Premier League, headed to Goodison Park to face Everton in September 2010. Merseyside has never been a fruitful place for Newcastle, but there was something in the air on this particular day.
Signing from FC Twente in Holland, Tiote promised much of what the public of Newcastle demand in a footballer. So many misconceptions of fans’ motives are bandied about, and although it is true that they can hold a grudge and never forgive a lack of desire and passion for the shirt and the area, the idea that they moan and groan in the face of failure could hardly be further from the truth.
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Newcastle beat Everton 1-0 that day, with fellow new boy Hatem Ben Arfa stealing the headlines with a wonderful goal, but Tiote had started how he meant to go on.
The Ivory Coast international midfielder cost Newcastle just £3.5 million, but by the end of that game, his value had already quadrupled. No tackles were shirked and hardly a pass missed, but it was his heart, aggression and propensity to leave absolutely everything on the pitch that showed that the 24-year-old was exactly what Newcastle needed to aid their survival bid in their first year back in the top flight.
Seven years have passed and Newcastle have gone a full circle. Once again, they are gearing up for another season in the Premier League after gaining promotion, but this time Tiote won’t be there to fight for them. Aged just 30, the midfielder lost his life after collapsing in a training session with current club Beijing Enterprises, whom he joined after leaving Newcastle just six months ago.
News like this is almost impossible to comprehend, especially when it happens to someone in the prime of his life, at the absolute peak of human conditioning. If anyone embodied the notion of indestructibility at Newcastle, it was Tiote. Particularly in the first two of his seven years on Tyneside, his presence always seemed to give the team and the club an advantage going into games.
His yellow card count tells the story of how he played the game. At the end of his first season, 2010/11, he had to be rested in a home game against Birmingham City for fear of picking up a three-match ban for amassing 15 yellow cards, but that became part of his charm in an odd way.
Yohan Cabaye arrived at the club the year after him and Tiote thrived in a footballing sense. The pair formed the greatest midfield partnership in recent years for Newcastle, and were among the main reasons Alan Pardew was able to bring European football back to St James’ Park in 2012. Tiote played over 150 games for Newcastle, and in none of them did he receive two yellow cards; he was a master of the tackling art, even if his aggression got the better of him from time to time.
Injuries and inconsistent performances marred his later years in England, but he always gave his all whenever he stepped onto the pitch. No one was surprised when Chelsea and Manchester United expressed an interest in luring him away from his new home, and there was no hesitation on Newcastle’s part in handing him an unprecedented six-and-a-half-year contract in the January of 2011.
All too often for Newcastle in recent years, their best players left for pastures anew because of the way the club was structured. Owner Mike Ashley and the board persuaded targets to join on the basis that if they performed well they could use the club as a stepping stone and move elsewhere.
But Tiote was a family man, with reports that his wife is expecting a child this week making the news of his passing all the more tragic. As boisterous and wholehearted as he was on the field, off it, he was shy and extremely humble; his job was what he wanted it to be, in the background and away from the headlines.
There is no doubting he could have bettered his career had he moved at the right time, and in truth it is a surprise that he stayed at the club almost a year into current boss Rafa Benitez’s reign, even making a league appearance last season. Yet, Tiote felt settled in the North East, falling in love with the city, the club and the lifestyle, citing the busy London life as something he just didn’t want to get involved in.
Even when his consistency dropped, Tiote was still a powerful weapon in the arsenal. Many who had not watched him closely assumed he was a loose canon, and his consistency in getting in the referee's bad books didn’t help him. His flirtation with the captain’s armband in the absence of Fabricio Coloccini probably saved his latter career at Newcastle, serving as another example of just how good he was at not only leading his teammates but also controlling his aggression impeccably.
In moments of sadness and reflection, some take comfort in definitions. There is one particular moment which is viewed as the highlight of Tiote’s career at Newcastle, and that is his stunning, late, equalising volley in the 4-4 draw with Arsenal in February 2011. Because of the context – in that the Gunners were leading 4-0 at half time – the quality of his goal and the fact it was his only one for the club is a fitting way to remember him, but he gave Newcastle, as a city and a club, much more than that one moment.
Strong as an ox and with the heart of a lion, Tiote is rightfully being remembered with great fondness at Newcastle United and by the footballing world. Gone far too soon, he will forever be loved and respected for representing a unique club in a unique way.
RIP Cheick Tiote.
