標籤: credited

Habib Bey spent two years at Newcastle United between 2007 and 2009 during his playing career.

The Frenchman joins the Magpies from Marseille. Earlier this month, the Ligue 1 side appointed Roberto De Zerbi as his successor.

Friday edition of provence, A local newspaper of French clubs reviews his career and Newcastle United is part of it.

On Thursday, the former Arsenal star Robert Pires urged Marseille will have to be patient with their new manager. He used the Gunners’ decision not to part ways with Mikel Arteta early on as an example.

How Newcastle United lured Beyi

La Provence explains that during his playing career, finances led Bey to leave the League 1 team for the Magpies in 2007.

When he arrived at St James’ Park, Sam Allardyce was in charge. The newspaper says that he personally pressured Beyi to sign and that Newcastle United offered him a large salary which he found impossible to refuse.

Back in 2021, the 48-year-old said he was the top earner at Marseille, but the Premier League increased his salary by 2.5 times.

The former defender made 54 appearances for the Tyneside club and his supporters voted him Player of the Year in his first season.

Bayi left Newcastle United for Aston Villa in 2009 and in his final season at St James’ Park, he played alongside Sébastien Bassong.

Marseille boss’ influence on PL side

La Provence have now broadcast Bassong’s comments, in which he praised the impact of the new Marseille management at Newcastle United.

“In a dressing room full of stars near the end of his career, he was respected and he took responsibility,” He said.

“He was himself and had a zest for life and always loved connecting with the fans. They need that showman, extroverted side.”

Bassong was only at Newcastle United for one season but still felt Beyi’s influence. In fact, the Frenchman credits the former right-back for his successful spell with the Premier League team.

“He was like a big brother to me, looking after me. I often slept over at his place. I didn’t have a car, so he lent me his car. Since I didn’t have much money, he bought my first watch. I paid him little by little every month. He, Charles N’Zogbia and I were a trio. Without him, I wouldn’t have had such a good year at Newcastle. He played a huge role in my success,Baisong explained.

Much has been written over the past few weeks regarding the All-Star Game’s decline in entertainment value due to the lack of effort put forth by the players involved. However, no one can ever say that Cade Cunningham and Team USA Stars teammate Jalen Duren, the Detroit Pistons’ representatives for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, ever refused to give their all for even just a second spent on the court.

Neither of them will win MVP honors for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, but The Ringer’s Zach Lowe and Bill Simmons both credited the Pistons’ star duo for being true competitors for the love of the game.

“I thought the people of Detroit really cared and that’s why the game was good,” Simmons said on Sunday night’s edition of The Bill Simmons Podcast.

“That’s what you love about the Pistons,” Lowe said. “The fight against Charlotte is their downside, but the upside of who they are, they legitimately want to beat you to the bone and harass you physically, and touch you and they want to leave you.”

All systems go for the Pistons for a deep 2026 playoff run?

The Pistons got a taste of postseason action in 2025, losing in six games to the New York Knicks in the first round. But now, they’ve gone even further, emerging as one of the toughest teams to beat on a nightly basis in the NBA.

Detroit just wants to swallow its opponents whole, and it’s the intensity on the defensive end that makes it very suffocating to play against. And both Cunningham and Duren set the tone for Team Stars, which certainly played a role in defeating Team Stripes 47-21 in the final game of the night.