Yes, football did exist before the dawn of the Premier League in 1992, but for the purpose of this piece we're focusing on the modern era at Newcastle United. Sincere apologies to Veitch and McWilliam, Robledo and Foulkes, Gascoigne and McCreery plus other Newcastle midfield pairs of note.
Football has of course evolved incredibly, but the centre of the pitch remains essential to a strong team and it's no coincidence that good eras at St. James' Park have coincided with a good midfield partnership at the heart of them. Is the Brazilian bromance that is currently bubbling between Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes a sign of a new golden era at St. James' Park?
Fans certainly hope so. As part of our weekly debate piece, we asked ChronicleLive's football desk to put forward a case for five of the key midfield partnerships in the Premier League era, read their cases below:
Rob Lee and David Batty - Lee Ryder, Chief Newcastle United writer
The duo were regulars in the England squad during the 1990s with Kevin Keegan coining them his "Dogs of War" at one stage. Lee arrived from Charlton Athletic for £700,000 and proved to be a real hit and lived up to what was deemed a big price tag at the time for a second flight club.
Batty was a premium signing at £3.5million and came in to bolster the midfield and protect a defence that was leaking goals in the 1995/96 season. You probably won't meet two different characters with Lee always happy to have his say in the media and enjoy the life of a personality mixing with supporters.
Batty now lives a quiet life and doesn't enjoy talking about his career in public. Perhaps the pair's contributions in midfield mirror that too. Batty was happy to absorb the pressure as anchor man while Lee loved to get forward and get on the scoresheet.
That said who could forget Batty's wonderful chip against Wimbledon in a 2-0 win in 1996? Both were brilliant passers of the ball and will be many people's vote for the best midfield duo.
+++
Kieron Dyer and Gary Speed - Ross Gregory, Digital Sports Editor (Customer)
What a player Kieron Dyer was in his pomp. For someone who played 250 games for the Magpies, his contribution often gets overlooked - sometimes because of his own fault (the petulance, the bling, the inconsistency); sometimes through circumstances not of his own doing (injuries, versatility).
That last point is worth considering. Dyer's electric pace and trickery on the ball often saw him used out wide by Sir Bobby Robson, as a second striker behind Alan Shearer, or as a right-back, a position he even played for England.
However, his best position was undoubtedly in central midfield where his running stamina and an underrated passing ability was a vital part of Newcastle's transformation under Sir Bobby. Over the course of a eight-year spell on Tyneside, Dyer partnered with many players in the centre of the park, including pal Jermaine Jenas, Rob Lee and occasionally Clarence Acuna, but it was Gary Speed who got the best out of him.
Speed, who had been an attacking midfielder himself in his youth, sat deeper when Dyer was alongside him, protecting the back four with his nous and experience, allowing the younger man to gallop free ahead of him. The pair could just about do it all, and while they never quite had the class of the Roy Keane-Paul Scholes axis, or the power of Patrick Vieira-Gilberto Silva, they were instrumental in helping secure Newcastle to fourth, third and fifth-placed Premier League finishes in successive years, along with stellar European nights the likes of which the club has not seen since.
+++
Cheick Tioté and Yohan Cabaye - Aaron Stokes, Newcastle United Editor
Fish and Chips, Ant and Dec, Cabaye and Tiote... You just can't have one without the other! Costing £4.3m and £3.5m respectively, the midfield duo are two rare transfer successes of the Mike Ashley austerity era.
But as footballers Cabaye and Tiote could not be more different. In a way that is why they complimented each other so well. In Cabaye you had the mercurial midfield maestro, unlocking defences with pinpoint passes and striking fear into the opposition with inch-perfect set pieces.
Newcastle fans still to this day rank him among the best they ever saw in a black and white shirt. Tiote was different. A quality player in his own right, his best attributes came without the ball at his feet.
Prone to a yellow card and a dodgy tackle or two, Tiote would roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty. Hassling and frustrating opponents, he did the hard yards to ensure his partner Cabaye could focus on attacking.
He also gave Newcastle fans everywhere one of the most iconic 'I was there' moments in the club's history. *That* Arsenal equaliser means he will be forever etched in Magpies history. The only downside is that from February 5th 2011 onwards he was prompted by the crowd to 'SHOOOOT' at even the most inappropriate opportunity.
Very rarely did he connect with the ball as well as he did that day against the Gunners... Joelinton and Bruno may be the fan favourites of the moment, but they have a long way to go to match the success of Yohan and Cheick.
+++
Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton - Andrew Musgrove, Social Media Editor
As leaders on and off the pitch go - Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan fit the bill perfectly. It's hard to determine what a great partnership is because there are so many different elements that can sum a pair up.
For these two, it is that leadership. In 2009 Newcastle found themselves in crisis mode - relegated from the Premier League and then thumped 6-1 by Leyton Orient in a pre-season friendly. It's not too far of claim to say that where Newcastle United are now (under new ownership, aiming to achieve big things over the next few years) is in a small part down to Nolan and Barton's contribution.
At the time of that thumping to Orient, Newcastle as a club was at a crossroads. Nolan and Barton stormed into the dressing room and demanded action. It led them to promotion and back to the promised land.
Had Barton and Nolan not stepped up, or even jumped ship that summer - it's scary to think where the club may be now. Yes, they were relegated again in 2016 but the club were not in the mess they had been seven years prior - and largely thanks to Nolan and Barton's actions.
On the pitch, they brought the same standard that was set by them in the dressing room - making sure everyone brought their all. They scored goals - some very important, and others very good. Nolan, of course as captain, led the club to promotion and went on to cement his name in folklore with a hat-trick against Sunderland.
Never world-class players - but without doubt both top-level Premier League players, Nolan and Barton deserve to be within a shout for the best midfield partnership as they gave everything for the club and not only stuck around when many would have jumped, but stepped up and arguably played a role in guiding United away from a well-trodden path of slipping down the leagues.
+++
Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden - Ciaran Kelly, Newcastle United Writer
There will be better partnerships in the middle of the park in years to come, and there are superior ones on this list to be frank, but Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden have played their own small part in Newcastle United's recent history. The pair not only helped Newcastle win promotion from the Championship as champions in 2017 but, also, kept the Magpies in the top-flight during some testing times.
Had that not happened, the club may not be in the position it is now and Bruno Guimaraes, for one, might not be a Newcastle player.
As a partnership, Hayden's industry and tenacity complemented Shelvey's vision and passing range, and the pair are among the few midfielders in the club's history who have gone on to play more than a century of games together.
Perhaps, most importantly, they have genuinely grown to love the club since joining back in 2016. It would have been easier, after all, for Shelvey to jump ship after Newcastle went down while Hayden left boyhood club Arsenal for the challenge of taking the Magpies back up - and that commitment cannot be overstated.
Hayden has since repeatedly played out of position at various points for the team and the midfielder even put off surgery on a knee problem to help his team-mates earlier this season. Shelvey, meanwhile, has adapted his game and made great strides defensively under Eddie Howe while also quietly emerging as an influential leader when that prospect once felt remote.
Who is your favourite midfield duo? LOG IN and leave your comment below and vote via this form:
