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Paul Gascoigne has picked the best XI from his glittering playing career – and it has a strong Toon flavour.

Choosing from the best players he played alongside for Sky Sports’ Fantasy Football, Newcastle United and England legend Gazza picked an all-English side featuring five former Magpies stars.

The Daily Mail published his reasons for choosing every player – with some brilliant stories included.

His full XI was: David Seaman; Gary Neville, Terry Butcher, Gary Mabbutt, Stuart Pearce; Chris Waddle, Bryan Robson, Peter Beardsley, John Barnes; Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.

Of the five ex-Toon players he selected, he said the following:

Stuart Pearce

“I dare not leave this guy out. I was fortunate enough to play with Stuart Pearce. He used to deliberately wear little pairs of shorts so his thighs looked massive.

“He was a strong bloke and, for me, when he scored that penalty (at Euro 96) I was proud of him after he missed that one in the World Cup, because he had the balls to go up and take it.

“In the World Cup I didn’t because my head wasn’t there.

“You saw his reaction – he had waited six years to do that.

“I remember one tackle – I was so glad I wasn’t a right winger playing against him – it was a crunching tackle on Pat van den Hauwe, I mean wow this tackle. The ball flew about 40 yards, wow. The noise that came from that tackle was incredible.

“He had a free kick on him. He could smash the ball in the back of the net.

“What I like about Stuart Pearce as well is he came from a tough background. I’ll go for Pearce, I wouldn’t have liked to have messed with him or played right wing.”

Chris Waddle

“This guy was phenomenal. The goalkeeper throws it out just near the halfway line, for Tottenham, and it’s come to Chris Waddle. I’ve turned because it’s gone over my head and Chris is attacking, but what he’s done, he’s half-volleyed it over my head, I’ve turned to get at him and he’s half-volleyed it over my head again and ran away.

“I’m near the bench and I just stood and applauded him because that was brilliant.

“Terry Venables shouts ‘what are you doing?’, I said ‘did you see that?’. He’s like ‘get after him’, but by that time it’s too late.

“When Chris Waddle dropped his shoulder half the stadium left.

“One game, after he moved to Marseille, I went to watch him and he battered AC Milan all game and he scored with a back-heel.

“He was miles apart from anyone else. Even late on in his career, he was still playing unbelievable football and he was probably one of my best friends too.”

John Barnes

“You can’t leave the guy out. For what he did, he grafted back. The goal he scored against Brazil, I mean what a goal that was. I would have been proud of that one. The crossing he had on him, the free kicks, his control… even his belly.

“Imagine the two of them (Barnes and Waddle). And what was good about them was they could swap either side. Barnesy had both feet as well. We don’t have that now for England, do we? Someone that is perfect with both feet. If you ever wanted a break for five minutes just give it to Barnes or Waddle.

“John Barnes I think was sometimes underrated, some of the stick he used to get from England fans.

“I didn’t like that because they didn’t realise how good of a player he was. And he is a genuine nice guy so that must have hurt him and I didn’t like it. But what a player.”

Peter Beardsley

“Probably the most unselfish player I have ever met in my life. He would rather set someone up for them to take the headlines, than himself. People didn’t realise how much work the guy put in.

“Peter was always available, he wasn’t frightened to tackle, phenomenal finisher but his passing ability… there were loads of time when I was watching, thinking ‘go on Peter, have a shot’, and he would see someone and bang, it was in the back of the net.

“He would always look for someone else. That was his first objective, to look for a team-mate straight away.

“Great, great friend and I still speak to him all the time. We play five-a-side and he has still got it.

“I remember one game at Newcastle when I was an apprentice.

“We were playing Manchester City and Peter’s done a sliding tackle and he’s linked it from the edge of the 18-yard box over Joe Corrigan, who was on the six-yard box.

“Anyone who has played with him will say what a brilliant player he was. You knew what he was going to do, but you couldn’t stop him. One hell of a player. In today’s game he could have named his own price.”

Alan Shearer

“I was at Newcastle and he was making his debut for Southampton and I didn’t really know who he was but the guy was phenomenal. After the game I put my arm around him and said, ‘you stick in there son and you’re going to be a decent player’. He just looked at me and said, ‘aye, cheers’, and that was it.

“But wow, this guy could score. Outside the box, inside the box, he had a free kick on him like a rocket. What I liked about Shearer was he didn’t like getting messed about. He gave it as good as he took it. He would get rattled and he hated it but he wouldn’t roll over.

“He’d be straight back up. The only player close to him in the modern game is Diego Costa.

“He had a bad ligament injury and he came through that.

“One of the good things with Shearer, even though he got rattled he never let anyone know. He just got on with it and you knew he was going to get his own back. He just knew where the net was.

“Last week I was watching his 100 greatest goals on Sky and some of them were absolutely phenomenal. I had a bit of a lump in my throat watching it.

“I used to go training up at Newcastle and I would see him in the gym, I would be training and he would be counting his money. I went to his testimonial and I had tears in my eyes.”

In explaining why he included ex-Sunderland defender Terry Butcher, there is a mention for managerial legend Sir Bobby Robson.

Gazza said: “I picked Terry because when I first got in the England squad, in the dressing room and we’re getting ready to go, Terry Butcher looked at me and he went ‘this is my house. No one comes into my house and takes anything. This is my house. You remember who you’re playing for’.

“That Sweden game, when he got the big cut and blood all over him and I was looking at him getting stitched up.

“Bobby Robson grabbed me and went ‘you come with me’, and I hadn’t even played. I’m looking over at Terry Butcher and Sir Bobby said to me ‘that’s what it’s like to play for England, that is what it’s like’.”