By Matthew Jones
August 23 2004

Former Newcastle United defender Marcelino has sensationally accused Magpies' manager Sir Bobby Robson of "ruining promising careers".

The 32-year-old who signed for Newcastle for £5.8m in 1998 feels that Woodgate is lucky to have escaped to Real Madrid and blames Sir Bobby for his recent injury troubles.

Marcelino left the club in January 2003 but has said:

“Robson is a specialist at ruining promising careers. 

"That Newcastle players get injured is nothing new because the manager does not use suitable training methods for footballers.

"When I was there I suffered with this and found it very difficult to recover.

"What happened to me happened to the majority of players that were there. He did not respect the players' injuries and forced them to play before they were recovered leading them to have relapses which kept them out for a long time."

On Woodgate though, he added:

"I have my doubts that his signature will prove a success [at Real].

"The demands at Real Madrid are very high and we will have to see how he reacts against that.

"Since he had his problem with the law he suffered a loss of form and has not been quite the same.

But went on to say:

"In the air he (Woodgate) is very strong.

"In his defensive work he is very secure and he uses the ball well in addition to being a powerful defender."