I didn't want to leave Liverpool - but Steven Gerrard told me to join Newcastle United & I absolutely loved it
Danny Guthrie admitted he had ‘second thoughts’ about joining Newcastle United from Liverpool back in 2008.
The former midfielder has reflected on his £2.5million transfer to Newcastle and how a phone call from then Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard helped convince him to make the St James’ Park switch. Guthrie joined Liverpool as a teenager and progressed through the ranks on Merseyside, going on to make seven first-team appearances.
But with regular first-team football under Rafael Benitez not forthcoming, a decision was made to allow Guthrie to join Newcastle.
Guthrie was travelling to the North East to undergo a medical and complete the deal when he started to have serious doubts over the move.
"I was halfway and it hit me," Guthrie told the Coach's Son. "I thought, 'Oh my God. I'm never going to play for Liverpool again. I'm never going to be a Liverpool player'.
"I absolutely loved the club. It hit me and I thought, 'Do I want that? Do I want to play for someone else? Do I want to be attached to another club?'
"I was having second thoughts and I actually rang my agent. I said, 'I don't know if I want to do this. I've not thought about it, really.' Everything in football happens really quickly.
"He actually got [Liverpool captain] Stevie G to give me a call and he said to me, 'Go and do it. You need to go and forge your own path and make your own career. You need to go and be a Premier League player. You've had a taste of it. Get a good contract and move on.'
"I took his advice and I absolutely loved it. It was a great decision. Newcastle are a brilliant club. I had some fantastic times there."
Guthrie ended up enjoying the best years of his career at Newcastle, scoring nine goals in 104 appearances for the club. The now 37-year-old played a key role in Newcastle’s 2009-10 Championship title win and also contributed to the fifth-place finish in the Premier League during the 2011-12 season before being released.
Guthrie joined newly-promoted Reading on the back of his Newcastle exit but was unable to help keep the Royals in the Premier League. Spells in the Championship with Reading, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers followed before a brief spell in Indonesia with Mitra Kukar.
Guthrie returned to England in 2019 to spend two seasons at Walsall in League Two before ending his career in Iceland with second-division side Fram in 2021. He filed for bankruptcy the following year having racked up £120,000 in gambling debts.