NEWCASTLE United are lucky to have two of the most respected men in football as ambassadors for the club.

Sir Bobby Robson, newly knighted and with a wealth of experience as a successful manager at club and international level, has become one of the game's best-loved elder statesmen.

And Alan Shearer, making history at the weekend as the first to score 100 goals for two Premiership clubs, is a player others look up to as a model professional.

Between them, they have been responsible for ushering in an exciting new era for the Magpies, with an heroic run in Europe stirring passions among fans who have waited a long time for success.

How galling it must be, therefore, for the manager, the captain and all Newcastle United supporters, to see the club's name dragged through the gutter again due to tabloid allegations about vice chairman Douglas Hall.

Supporters have not forgiven Mr Hall for the events of five years ago when he was forced to resign after being caught in a Spanish brothel with chairman Freddy Shepherd.

Fans' anger resulted more from what the pair said than from the sex scandal itself: Alan Shearer was ridiculed, fans were portrayed as mugs for paying over the odds for replica shirts, and Geordie women were branded as "dogs".

But intelligent people learn from their mistakes and it is hard to believe that Mr Hall - the club's major shareholder - should find himself at the centre of more sleazy allegations over the weekend.

So far, neither the son of Sir John Hall nor the club have passed comment, although those who pay good money week in week out to support Newcastle United have a right to some kind of response.

If Mr Hall is innocent, he needs to make that clear to the fans. If he is guilty of bringing further shame on a proud club striving to build a family image, he clearly cannot be trusted and should resign.

And this time, there should be no way back.