by the Everton chairman, Peter Johnson, without the knowledge of Walter Smith. Ferguson wrote a two-page goodbye letter in the club magazine to fans, stating his sadness at leaving and that he would never forget them. Newcastle United After bringing Ferguson to Newcastle, manager Ruud Gullit was rewarded when Ferguson scored twice on his debut against Wimbledon in the Premier League. The final result was a 3–1 victory to Newcastle. At the start of 1999, Ferguson suffered a hernia injury, meaning that he played only seven times in the 1998–99 season. He made his comeback on 11 April, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 extra-time FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham Hotspur, and did the same in the 1999 FA Cup Final, which Newcastle lost to Manchester United. In 1999–2000, Ferguson scored in three rounds of the FA Cup as Newcastle beat Tottenham 6–1, Sheffield United 4–1 and Tranmere Rovers 3–2, before a semi-final elimination by Chelsea. He scored six league goals, including two in a 5–0 home win over Southampton on 16 January 2000. Return to Everton On 17 August 2000, Ferguson moved back to Everton for a fee of £3.75 million. The transfer had previously been close to collapse as he sought a £1 million "loyalty payment" from Newcastle for not personally asking for a transfer; he had made the same amount of money from Everton when he transferred in 1998 on the same basis. Two days after signing, he played his first game in a 2–0 loss at Leeds United, coming on for Stephen Hughes after 56 minutes. On 23 August, on his return to Goodison Park, he scored twice in a 3–0 win over Charlton Athletic after coming on for Mark Hughes in the 67th minute. On 1 April 2002, Ferguson was sent off after 20 minutes for elbowing Bolton Wanderers' Kostas Konstantinidis in an off-the-ball incident in a 3–1 win for a struggling Everton side. In August 2003, Jamie Jackson of The Guardian called Ferguson "arguably the biggest waste of money of all", citing his high transfer fees and wages compared to his injury record and age. By that point, he had scored 12 times in 41 games in three years at Everton, while earning over £5 million in salary. His 192 minutes of play in 2002–03 as a goalless substitute cost the club £9,000 per minute. Ferguson was accused of racial abuse