Peter Ramage (born November 11, 1983, Whitley Bay) is an English footballer who plays for Newcastle United. He wears the number 26 jersey and is a versatile defender; he can play on the right or in the centre.

Ramage grew up in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, but moved to the Newcastle area at the age of twelve and attended Whitley Bay High school. It was then when he began playing for local youth team Cramlington Juniors. He joined the Newcastle United school of Excellence aged just 13 years old.

Ramage played in the same youth team as Michael Chopra and Steven Taylor under Alan Irvine (now assistant manager of Everton), before later being coached by former Newcastle players Kenny Wharton and Peter Beardsley. In the reserve team he was coached by another former United player, Tommy Craig.

He worked his way through Newcastle's youth system and captained the team's reserve side before making his breakthrough to the first team squad. Ramage made his first team debut as a substitute in Newcastle's UEFA Cup round-of-16 match second leg against Olympiakos Piraeus on March 16 2005.

He was soon forced into the league side, making his first league start at Old Trafford in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on April 24 2005. He followed this up with several first team starts due to injuries to other defenders in the Newcastle squad. His impressive form has since seen him keep his place in the team.

Ramage has been a first team regular in the 05/06 season. The injury to team-mate Stephen Carr has allowed him to play a large amount of games for the Magpies, where he has impressed both players and pundits alike. As a result of these performances, he has caught the eye of England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, as well as Scotland coach Walter Smith. Both are believed to be considering calling him up into their squads as he qualifies to play for either nation.

He has since become a largely popular player amongst Toon supporters. This is not only down to the fact that he's a proud Geordie, but he has also won over the fans with his determination and obvious passion for the club. This reputation has earned him the nicknames "Peter Rampage" and "Ramage Damage", suggesting he destroys opposition attacks.

Peter is NOT popular with toon supporters, we are sick of him and his mistakes/complete lack of pace

• When he joined the Newcastle United School of Excellence in 1996, Ramage originally played as a striker, but changed to defender due to there already being too many forwards in the squad.

• Ramage's favourite ever player is legendary Italian defender Franco Baresi.

• Of the six games Ramage played in the 04/05 season, Newcastle did not win any of them.

• Ramage's father Iain is an International RFU Referee and was Scotland's representative at the 2003 World Cup. He was formerly a successful Rugby player, performing at scrum half for Gosforth in the North East of England before a serious neck injury ended his playing days.

• Is extremely unattractive facially

• Peter Ramage NUFC official site profile
• Peter Ramage BBC profile
• BBC Tyne Peter Ramage Interview