It was all over the press yesterday, but officially confirmed this morning: ‘Super Al’ is back in Toon. His retirement from the game 3 years ago was like a state funeral on Tyneside, but the former Newcastle United captain and record goalscorer Alan Shearer has made the sensational switch from the sofa to the sideline, answering his beloved club’s SOS to manage until the end of the season.
The St. James’ Park legend will replace Joe Kinnear, who is currently convalescing after triple heart bypass surgery, and unsurprisingly it has not been deemed sensible for him to return to the pressure cooker in the North East so soon. With just 8 games left of this campaign, Shearer (who has been quick to emphasise the short duration of his stay) has been charged with the unenviable task of keeping Newcastle in the Premier League. This starts with a tough home game against Chelsea on Saturday, and includes trips to Spurs, Liverpool and Aston Villa. This would present a significant challenge for an experienced manager, let alone a complete novice. In possession of his UEFA 'A' and 'B' coaching badges, Shearer is yet to complete his Pro Licence qualification, and only has a few games experience as aide to Glenn Roeder to call upon. Al does have the complete backing of the LMA, although even without this grand gesture by the powers that be, the duration of his (pointedly) brief tenure falls within the 12 week temporary limit, creating no regulation-breaking possibility.
The eyes of the footballing world will be watching the situation at Newcastle intently, whether out of morbid fascination or because, like Footie Frog, they find the whole state of affairs entrancing. Something magical has just happened at St. James’ Park and, whether it works or not, it is probably the best decision the board (and the man himself) could have made.
On the face of it, Shearer’s appointment seems to be a typical Ashley whim – an appointment as surprising as Kinnear’s, or ‘King’ Kevin Keegan before him. But unlike those appointments, this one makes sense – neither side can lose. Shearer can’t do any worse than the combined efforts of Messrs Hughton and Cauderwood who were slowly pulling the Toon down with their tactical naivety and general uselessness respectively. If Newcastle do get relegated, Shearer will have been ‘powerless to stop it’ and if, amazingly, he manages to keep them up his already bloated reputation on Tyneside will be burgeoning once again. From Ashley’s point of view, he might have finally got what he was desperately seeking in Keegan – a hero that can exhilarate the crowd and players, and be the defibrillator a dying club needs.
Whether a morale boost will be enough to win matches for Newcastle, only time will tell. Too often this season they have performed too poorly, winning only once in their last twelve games – unconvincingly overcoming table-propping West Brom a while back. But Shearer claims that the squad has the quality needed to stay up, and that he will use his own experiences to boost the confidence of a team rife with flagging international stars. The players have apparently responded well in the first training session, and I should expect that to continue, with nobody revelling under the new manager more than a certain Michael Owen. Assured of a starting berth if he is fit, rumour has it that Michael is even willing to extend his contract if Shearer stays long-term.
Big Al may protest that his appointment is for ‘8 games and 8 games only,’ but Footie Frog knows that if he can save his hometown club from the drop, the Geordies won’t let him say goodbye again.
0 comments:
Post a Comment