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Alan Shearer believes Newcastle United are at risk of becoming stale - less than a week after Eddie Howe said similar.
The 4-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday saw the Magpies slip to 12th in the Premier League table. Just two wins in their last 11 league matches has put pressure on head coach Howe.
United host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday before facing Brentford again with a place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup up for grabs. Howe’s side then head to Ipswich Town in their last fixture before Christmas.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe looks on during the Premier League match between Brentford and Newcastle United. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)Newcastle manager Eddie Howe looks on during the Premier League match between Brentford and Newcastle United. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe looks on during the Premier League match between Brentford and Newcastle United. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It is a three-game week Shearer has labelled as “huge” with the club as it stands, “on the edge of being stale”.
“It's not great at Newcastle,” Shearer said on the Rest is Football podcast. “The next three games are huge games and you know what happens, the pressure comes on.
“They've got Leicester at home at the weekend, they've got Brentford in the [Carabao Cup] quarter-final at home then they've got Ipswich away so the next three are huge.
“They have to get back to what Newcastle were 18 months, two years ago. Remember when we were talking about their energy and high pressing and all of that? That hasn't happened enough this season and it feels as if it's on the edge of being stale and that has to improve.”
Shearer’s “stale” claim comes less than a week after Howe used the word “staleness” when asked about the lack of investment in the last two transfer windows.
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The Magpies have failed to make a major signing this year and were weakened by the lost of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh, who they sold for a combined £68million to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), in June.
“‘I think there is a desire from everyone at the club to deliver that [new signings],” said Howe. “But then you have to go to the realities of what is possible. You have to make decisions for the here and now, but also for the future. We have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a position where the summer becomes very, very difficult to do what we need to do, or future windows beyond.
“I think freshness is important in a squad, I won’t sit here and deny that. There needs to be a certain element of trading in and out to keep the group dynamic new. A new dynamic and a new team always has to form every season.
“Sometimes, the same squad can produce a staleness and a negative product. So I think we’re aware of that. But it’s about what we’re able to do rather than, “I want”. “I want” is clear. It’s what we’re able to do that is the key thing.
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