Alan Shearer returned to Match of the Day alongside fresh faces Mark Chapman and Wayne Rooney on Saturday evening, but stayed completely silent as the panel assessed Sunderland's Premier League opener
Alan Shearer speaks on The Rest Is Football
Alan Shearer didn't speak about Sunderland on Match of the Day(Image: The Rest Is Football / YouTube)
Alan Shearer has opened up on his silence as the Match of the Day panel assessed Sunderland's 3-0 thrashing of West Ham United.
The Newcastle United legend returned to TV screens on Saturday evening alongside new additions Mark Chapman and Wayne Rooney to discuss each of Saturday's Premier League clashes. However, it appeared as though Shearer was lost for words when the show kicked off with Sunderland's upset over West Ham at the Stadium of Light.
After playing out the highlights, Chapman turned to Rooney to assess the fixture, where the Manchester United legend was full of praise for Regis Le Bris' side. At the end of the segment, Shearer then chimed in with West Ham's display, without mentioning his bitter rivals at all.
And speaking on The Rest Is Football, Micah Richards was quick to tease the 55-year-old about his lack of analysis on the Black Cats. The Manchester City legend said: "Alan, when Sunderland were playing, why did you not do any of the analysis mate?
"Why did you leave it all to Wayne? You didn't say a word for about four minutes? What's going on?"
Shearer then started to chuckle, before he responded: "You know how it works Micah," while Gary Lineker added: "We'll discuss that game when we come to the second-half, but Wayne Rooney was given that game. You know how it works, stop trying to stir it up."
Quick to give it back to Richards, Shearer then joked: "I'm more concerned about you by the way. How tight is that shirt on your arms? I was worried about the circulation in your arms today. I was looking at your guns thinking, 'That is a tight one, man.'"
Alan Shearer on Match of the Day
Alan Shearer stayed silent during Sunderland's analysis
Shearer and Lineker analysed Sunderland's victory on home soil over West Ham later in the podcast, with the latter introducing the segment by saying: "I tell you who are back, back in the Premier League, back in with a bang - one of your favourite teams Alan, Sunderland."
With a laugh, Shearer replied: "Believe it or not, I've got a few Sunderland pals, and my texts were going this morning, 'For f*** sake, why didn't you say anything positive against Sunderland? You just let Wayne Rooney do all the talking about Sunderland and you just went on about West Ham.'
"Sunderland were brilliant, the atmosphere was great. They deserved their three points. There you go, does that sound alright?"
Lineker then added: "Do you want to remind people, Alan? The way Match of the Day works is that you are designated a match each, and Wayne Rooney would have done that game because he was designated that match. Which one were you doing? Because that was a 3 o'clock one as well.
Wilson Isidor celebrates after scoring Sunderland's third goal
Sunderland beat West Ham 3-0(Image: Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
"You were doing the Spurs Burnley game, so your focus was on that. So it wasn't an anti-Sunderland thing, even though you are anti-Sunderland let's be honest."
Quick to have a subtle dig at Sunderland, Shearer then added: "Listen, they've been that long out of the Premier League, they forget how Match of the Day works, you see."
The Black Cats were in fine form when they marked their return to the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, fending off a barrage from the likes of Jarrod Bowen early on before tipping the game on its head in the second half. Eliezer Mayenda opened the scoring for the newly-promoted side 61 minutes into the fixture with a well-placed header from the centre of the box, before local legend, Dan Ballard, nodded one home 12 minutes later to double down.
Super-sub Wilson Isidor took very little time to make his own stamp on the outing after being brought on for Mayenda, receiving the ball out wide from Chemsdine Talbi in stoppage time before driving at the West Ham defence, cutting inside from the right, and finessing the ball past Mads Hermansen.
Shearer will have been incredibly frustrated with the Magpies' efforts in the early kick-off on Saturday, given that they were held to a goalless draw to a ten-man Aston Villa away from home. Anthony Gordon was deployed as a makeshift striker in the absence of Alexander Isak, amid his long-winded transfer saga, but failed to make much of an impact.
The Magpies will now turn their attention to Premier League champions Liverpool at St. James' Park come Monday, August 25, while Sunderland are next set to face Burnley at Turf Moor come Saturday, August 23.