Can you believe it has been 17 years since Alan Shearer shocked English football by returning to Newcastle United?
Kevin Nolan believes Alan Shearer arrived as Newcastle United manager with “preconceived ideas” of the first-team squad.
Reflecting on the Toon icon’s eight-game stint in the dugout, Nicky Butt also suggested he placed too much faith in Ian Dowie as assistant coach. It is exactly 17 years since Shearer shocked English football by returning to the Magpies.
With Newcastle in dire straits, the club’s all-time leading goalscorer answered the call to stave off Premier League relegation. Ultimately, the move failed, with Shearer managing just one win as the Magpies were relegated on the final day of the season.
Kevin Nolan and Nicky Butt reflect
Ex-Newcastle midfielder Butt - entering the twilight of his career at 34 - was confident Shearer would keep the club afloat. He told his podcast: “When Alan came in, I would have put all my money on us staying up. The fans, I remember his first game, they were electric.
“I don't think it was anything to do with the manager (why Newcastle went down). As players, we weren't good enough. I'm telling you now, the team we had there, we should have been getting results. Certain players didn't come on board with Alan.”
Nolan had recently arrived as a January signing from Bolton Wanderers and felt as though Shearer relied too heavily on his former colleagues. He replied: “I'll say it, because I've said it to Al as well. He came in with preconceived ideas. Instead of just coming in and wiping the slate clean, I think a lot of the players got their backs up. I was sorted in that sort of crew.
“When Alan came in for them last eight games, he thought he knew what was going on at the club. He shouldn't have. He should have come in and gone, ‘Look, everybody's got to wipe the slate clean’. Even if you are going to lean on all your mates, Mo (Michael Owen) and the lads who he knew, which you should do, then you've got to get it right.
“I just said to him, ‘I thought that you put too much emphasis on them getting you out of it’... and it was wrong. I liked Al. I’ve got a lot of time for him. He was good in and around the place. In fact, he probably should have put his boots back on when he played, because in training he was incredible when he joined in with us!”
Butt also questioned Dowie’s training methods when Newcastle were in desperate need of a lift. He added: “Ian Dowie came in with him (Shearer), the coach. What happened was, and I think it's the same with Tottenham now, you're not getting players any fitter in April.
“You can run them until they can't breathe, but you're not going to get them any fitter in April. Everything should be small-sided games. Very tight, all fun. Get the lads' atmosphere up. Whether it's right or wrong, some fans will go, ‘You're getting paid all this money, you can't even run’.”
“I get that, but when you've been down so long in the season, galvanising players, whatever that takes to get them togetherness with them, whether it's small-sided games, a bit of fun, going out for a meal and a few drinks, going to a little two-day training camp somewhere, whatever that might be, that's what should have happened. We were doing box-to-box runs in April.”
Alan Shearer enjoyed Newcastle United experience
Despite the pain of relegation, Shearer enjoyed the experience and lessons learned from managing his boyhood club. He said in 2024: “Honestly, I loved it despite what happened. But it did open my eyes to ‘Oh my God’ because you don’t realise how tough it is and how much pressure you are under.
“As a player, you turn up and your boots are ready, your food is ready, your tactics are there for you and everything is pretty simple. You just have to go and play and score goals. As a manager, you have to decide what they wear, what time they leave, what the tactics are… if it doesn’t go well on Saturday you are running through everything in your head.
“Honestly, I must have hardly got any sleep for those eight weeks because I was going to bed at stupid o’clock and waking up at stupid o’clock. Even at the end of it, when we got relegated, I looked back at it and thought I really enjoyed the experience but it also opened my eyes to how tough it is.”
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