Toon job slipping away from Shearer for now.

Posted on October 26th, 2009 | 39 Comments |

Gis a job
Gis a job
Alan Shearer says he would still love the Newcastle United manager’s job but is also prepared to consider managing other clubs.

At the end of last season it seemed almost certain that Shearer would be given the Toon job despite failing to keep us in the Premier League. Ashley had described employing Shearer as ‘the best decision he ever made’ and Shearer had drawn up plans about how he intended to rebuild the club and take us back to the top flight.

Then of course Mike Ashley put the club up for sale. Whether that had anything to do with Shearer’s rebuilding plans is unknown but it’s understandable that Ashley would be reluctant to appoint to Shearer – or commit to a long-term rebuilding plan – if he planned to sell the club.

The press has always stated that if Barry Moat took control of the club then Shearer’s appointment as manager would swiftly follow but it seems that Ashley, should he stay, would prefer Chris Hughton instead.

Throughout the painful – and so far failed – attempts to sell the club, Shearer has occasionally dropped hints that he’s still interested in the job, most recently in yesterday’s Sunday Mirror, saying:

I would still like to be the manager of Newcastle again one day.

If the situation came around and everything was right and in place then without a doubt I would love to give it another go. But that’s not up to me.

It’s not just a job at Newcastle, though, because if the right post came along somewhere else I would definitely look at it too.

I would love to go back (to Newcastle) but let’s make this clear, I’m not connected to any bids. And nobody has said to me, ‘If I get in and buy the football club I want you to be the manager’.”

It is looking unlikely that the club will be sold this season and therefore unlikely that Shearer will have a chance at the Toon manager’s job any time soon, but if he did go and successfully manage elsewhere it certainly wouldn’t hurt his chances of managing Newcastle at some point in the future.

Although with Ashley allegedly still considering Moat’s latest offer there might yet still be the slimmest chance for Shearer this season.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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39 Responses

  1. As long as the FCB continues to run the club (into the ground) it’s clear Sir Alan has no chance of being appointed. The FCB will go with the yes-man puppet and, by his own admission, will use his vast knowledge of selling T shirts to decide which players (such as Harewood) should come to the club.

    Great :/

  2. I wasn’t impressed with him coming out with this stuff to be honest bearing in mind the timimg just before Hughton is likely to be appointed. He would have known it would further wind those fans up who believe that Shearer will be our salvation. I’m also intrigued again at his statement:
    “If the situation came around and everything was right and in place then without a doubt I would love to give it another go.”
    Not quite sure what he means by this, but if he just wants to be manager when there is a properly resourced squad and lots of money available, he will clearly have a long wait.
    How about trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear? That would certainly test his ‘management’ ability.
    Good luck with the punditry Alan, you’re time will no doubt come.

  3. deb – I can see why you’ve interpreted it that way and maybe that’s what he’s really saying.

    Or he could be just answering the question from the journalist honestly, and he does say that in the current predicament that Hughton is probably the best man for the job. But long-term he’s probably also doing a sales pitch and keeping his hand in?

    And in terms of that statement you quoted, he could be just implying it’s almost as soon as Ashley is gone, more or less? i.e. when a board comes in who will not just approve loan deals and has the same vision as the manager, or in this case specifically, him?

    I don’t think Shearer will sell himself short though, no matter what some fans would like to think. He’s already “failed” once in some fans’ eyes at managing the club when he didn’t keep us up. Even though that’s a pretty unfair view in my opinion, he will want to guard against that happening again as much as he can.

  4. geordie deb says:
    October 26, 2009 at 8:04 am

    Deb,

    Is he supposed to just sit at home and say nothing?

    Don’t forget he’s a supporter just like us and his frustration at the incompetance of the regime will be the same as ours. He just happens to have a platform to give his opinions. We have this blog – He has the media.

  5. I think Shearer is a shrewd enough operator to know what he is doing with the media. He can say what he likes but interestingly has hardly said a word about the situation for months. All of a sudden on the eve of Hughton being given the job he decides to pipe up and let us know that he would still be interested when the time is right ie when Ashley sells regardless of who is the manager, don’t forget I want the job. So what is likely to happen then? Fans calling for Shearer again no matter how we are doing. Why wait until now to tell us he he is not conected to any bid? Why couldn’t he have clarified that earlier? Sorry, but ulterior motives come through for me and I would have hoped he would have been better than that.

  6. Its very easy to say to the world “I want to gamble with another mans money – trust me I am he man master of the universe – I wont come in until I have untold millions to spend – so I can reinforce my brand, my name, my legacy – my ego.

    I for one am glad that he didnt come. Shearer simply hasnt earned the right to spend another mans money – and if all we can do is judge him on the end of the seasons form – the correct decision was to wave to him as he looked down from the clouds on the mere mortals below.

  7. BBM – I’m not one of those who think he failed by failing to keep us up last year. It was obvious he was desperate for it to work and it hurt him as much as us when it ddn’t. Clearly anyone would need a much longer period to make any real impact, especially with the bunch we had last year. I applaud him for trying, he did his best in the time he had, but it was not to be.
    My issue is I’m not convinced he will be a good manager and at this critical stage in the club’s history with all the turmoil etc going on, I don’t want to see us try him out just to satisfy the fans and Alan Shearer’s ambitions.
    Do I think Chris Hughton is the right man, no I don’t but if he is given the manager’s job I will support him.

  8. A little stability can go a long way right now.
    Please can we get off of everyone’s back?

  9. When Shearer says ‘if the circumstances were right’ there is a slight possibility that he means if I can buy the players and not a director of football, or god forbid the owner!

    We are in a position now where our owner who has admitted twice now he knows nothing about football is making a managerial appointment and will be decided who is brought in during the transfer window.

    I would have thought Shearer or any other self respecting manager would take a job on those terms.

    That’s how I read his comments anyhow.

  10. I woulda expected him to say he would walk over hot coals to manage NUFC,
    but maybe not, hey?

  11. Ouch!
    Made me cringe they did.
    Shearer working for McDeath, bad craic.
    Never bought one in my life.
    Crap in a bun, apparently. :)

  12. ClintFlick

    ‘I woulda expected him to say he would walk over hot coals to manage NUFC,
    but maybe not, hey?’

    Clint only if the coals are at the right temperature, and the conditions are right.

  13. Deb.
    You’re dead right there mate. :)

    That’s probably why he didn’t go to Darlington
    for a bit of experience aswell then, hey? :)

  14. Can anyone else tell me of an unproven manager who makes demands and “the right conditions” and a pot full of money to spend BEFORE they have proven themselves?

  15. Nope.
    Asking way too much there Alan.
    Now if he’d asked for a decent length contract
    & didn’t get it, it would be a different story.
    But, saying that, most new ‘unproven’ managers
    would just jump at a chance, mostly, any chance
    offered them.
    A chance to ‘PROVE’ themselves worthy of spending someone else’s money.
    Sigh.

  16. Clint he could have always gone to be somebody’s number 2 to gain the necessary experience but he has too big an ego for that. Remember when Keegan came back and people were bandying about the Keegan with Shearer as his assistant? Alan was quite happy to stay firmly on the MOTD sofa instead and wouldn’t utter a word except to reinforce how happy he was at MOTD.

    Good question Stardust. This was exactly the position he took in the summer at the time of the so called talks and look how far that got him

  17. Yes Stardust, me. I demanded the right conditions and a pot full of money from the council before I would agree to become chairman of our village cricket team.

  18. Deb, again, bang on.
    Obviously kk & AS don’t see that eye to eye, do they?
    Telling, i thought.
    AS would rather warm the couch at the beeb than work with uncle kev.

  19. Hugh at 19 – lol

    Deb – he releases these statements and it doesnt serve him well at all. He had the chance to be manager and he blew it – move on Alan – you didnt take your chance when you had it now you hang on like a bad smell.

  20. I should perhaps add that the council didn’t meet my demands and told me to shove off. I pouted for a while but then did the job anyway.

    Anyway, as to Shearer. Can’t say I disagree with the criticism of him being seemingly unwilling to learn his trade elsewhere or as someone’s number 2.

    If he did something like that I think it would increase his chances of getting the Toon job in the future.

    He could of course be naturally fantastic at football management – the next SAF – but we have no way of knowing that at the outset. Instinctively I think he will make a good manager one day, but of course that’s just a guess.

    As to his merits, he would (almost) unite fans, he would be given time by them and he does seem to have plans for the long-term future of the club. But he’s asking us to take his management abilities on faith and (I assume) demanding a fairly large salary while we do so, which is probably too big an ask for most.

  21. Stardust says:
    October 26, 2009 at 12:19 pm
    Can anyone else tell me of an unproven manager who makes demands and “the right conditions” and a pot full of money to spend BEFORE they have proven themselves?

    Can you name one who has made them demands?

    Based on fact, not interpretation?

    I see his right conditions statement as him choosing the players not the owner. Which is what is happening at our club at the minute.

  22. He walked away from the job in the summer Stuart – why do you try to change timing.

    Are you suggesting that a man (Ashley) shouldnt have the final say so whether he spends his money or not?

    I find your position delusional as usual.

  23. Stardust says: “Are you suggesting that a man (Ashley) shouldnt have the final say so whether he spends his money or not?”

    True to a certain extent, but the traditional way it works is that an owner – particularly one who’s clueless about football – will set a budget for the manager, and then the manager – who we presume knows a bit about football – chooses how best to spend that budget on players and thus, to a certain extent, has the ‘final say’.

  24. “He walked away from the job in the summer Stuart – why do you try to change timing.”

    Your ‘fact/theory’ alternate methods are canny impressive like Stardust. I’ll give you that.

  25. Stardust says:
    October 26, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    How do you know he walked away? Might Ashley just not have offered him the job?

    Nobody knows.

    Ashley has every right to be able to spend his money how he wants. But the logical amongst us realise an owner shouldn’t choose the players who are bought.

    Although I always have and always will maintain that if someone buys a football club they should expect to have someone else spending their money, otherwise don’t buy a football club.

    You interpretate Shearer not getting the job as him turning it down, without any clear, factual evidence to support that view. It’s just as easy for someone else to say Ashley didn’t make him an offer and told him he was selling so I won’t be appointing anyone to th position.

    Of course there are other conclusions too. Just that nobody really knows.

  26. Its blindingly obvious Shearer was there – sat across the table from Ashley for 2 days – at the end of those days Shearer was not appointed – therefore Ashleys position untenable as he hadnt appointed him so he listed the club for sale.

    They couldnt agree to work to a framework and it was for Shearer to accept the realities and not demand – as if he didnt work within parameters (like most eople) the viscous circle stated again.

    What other conclusions can be drawn?

  27. Stardust says:
    October 26, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    ‘What other conclusions can be drawn’?

    Well what about:

    Ashley tells Shearer there’s absolutely no way he can put his hand in his pocket and buy players and just for good measure he will be choosing the players that are bought and sold.

    That is a possibilty as we know for a fact that Ashley is doing that.

  28. He has released that post trial so its never in doubt again he controls the purse strings. Youre so consumed by hate youre hideous.

  29. I make no bones about hating Ashley. He’s a vile creature who has no intention of selling he club, he has been stringing everyone along.

    However do you know what’s the best way to cook Stardust?

    Evertime I go fishing for them catch one. Is it better to pan fry or batter them first?

  30. Stuart – Banter is between people who like each other.

    Just to be clear – I dont like you – please feel free to ignore me.

  31. Tough one GL – I appreciate all that CH has done – when everyone else crumbled he stood strong and has come out with dignity (no one else did).

    Would he have been mys first choice (before this season) – no not at all. But I like the idea of building slowly – removing unrealistic expectations.

    But now he is in situ – Ashley appears loyal (as I would be) to those who stick by him – and CH has done well so far – so I expect to see him appointed.

    He hasnt done a great deal wrong but what I am fearful of – is that as soon as a few games go bad – the crowd will turn quickly – for that reason it could be a bad appointment.

    I know I am waffling a bit here as its an incredibly tough call – unlike some – once it is made I will recognise the difficulty in making it (either way) and not pillory the man who made the choice either way.