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Guardian: Shearer clears way to become Newcastle manager


thewellander

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Alan Shearer is ready to accept the manager's job at Newcastle United and may even be prepared to work for Mike Ashley, the club's controversial owner. Rob Lee, Shearer's closest friend and confidant, said yesterday that although the former Newcastle and England forward has been until now reluctant to swap his role on Match of the Day for the dugout, Shearer has had a change of heart.

 

Lee's comments are highly significant and can be interpreted as coming directly from Shearer. Lee, who played for Newcastle for almost a decade until 2002, could expect to be offered a senior position should the latter succeed Joe Kinnear at St James' Park. Shearer is far too proud to risk losing face by touting for the job himself and then being rebuffed but Lee is unlikely to have spoken so frankly without his blessing.

 

In an interview with The Mag, Newcastle's principal fanzine, the former England midfielder said: "I can honestly say, yes, Alan Shearer will manage Newcastle. Until now I would have just said that he would one day but I finally believe that he would tomorrow if the job is how he wants it, without all the silly games going on that have killed it."

 

Ashley remains optimistic that he will sell Newcastle by the new year but is nonetheless understood to have made contingency plans for buying players in January should a proposed deal with a United States-based consortium, which is performing due diligence, fall through.

 

Lee feels that appointing Shearer in place of Kinnear, the interim manager whose short-term contract runs out after Saturday's Premier League game at Chelsea, could offer Ashley hope of a rapprochement with Newcastle's fans.

 

Those supporters cannot forgive the sports retailer for sacking Kevin Keegan in September but Lee said: "The fans would love Alan to take over now. Mike Ashley would solve a lot of his problems by appointing Alan and accepting that mistakes have been made. Alan could be a priceless get out of jail card. Now is the time to make the club what we all want."

 

Although it would be inconceivable that Lee, whose reading and knowledge of the game are much admired by Shearer, would not be offered a key role, Dennis Wise would almost certainly have to depart his director of football post.

 

"Yes I would love to be part of it," admitted Lee. "It is time for Alan to take the job on. Roy Keane and Gareth Southgate learnt on the job and, like Keane at Sunderland, one thing Alan has is the respect of every single player at Newcastle.

 

Lee is convinced Shearer would attract players of sufficient quality to transform Newcastle's fortunes. "I know for a fact that Michael Owen and any top player would play for him," he said. "We have not got European football at the moment but Alan Shearer will be a magnet for the top guys."

 

Shearer's lack of managerial experience could count against him when any new owners make an appointment but Lee's hunch is that Ashley could struggle to finalise an outright sale. Intriguingly, Tyneside rumour suggests that a group of local businessmen are willing to become minor shareholders and run the club on a day-to-day basis, leaving Ashley in majority, but remote, control.

 

"If he doesn't sell by January he has a problem attracting buyers," Lee said. "In which case he has to pull a rabbit out of the bag and make a statement of intent by making a permanent appointment and starting again. Mike Ashley has to put a top man in charge if he is going to stay. He has to create the buzz and get the fans back onside."

 

Lee suspects Kinnear will not be around much longer. "Any new owners are going to want to bring in 'their' man and I don't think it would be Joe. I can't see Joe as a permanent Newcastle manager."

 

Perhaps tellingly, Lee also doubts that Keegan will make yet another return. "Kevin would still be a good appointment if he is allowed to be Kevin Keegan the manager and not Kevin Keegan the coach," he said. "He needs to be in full control to really have an effect. But we don't know if Kevin would want it if he was offered it."

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/nov/18/newcastleunited-premierleague

 

Looks like we might have Shearer as manager after the Chelsea drubbing.

 

 

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Sack wise, appoint Shearer, and get on with things.

 

This seems to be the best alternative if selling the club turns out to be impossible, and I honestly don't think there's a better managerial fit than Shearer that is realistically available for us. I would want him even if we had new owner(s)

 

So, in other words,

 

:fwap: :fwap: :fwap: :frantic: :fwap: :fwap: :fwap:

 

 

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Guest Darth Toon

It just sounds like Shearer is making it known - as he did in January - that he'd be interested in the job if it was offered. There's no real indication that anything significant has gone on behind the scenes.

 

Yes, that's what it looks like - if something had been sorted behind the scenes he would have no need to go public like this (there's no way Rob Lee has said all this without his permission)

 

Maybe he knows there's new owners coming in and doesn't want to risk being overlooked again? Or perhaps he's heard Ashley is staying and has decided he would be willing to take it anyway?

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Guest Jawesome

Shearer has to be worried at our current situation, maybe he just wants to help out in some way.  I don't blame anyone for wanting to manage us.  Like whats been said countless times to the fuckwits who didn't want Avram Grant 'because he didn't win the league with Chelsea,'  we are not in a position to pick from the best 10 managers in the world.  If it's going to be someone like Steve Bruce or someone on that level that gets it, then I'd probably sooner see Shearer get it tbh.

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thanks but no thanks.

 

 

experience is required.

 

That local lad  with little experience is doing okay at is hometown club Barcalona

 

Thats true, but at least he'd been involved in the background at the academy for a while now. I'd say SG has a fair bit more experience than big al.

 

Having said that, I'd take Shearer now anyday, as long as he's happy with the structure and agrees to work under whatever situation he finds himself in. No more dummy spitting managers please.

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Shearer has to be worried at our current situation, maybe he just wants to help out in some way.  I don't blame anyone for wanting to manage us.  Like whats been said countless times to the fuckwits who didn't want Avram Grant 'because he didn't win the league with Chelsea,'  we are not in a position to pick from the best 10 managers in the world.  If it's going to be someone like Steve Bruce or someone on that level that gets it, then I'd probably sooner see Shearer get it tbh.

 

ok. i was one of those fuckwits. what some of you (of the non-fuckwit type) don't get is that Avram Grant WAS and IS a no-mark manager. He got the job to steady the ship and as a stop-gap until Scolari could move. Chelsea finishing 2nd was seen as a FAILURE after spending all that cash. It's not like Grant dragged them from 10th at xmas to finish 2nd. All he had to do was keep them ticking over.

 

Besides, a managerial appointment is a little more complex than saying: "right, this bloke finished 2nd with a star studded chelsea side, let's get him in". There have to be other qualities about the manager, and Grant possesses NONE.

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There was a fella on here a week or so back claiming to be mates with Lee and saying the same thing. It all seems a bit unorthodox to me in all honesty, pretty much just trying to put him in the shop window. Believe it when i see it tbh.

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thanks but no thanks.

 

 

experience is required.

 

That local lad  with little experience is doing okay at is hometown club Barcalona

 

Thats true, but at least he'd been involved in the background at the academy for a while now. I'd say SG has a fair bit more experience than big al.

 

He managed the reserves for one year, I dont think he worked at La Masia or worked with the youth sides.

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