Deal being lined up to keep the right man at Newcastle

A deal is being lined up which could see Alan Shearer stay on at Newcastle United. It is though that Shearer will be offered a four year deal to try and tempt him into staying and getting the club back into the Premier League.

Newcastle were sent down much to the joy of Hull City and now the board are rapidly working away in order to get a deal done that would see Shearer stay on. No doubt he will want to as he will still be suffering from the heart break of the drop, this would make it much easier for him to say yes to a good deal as opposed to if the club had stayed up.

If they had stayed up then a number of problems at the club would not have been highlighted and Shearer may then have been persuaded to not stay on as head at St. James’ Park. Shearer is clearly a man with big opinions and ideas about how the club should be run and he will want to get these across in a better manner.

It must be remembered that he did not have long in charge of the team and a few games clearly wasn’t long enough for him to be able to stamp his style of management on the side and as a result they went down. A long and more extended deal will allow him the time and space to develop the side to the exact point to how he would want it.

He also knows how to deal with the players as he was a high calibre on himself. This will be important over the next couple of months when you take in to account the fuss that is likely to be generated over the downgrading of contracts. A lot of Newcastle’s players will be subjected to 50 per cent wage cuts and as a result many may head for the door rather than show their faith and stay on.

Another reason why a long deal would be good for both parties is the fact that Shearer has the ability to inspire. The fans are loyal and love him despite the club going down and he can inspire the younger players in the side to go out and run themselves into the ground for a club that deserves so much more.

Man journalists have been commenting in recent times about how Newcastle had become somewhat of a laughing stock to a number of other clubs in the North East and the rest of the country. This is something that will really get to Shearer, something he will take to heart and work vigorously to change.

So Newcastle would do well to give him every single assurance that he asks for and pretty much offer him whatever he wants to stay as manager of the club. Getting someone else in now would be a bad move as they would take time to settle in and develop the club to their own ends. Shearer is already there and Newcastle need to make sure he stays there.

Vacancy at Newcastle United

Can Shearer say no?

There’s a rather high-profile vacancy at Newcastle United Football Club. For a manager. But don’t bother applying as it’s already been filled. Well, the Toon Army hopes it has anyway.

All the signs are pointing in the right direction of caretaker manager Alan Shearer taking on the job permanently.

When the MD tells the world the candidate has his 110 per cent backing, it’s got to be a fait accompli.

The big question is whether or not Shearer will take the job. Or rather, can he turn it down?

It’s the classic Catch 22 situation. If Shearer accepts the position, he will continue to be Newcastle’s hero. If he turns it down, the Magpies will take it as a slap in the face, very unfair given Shearer’s devotion for the last eight matches of the season and for taking the job on in the first place. He risked not only his health – such pressure just cannot be good for the heart! – and his reputation but igniting the anger of Newcastle supporters if he failed.

In the end, despite valiant attempts to keep the club up, he was unable to prevent the drop to the Championship but, as predicted, fans kept faith. There was still only one man they wanted for the job and the board seems to agree.

MD Derek Llamblas says Shearer is their number one target for the full-time job, describing him as a straight-talking guy and the man who could take Newcastle back into the top flight next season. It would be a huge challenge but that’s probably the key to Shearer taking the job. He has never been a man to give up, on or off the pitch, and coupled with his love for Newcastle, it would be a huge shock if he turned the job down.

The only slight cloud on the horizon is why it is taking such a long time to make an announcement. What exactly is the stumbling block or is Shearer actually having to think about committing to the club full-time?

Fans have been promised an update or an announcement as soon as possible and let’s hope that it comes within the next few days. Newcastle were dealt a huge blow with relegation and if Shearer is confirmed as the new manager, it will lift the whole city.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, meantime, has apologised to the fans for wrong decisions in recent seasons and says he fully accepts mistakes were made. He says the supporters have been magnificent, turning up in their thousands match after match.

Is the slate being wiped clean to make way for Shearer’s new regime? It would certainly seem that way.

If so, comments also made by former Newcastle owner Sir John Hall are pretty irrelevant. He has criticised the attitude of the current squad, describing them as rubbish, useless and yesterday’s men. Talk about kicking a dog when it’s down.

What Newcastle need now is to go forward, not look back. It’s time to rebuild the team, rebuild the club and rebuild confidence and, above all, to start winning when the new season begins. Let’s just hope the man at the front is Alan Shearer.

Futures are on the line

It looks like Newcastle United’s relegation decider against flying high Aston Villa on Monday, May 25 will decide more than just the fate of the Geordies.

Assistant manager Iain Dowie has revealed that neither he or Alan Shearer know what their future will be after the season comes to a close. Does it depend on whether Newcastle stay up or go down? More than likely. Alan Shearer may well be in his infancy when it comes to football management but there is a feeling he will only stay if the club survives in the Premiership. The fans will certainly want him to continue.

Dowie says that when he and Shearer took on the roles it was just for eight weeks and those eight weeks have been the longest in their lives. A drop to the Championship would be a disaster for Newcastle and the supporters and Shearer and co would be gutted as well. But he would face a very difficult decision. Would he want to continue as manager in the second flight? It’s unlikely that Shearer would go elsewhere although his services will be much in demand. It’s more likely that he would opt to resume his broadcasting career and avoid the stress and strains of football management.

In any event, all hope is not lost yet. Newcastle travel to Aston Villa needing at least a point, with Hull and Sunderland also battling for survival. All eyes will be on Sir Alex Ferguson to see what type of team he fields against Hull. Fergie assures that whatever side he picks, they will be well capable of defeating Hull as promising young players will want to prove their worth and their potential as future stars.

That’s little consolation for Shearer who wants to see Hull slaughtered. Fergie has the Champions League final in Rome against Barcelona three days later very much on his mind and who can blame him for wanting to wrap his big guns in cotton wool? Other managers would do the same. That’s why they are managers. Dare to criticise Fergie for thinking about fielding a weakened team and Manchester United fans will go for the jugular. The teams in the relegation zone have only themselves to blame for the plight they find themselves in. Quite simply, they should have won more matches.

There are no favours in the big time and it will be up to Newcastle, Hull and Sunderland to make their own luck.Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia is at least seeing sense. He believes Fergie will field a side good enough to beat Hull. Sunderland go down if they lose to Chelsea, Hull beat United and Newcastle win their game. Hull might have everything to play for but it will be a great surprise if they manage to get one over Manchester United, under strength team or not.

Meantime, it looks as though out of sorts striker Michael Owen is likely to figure in Shearer’s starting eleven. He has a big point to prove and it’s odds on that Owen is going to slot home Newcastle’s winning goal, turning himself into a hero as much as Shearer already is. May 25 is going to be a very interesting day indeed!