Well the unthinkable has happened. Newcastle United have been relegated - and probably deservedly so. Even supporters with black and white blood running through their veins admit their team have not competed effectively over 38 games. However, herein lies a dilemma. The cry of Tyneside is, 'Shearer, Shearer, Shearer'. But is he really the best candidate to take the team forward? I think not.
Shearer having won a Premiership title with Blackburn Rovers turned down an offer from Manchester United so that he might return and fulfill his childhood dream of wearing the number 9 shirt for Newcastle United. This in itself is laudable. Success on the field providing him with the vehicle for realising a passionate childhood ambition. However appropriate this may have been in 1996 it is irrelevant today. Thirteen years later the world of the premiership and of football itself has radically changed. It is now big business with big rewards. It is feted by huge numbers of ancillary businesses who increase their profitability less by association with the game than by association with the individual players.
Where once it was enough to wear the shirt and give all for the team and their town or city, today it is about playing on the largest stage available for a global audience and international renown. Players cross international borders freely to secure a position at a club that will engage in European competition and enjoy the greatest exposure to media outlets such as SKY TV.
One could make the case that few were playing 'for the shirt' against Aston Villa on the final day of the 2009 season. Sadly I think Mr Shearer still believes the loyalty and allegiance to shirt, club, and fans is the primary motivator inspiring the current crop of players. Whilst it might apply to a few, Stephen Gerrard and John Terry as examples, it is not the case for the most showcased player in England, Ronaldo. What is required in the current climate is strategic managers who can blend a squad capable of winning everything they seek. Such a squad must be carefully managed, player by player, and feted with their success on the filed, and well rewarded off it. The late arrival of Guus Hiddink at Chelsea this season demonstrates what a true manager can achieve with a squad he has not created but accepts the challenge laid down by owner and fans.
What Newcastle United need is to leave the land of the dinosaurs and enter todays footballing world. Even their tedious cries that their team is a 'great club' are increasingly hollow. They are not nor have they been a great club. They cover a large land mass and therefore attract a great number of supporters across the North East. This does not make them a great club, rather a well supported club. And credit where credit is due - fantastic supporters. There are two 'great' clubs in the premiership; Liverpool and Manchester United, and I support neither.
As Shearer cut an increasingly isolated and forlorn figure on the touch line as Newcastle continued to stumble and finally fell, his perception may prove significant for Newcastle's future. Bring him back to the commentary team and hand Newcastle to someone who grasps the fact that to play for Newcastle is no different to playing for any other club. The issue is crafting a squad that want to perform on the world's largest footballing stage, not for the shirt they wear but rather for the audience they can impress, the opportunities they can create for themselves, and to some degree the financial sponsorship they can attract. Football has changed. So must Newcastle United and it begins with the next managerial appointment!
