Alan Shearer predicts a grim future for Newcastle United on Match of the Day
Alan Shearer was on Match of the Day duty last night, and we're sure he wished he had a week off.
While there hasn't been a great deal to shout about for Newcastle United of late anyway, the Magpies were booed off the pitch at St James' Park last night, which is something we've not seen for a long time.
We have to give credit to those fans inside St James' Park, though, as they saved their boos for the final whistle, opting to support the team while they were playing and voicing their discontent at the end. How it should be.
However, when the crowd is starting to turn, it's not the ideal time as a Newcastle fan to be picking through the performance, but that was Alan Shearer's task on Match of the Day last night.
The ex-Toon striker cut a frustrated figure in the BBC studio as he discussed Newcastle's summer recruitment and the club's current predicament.
"But I think it was a tough situation in the summer, we know with the Isak situation, and with no sporting director. But there's no doubt, their summer signings, other than Malick Thiaw, haven't worked as yet.
"They've spent an absolute fortune on four players and they're yet to get anywhere near the heights that they did at other football clubs. And that is a huge problem for Eddie and for Newcastle, and until they solve that, I'm not sure it will get better."
The summer recruitment seems to be the focus of many a critic right now, with Craig Hope ranting away about recruitment in his YouTube video last night.
And we would echo those sentiments. £250 million spent on five players plus another one on loan, and only one has shown anything like being consistent and now even he's starting to fade because he's being run into the ground.
Newcastle travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, and they will have 12 first-team players missing. If we can't get a result from them in that situation, we might as well plant a white flag in the centre circle at St James' Park and bow out for the season.
