'Don't start': Alan Shearer takes swipe at Gary Lineker after he aims a dig at Newcastle United
Newcastle United got their Premier League campaign off to a solid start with a goalless draw at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime.
We'd absolutely have taken a point before kick-off, so we can't complain too much about the result; however, it was clear to anyone watching that if Newcastle had had a proper centre-forward on the pitch, they'd have won that game.
Will Osula failed to impress in pre-season despite coming off the back of a fine goal-scoring run in the Under-21s European Championships, which left Eddie Howe with little choice but to play Anthony Gordon as a makeshift centre forward.
Gordon has filled in that position several times for Newcastle, and other than scoring from the penalty spot, has never found the net when playing as a striker.
Gary Lineker couldn't resist having a subtle shot at the Alexander Isak situation
Newcastle's domination on Saturday deserved more than a point as Gary Lineker pointed out on The Rest Is Football podcast, much to Alan Shearer's chagrin.
“I thought Newcastle played quite well in that game.
“Much the better side. Villa looked a bit flat. Their passing was off. You [Newcastle] had the best chances, didn’t you?
“Imagine if you got a really good striker in the squad somewhere…”
Alan Shearer had had his fill of talking about Alexander Isak
Shearer laughed it off, but stopped Lineker in his tracks immediately.
"Don't start. Goodness me."
The former Newcastle striker was on duty on BBC Radio and Match of the Day at the weekend, so had had enough of speaking about Alexander Isak, we're sure.
It's obvious that we would have won if Alexander Isak was playing on Saturday, but the reality is, he's not available and probably won't be again for Eddie Howe, and we have to put that behind us and move on.
