Alan Shearer claims Newcastle United have not improved in 18 months after Brighton loss
The former Newcastle United and England captain revealed his frustrations after the Magpies defeat against Brighton.
Newcastle United have not backed manager Eddie Howe during what was a challenging summer transfer window at St James Park.
That was the verdict of the former Magpies captain and the club’s all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer as he assessed Saturday’s deeply disappointing home defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion. United have experienced a mixed first two months to the Premier League season with hard-earned wins against the likes of Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers sitting alongside poor performances in defeats against Fulham and Brighton.
There has been a lot of talk about the questionable recruitment overseen by the Magpies hierarchy during the summer transfer window as they seemed to become fixated on securing a potential club record deal for Crystal Palace and England star Marc Guehi. There were incomings in the form of free transfer signing Lloyd Kelly, Sheffield United forward William Osula and goalkeeping duo Odysseas Vlachodimos and John Ruddy, as well as the permanent move for loan star Lewis Hall. However, there was major disappointment over the prolonged and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to land Guehi on the back of his impressive displays during England’s run to the final of Euro 2024. A desperately late attempt to secure the signing of Nottingham Forest and Sweden winger Anthony Elanga also came to an unsuccessful end within the final hours of the transfer window.
There is a hope Newcastle can move from their mis-steps in the transfer market when the January transfer window opens for business - and Shearer wants to see Howe backed in a bid to improve a squad he insisted has not improved over the last 18 months.
Speaking on The Rest is Football Podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, Shearer said: “Are Newcastle any better this season than they were 18 months ago, and with the transfer windows they've had behind them? And I would say probably not. I just feel as if that they probably haven't backed the manager as good as they should have. After what he's done for Newcastle and achieved, and I get the PSR and the financial laws and rules, whatever you want to call them, but there was money in the pot this summer because they bid £60m or 65m (for Marc Guehi).
"I think the turnover of personnel in the summer hasn't helped with with Amanda (Staveley) and Mehrdad (Ghodoussi) leaving, new director of football coming in with Dan Ashworth leaving whenever he left. I just don't think that has helped at all and I just think they've let the coach or the manager down in the last transfer window. I don't think they've helped them at all. From where they were last season to where they are now, and I know they've certainly not been helped by serious injuries, particularly to Sven Botman - but I don't think they're a better team now with a transfer window or two behind them than they were 18 months ago - and that is a slight concern.”
The Magpies are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they face a tough-looking trip to Chelsea.