Alan Shearer reveals his first impressions of new owners six weeks on from Saudi takeover

Alan Shearer has been impressed by our new owner’s communication with supporters during their first six weeks at the club, but admits the premature claims around Unai Emery’s arrival need to be learned from.

The Mike Ashley era was notorious for a total disconnect between fans and those in charge, with the manager having to take the heat while the Chairman sat on the sidelines.

Even Lee Charnley, who left the club after 22 years yesterday, didn’t speak a word to the fans despite being in charge of NUFC for seven years.

Shearer himself admits that he is still waiting for a call back from Ashley dating back to 2009, when our record goalscorer was told he would likely be kept on as manager ahead of the Championship campaign.

There was some slight criticism at the new consortium, however, for their handling of the Unai Emery situation and briefing the press beforehand.

This is a snippet of what Shearer wrote in his column for The Athletic:

“So far, I’d say it’s been a tough but good introduction by the new owners. 

“It’s also been a learning curve. Errors have been made in terms of things leaking out of the club, particularly over their pursuit of Unai Emery, but otherwise the communication with fans has been welcome. 

“Let’s face it, any communication would have been better than the uncomfortable silence we endured under Ashley, broken by those infrequent pitiful, painful official statements.

“They’ve done the most important part by appointing a new manager and everyone seems to be on board with that. 

“For way too long Newcastle has been in conflict with itself; fans against the manager, manager against fans, everybody against the owner, the owner checked out and it undermines the whole notion of what a club should be, which is people being brought together, sharing something, representing something.”