Alan Shearer is sick of reporters putting Newcastle’s recent struggles down to tiredness, insisting it’s their job to play football and what they get paid for.
He doesn’t think it’s a valid excuse for our struggles in recent away games at Everton and Spurs, feeling it’s our ‘lack of options’ off the bench in the final 20 minutes that’s cost us.
Shearer will ‘never accept’ that players play too much football because we now have the best sports science, pitches, physios and travel. While that may be true, it doesn’t change these two things:
- If you play three games a week and the opposition is only playing every Saturday, you’re at a distinct disadvantage. That catches up with you, especially when there’s 10-12 senior players missing and the same 10 outfield players playing five high-intensity games in 15 days.
- It isn’t just about playing three games a week, it is about maintaining the levels of intensity across those games. Our brand of football makes that so hard to maintain without fresh legs. At this level, it makes all the difference if players physical capabilities are 20-30% lower.
Here’s what Shearer had to say on the Rest is Football podcast:
“In fairness to Eddie Howe and the players, I’ve never heard one of them say that they’re tired. But all I keep hearing is reporters and presenters and pundits saying how tired they must be.
“Forgive me for thinking anything different but isn’t it their f*** job to play football? Isn’t that what they get paid for?
“It’s a lack of options in the final twenty minutes for Newcastle – not a tiredness thing – and I’ll never accept that players play too much football because they have the best sports science, best pitches and best physios. They have the best of everything. They don’t sit on coaches now, they sit on private jets! The game is quicker these days, but the support for the players has travelled faster.
“The problem is that from the age of seven, for the last twenty years, all we’ve ever heard is that ‘you can’t play more than three games a week – you’re playing too much football’. Do me a f****** favour.”
🗣️ @AlanShearer: “I’ll never accept players play too much football”#NUFC's player fatigue is a 'myth' according to Alan 👀 pic.twitter.com/904zNhAmSP
— The Rest Is Football (@RestIsFootball) December 11, 2023
Players should only be ticking over in training with three games a week.
Shearer’s dead right!
Joseph(Quote)
Shearer has about as much credibility as a pundit as Robbie Savage. He’s Lineker’s puppet and yesterday’s man.
Moxey(Quote)
Shearer should listen to the experts in muscle fatigue re educate himself think the game has changed in that department since he stopped playing
Darren Bebb(Quote)