Well at least as reported by BBC On-line....... Newcastle manager Bobby Robson knows more than ever now the importance of Alan Shearer to his team.

The pressure on the former England skipper to provide the goals for the St James' Park side intensified after Carl Cort limped out of the Worthington Cup clash with Leyton Orient on Tuesday night.

A recurrence of a hamstring injury is likely to keep the #7 million man from Wimbledon out for at least a month.

Underlining the importance of Shearer, Robson said: "I wouldn't like to be without him now that Cort's gone down.

"But he (Shearer) never goes down. Every game that Newcastle United played under me last year, he played. He never gets a break. There was no rotational system at Newcastle. "He doesn't like to be rested. I'd rather rest him in training than match play."

There is no question of Robson being able to rest him now, but the Newcastle boss has called on his side to provide better service to the former Blackburn and Southampton striker.

"He's been a little bit static but the team hadn't done enough for him. It's a little bit of Alan, but in the main, it's the team not giving him sufficient chances.

"We did a big session yesterday (Monday) on movement and getting crosses across the face of goal for him."

Cort, who earlier in the season missed four game with hamstring trouble, limped out of Tuesday's action after 38 minutes but Robson believes he was not rushed back too early.

"He's been out for five weeks, but we made sure he was fit and in good condition.

"His first match back was last Wednesday, and he didn't have many problems then, and then he played on Saturday. But he's had a recurrence tonight and it's a big blow.

"I should think it's a month job. He's certainly not going to make Saturday. We have a two-week break after that, so that's two weeks' valuable time, and hopefully, we might be able to get him fit two weeks after that."

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2000

Answers

And quoted from the Ronnie:

Robson admitted he had taken a chance fielding a full-strength side in a competition which even Third Division Darlington deemed too minor to warrant 100pc commitment.

However, the United manager pointed to Manchester United's Champions' League defeat in Eindhoven and claimed: "I couldn't take any chances. Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a weakened team in Holland and look what happened there".

Get in the YBR.....you tell 'em how it is.....supercilious

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2000

that should have ended supercilious whinging twats but the last bit got lost!

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2000

Resting him in training will do him more harm than good in the long term though won't it?

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2000