Today's Mirror is fulsome in its praise of Shearer's performance on Saturday (and I have to agree: the last time he played as well as that was against Leeds last season when he seemed to have the bit between his teeth as well). It goes on about his workrate, finishing, defending, experience and skill but also goes on about how he carries the team and asks the question "how long can Newcastle carry on the risk of depending so heavily on Shearer?" The Ipswich lads are also quoted saying he was fantastic. Yesterday's papers pretty much all concluded that he single-handedly won the game for us. Now, I know he's our star player etc but can it be healthy that we ARE relying on him so much? One good thing, the papers were fairly critical of one or two other stars - notably Dyer and LuaLua (all style, no substance is the jist if it) - hopefully the suggestion that we're a one man team will prick people into action.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

Answers

On this rare occasion the Mirror is spot on - and no it is not healthy for us to be so dependant on one player.
I know this will be contentious, but I believe we are actually overly dependant on two players - AS and Rob Lee - and that this is extremely worrying.
Without RL in midfield we are unable to compete effectively - I wasn't at WHU, but this was clearly demonstrated against Bradford and yet again in the first half against Ipswich. Against Bradford, we were utterly pathetic in midfield: and it was only when Rob moved into midfield against Ipswich that we were able to exert any kind of control.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

I don't think we are reliant. Shearer is top-class and will therefore stand out head and shoulders amongst the rest, therefore making it look like we rely on him.

For him to score someone else must have done something right, a point which Shearer will be first to admit. We've all seen how below par he gets when he doesn't get the right support.

Of course we rely on him but we are not dependent on him.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

I think we depend on him being on form - there wouldn't be such a commentary ever time he plays if this were not the case.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

Sorry DB, I think we are just about totally dependant on Shearer, and maybe Lee. There's no way I want to even contemplate the kakky we'd be in if he wasn't playing.

You are right, he is an outstanding player, but that doesn't make the underachievers look any better. It may make the end result look better, but we're burying our heads in the sand if we think we're that close to getting sorted.

And that's in spite of being 6th in the table. I do think that unless we start to win games we're expected to win, and use the unexpected wins as the icing on the card sort of thing, we could be in for a rude awakening.

(For all you guys basking in unbearable heat, let me say the weather here today is absolute pants, and that's putting it mildly, so please take that into account when coming to any well reasoned conclusions along the lines of 'I wish this miserable owld git would boil his heed in a bucket of s**t'. :-))

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

Oh I see......pick and choose when ya wanna believe the papers eh?

:-)

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

LR, Shearer basically did win the game single-handedly. He was just in that frame of mind.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

I believe ya Douggie.....so you then agree that he IS INDEED carrying the team?

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

I think he did on Saturday.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

Out of the first team, there are several that we NEED to be on form for us to win matches.... Shearer - for his accuracy in front of goal. Lee - for his ability to hold the midfield and link with the attackers Solano - for his delivery into the box (how many times does he create the goals for us?)

Add to those, possibly Speed (for his goal contribution and passing) and Hughes (for his composure at the back).

The rest of the players are dubious :-( Cordone - often fails to see Shearer in space (from 5 yards away) Lua-Lua - nice tricks but no teamplay (he even disadvantages the rest of the team by never playing the simple lay-off). Barton - dubious positional defensive play. Goma - appears to get rattled at the back Domi - not remarkable defensively or offensively (but probably not his fault as no-onw is helping him with the LHS) Dyer - has good matches but as many inconspicuous matches.

Let's face it - we have half a good team.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

Is this the same "Mirror" that told us in the summer and last season that Shearer was a pile of kak and should be hoyed oot of the England team at the earliest opportunity? And yet now he is single handedly carrying a team in the top six of the Prem? Mmmm.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

Actually, Jacko, I don't think the Mirror was one of the Shearer haters during the summer...certainly not to the extent that the broadsheets had it in for them.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

ha ha ha ha ha. good one.

This'll be the same 'one-man' team that got to two FA Cup finals and a semi-final in the last three years and lost to [arguably] the top three teams in the country will it?

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2000

So! You're a regular "Mirror" reader are you Dougal? And here was me thinking you sounded more like a Grauniad lass!

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2000

Hey Jacko, does it matter what Dougal wraps her chipsin?

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2000

I read all the papers every day. Luxury of my job.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2000

Luxury Dougal? I think not.....it'd be painful having to read all that tripe every day....

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2000

The weirdest thing is the take you get on how journalists, presented with the same set of facts, distort them to such an extent that, at first sight, you'd think it was a completely different story.

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2000

Ah, you mean like Rik's match reports?

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2000

You ought to try reading them like I have to.......

We have to do video conferences four times a day with all the various regions, and what the papers are saying about the broadcasting medium as a whole, and us specifically is a major part of that.

The first one we do is at 8.15, so our news area go throguh the papers overnight and photocopy any TV/Radio/broadcsting related stories. They then compile a pack of them all which we then work off.

As Dougal says, its weird reading the same story in different papers and being given a different spin in each, but when they are seen in isolation from the actual paper itself, and where you could have an A3 sheet with the same story from four or five different papers is even more weird.

In the knowledge of what we have actually said and briefed to the journo's, to then see, on one sheet of paper, how for example the Sun, the Mirror, The FT and something like the Scotsman spin and print the story is unbelievable.

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2000

You should appoint a Minister for Propaganda. I'll just ask my Jorman colleague if he has any tips.

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2000