Gary Lineker has poked fun at Alan Shearer’s failed stint as Newcastle United manager.
Shearer’s only experience in the dugout was limited to just eight matches at the tail-end of the 2008/09 season. The iconic number nine, who spent his best years at St James’ Park, was tasked with saving Newcastle from their first Premier League relegation.
His managerial debut saw the Magpies fall to a 2-0 loss against Chelsea on April 4, 2009, and things barely improved after that. With only one win and two draws under his belt, Shearer watched his team get relegated after a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on the last day of the season, leaving them a point shy of safety behind Hull City in 18th place.
READ MORE: ‘I was terrified by Match of the Day – I’d watch and be begging them not to slate me’
READ MORE: ‘I played for Newcastle – I would survive on £5-a-week after gambling all my wages’
Now Lineker has added insult to injury by making a cheeky joke about Shearer’s managerial woes. The light-hearted banter unfolded on The Rest Is Football podcast, where ex-defender Micah Richards was complaining to the veteran duo about his Fantasy Football misfortunes.
Richards was frustrated at his own decision-making over Josko Gvardiol, having debated whether to play him in his fantasy team, only to leave him out. He then watched the Croatian defender bag a brace against Fulham on Saturday.
The ex-Manchester City star said (via the Mirror): “It’s the fact I put him in, took him out, put him in, took him out at least 15 times and then I decided not to go with him.”
Would you like to see Shearer return to management? Let us know in the comments section below.
(Image: The Rest Is Football/Youtube)
Lineker quipped: “Micah can I suggest that’s probably a good reason for you never going into management. Can you imagine picking your team, ‘I’ll put him in, no I’ll take him out’. I wonder if managers do that, you know. Have you ever thought about that?”
He jokingly went on to add: “I mean, Alan, the way your team went it looked like you were doing something like that,” leaving Shearer and Richards in hysterics.
Gvardiol has found stellar form as a left-back under Pep Guardiola this season, netting four goals in his last five Premier League games. It has come at a pivotal time in which City must win their remaining matches if they are to be crowned champions for the fourth successive year, with Arsenal pushing them all the way.