Alan Shearer fiercely criticised his former club’s 1-0 derby loss to Sunderland, labeling the performance “rotten” and “pathetic,” and suggesting manager Eddie Howe made poor selection decisions.
Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer did not hold back after his former club’s 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Sunderland, calling the performance “rotten, pathetic, [and] dreadful.”
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer was “really shocked at how dreadful they were because, I mean, that is pathetic in any game, let alone in a derby game.”
The Magpies’ all-time leading goalscorer ran out of superlatives to describe the defeat.
The former striker singled out Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon for their poor displays and criticised the manager’s tactical decisions.
Shearer added that he “thought Eddie got it wrong as well,” regarding team selection. He lamented the lack of effort, stating: “There was no desire, there was no energy, there was nothing,” from the team in forward positions against their rivals.
Shearer was baffled by Newcastle’s timid approach against the opposition, noting: “We’re going away to Sunderland… they’re not Barcelona or Real Madrid.”
While conceding that Sunderland “deserved to win” and “had the energy” to succeed, he maintained that Newcastle “were terrible” in the Wear-Tyne Derby.