Nobody will sign until Ashley sells
Oct 21 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
ALAN Shearer has thrown his weight behind former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan as he declared the sooner owner Mike Ashley is removed from power the better.
Shearer, who was speaking before last night’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City, carefully side-stepped questions regarding the possibility he could be appointed Newcastle manager by one of the seven consortiums reportedly interested in buying the club.
But the former United skipper was less circumspect regarding the plight of the Magpies as he insisted the situation could only be resolved when Ashley’s regime has disappeared as he argued Keegan had no choice but to quit as manager if players were signed without his consent.
“No one can control what is going on off the pitch, but we know the club is for sale and the sooner that is completed the better,” said Shearer, who was tipped to become Newcastle’s next manager by another former United boss, Sir Bobby Robson, earlier this week.
“Until it is actually gone the club will struggle to go forward. I hope it happens soon because they need to get through to January and get players. They have to try and consolidate.
“I have huge respect for Joe Kinnear and good luck to him. No one would have turned that job down in his position. But the longer the club is standing still, and no one knows what the future holds, the harder it will be to attract players.
“It is possible Joe could still be here in January, but no player will want to come here while everything is up in the air. You can’t expect a player to sign a three or four year contract while everything is so uncertain.”
Shearer also revealed he could not tolerate being a manager under the
sort of two-tiered management structure constructed by Ashley, which saw executive director (football) Dennis Wise making the major decisions in the transfer market rather than Keegan.
He said: “If it is right what has been reported and players were bought without his knowledge, he (Keegan) was right to do what he did. That seems to be an ongoing trend in our league, that other people apart from the manager are running the football club.
“The least a manager asks is to run the football side of his club. It is his neck on the line. He is the one who has to have the say on whether players come in or go out, otherwise what is the point? In those circumstances Kevin was right to do what he did. If you are appointed as manager and someone is appointed above you, you are right to ask questions. Personally I don’t think that system works in our league.”
Shearer also hinted he did not blame captain Michael Owen for not signing a new contract, even though the club’s record signing will almost certainly leave St James’s Park at the end of the season, if not during the January transfer window. He said: “It is the same with the players who have contracts running out. You have to look at it and say it is so unstable at the present moment you can’t blame them for looking elsewhere if their contracts are running out.”
The former England international would be a popular choice as United’s next manager, but the 38-year-old remains ambiguous on whether he would accept the job if it was offered to him by the new owners.
He said: “Everyone knows I have done part of my coaching badges. I have not done the Pro licence yet which is mandatory, but I will do it at some stage in the future. Management interests me at some stage of my career.
“I am watching football matches every weekend so in that sense I am still in the game. I can’t say where it might happen and I can’t say it would be here.”
