Shearer is in confident mood as Newcastle prepare to face Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round
Alan Shearer(Image: (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images))
Winning the FA Cup is not ‘beyond’ Newcastle United next season, despite facing Manchester City in the fifth round of the competition on Saturday evening.
That is the verdict of club legend Alan Shearer, who believes United must embrace their gruelling fixture schedule, suggesting it would be ‘dreamland’ for other clubs.
Newcastle have gone deep in all four competitions this season and have played two games a week exclusively since the start of September.
After Wednesday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Premier League, they now welcome Manchester City to St James’ Park in the FA Cup. United also have a two-legged Champions League knockout tie with Barcelona to look forward to, as well as Premier League fixtures with Chelsea and fierce rivals Sunderland inside the next 15 days.
But instead of approaching this run of fixtures with some trepidation, Shearer believes Newcastle should embrace the fact it would be the envy of other clubs. And if they do so, he believes a run at winning this season’s FA Cup isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.
“Newcastle’s win against Man United on Wednesday should really spur them on for a big finish to the season,” Shearer told Betfair.
“Their performance and result against Everton was really poor, and there were a lot of questions being asked. I’ve always said, as a player and a manager, you always get the right to reply, and it’s great when you’ve got a game three or four days later, so you can reply. And their reply to the noise was brilliant, and exactly what it should be. The atmosphere was great, their performance and attitude was brilliant.
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“The only thing that wasn’t brilliant was the referee because he had an absolute shocker again. I mean, for a referee to say to someone ‘you’re conning me’, you have to be certain, because you’re saying to that player, you’re actually cheating. I thought it was an awful decision on Jacob Ramsey.
“Man United, when they have to come out and attack you, they’re not the same team, so I guess for them, it was the worst thing that could have happened with Newcastle going down to 10-men.
“But for Newcastle, the way they stuck together, the way they outfought them and outbattled them, I thought they were the better team with 11 men not 10 men, actually and I thought it was a great night for Newcastle.
“I’m hoping it gives them the kick that they need from now to the end of the season, starting with Man City on Saturday evening in the FA Cup, because I do believe that, with that attitude and with that performance, they can get through to the next round. They’re not going to make the top five now. I think at best, they can try and push for a European place without Champions League.
“I don’t think the FA Cup is beyond them either and they’ve got an unbelievable two weeks. I mean, their fixtures would be dreamland for any club. Looking at Newcastle and where they’ve come from to where they are now, with Man United, Man City, Barcelona, Chelsea, Barcelona, Sunderland, it’s a brilliant fixture list.
“It was a great start to that set of fixtures by beating Man United and with that backing at St James’ Park, anyone coming to St. James’ knows, with that backing, and with that attitude from the players, it’s going to be a tough night for them.”
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