Alan Shearer is understandably worried about Newcastle United right now.
It is hard to believe that Newcastle United could have gone top of the Premier League on Saturday. Instead, they lost 3-1 to Fulham with arguably their worst performance of the season so far.
Shearer said Newcastle were awful against Fulham, and he is spot on. There was so much wrong with the Magpies’ performance, as Eddie Howe’s side suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
Collectively, Newcastle were well below par. Individually, there were some terrible displays. Anthony Gordon was infuriating, while Alexander Isak was largely anonymous once again. Elsewhere, Bruno Guimaraes continued his worrying start to the season.
There are a lot of issues at Newcastle United right now, and Alan Shearer has identified one of the Magpies’ biggest concerns.
Alan Shearer shares Newcastle United ‘concern’ after losing to Fulham
On the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker asked Alan Shearer to identify what the problem at Newcastle United is right now.
“If you remember last season and the season before, what Newcastle did really well was they overpowered teams,” he said.
“They pressed teams. They went after teams. We kept on saying about their energy and their fitness.
“I haven’t really seen that this season. They looked knackered against Fulham. They looked really tired and heavy legged. Too many players below par. That would be a worrying thing for me this season.
“We saw lots of it two seasons ago, and lots of it last season. In terms of this season up to now, the high intensity, pressing and aggression… I haven’t seen yet. That is a concern.”
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 5 |  ChelseaChelsea | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 6 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 7 |  BrightonBrighton | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 8 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
Newcastle United have lowered their intensity
Shearer is spot on when it comes to Newcastle United’s lack of energy. During Howe’s tenure, the mantra has been ‘intensity is our identity’, and they were words that the players lived by. However, they are merely just words at this moment in time.
Newcastle do not look capable of pressing. Any attempt to do it is a poor imitation of their previous selves. So many of the Magpies’ key players are below bar, and a big reason is a lack of sharpness.
Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes are Newcastle’s three best players. None of them appear to be anywhere near their physical peak, and have got nowhere near playing their best football.
Howe’s players are lacking intensity, and it is extremely noticeable when you reflect on how intense they used to be.
That might be slightly by design, with performance director James Bunce instructing Howe to lower the physical demands of day-to-day training. Newcastle are hoping to peak physically at the right time, but they seem so far away from that peak right now.
It is concerning Shearer, and it is concerning Newcastle United fans, who are preparing for the small matter of seeing their team face Manchester City on Saturday.
Man City could be without Rodri due to injury, as Pep Guardiola’s side head to St James’ Park for the upcoming weekend’s 12:30pm kick-off.
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