Alan Shearer has theory over why Newcastle were so terrible against Man City after ‘horror show’ at the Etihad

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Alan Shearer was far from pleased with Newcastle United’s performance against Manchester City.

When Newcastle United turn up, they can beat anyone in world football. The 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup proved that.

However, Saturday’s 4-0 thumping by Manchester City showed the other side of this Newcastle team. When things aren’t going well, it can end horribly.

Newcastle players were furious at each other during the defeat, and Eddie Howe couldn’t act quickly enough to patch the holes in defence. The Magpies improved in the second half, but it was too little, too late after Omar Marmoush’s first-half hat-trick.

Howe missed Joelinton and Sven Botman against City, but there can be no excuses for what was perhaps Newcastle’s worst display of the season. Alan Shearer has a theory on why the Magpies were so poor.

Alan Shearer slams Newcastle United display vs Man City

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer took aim at Newcastle’s ‘big players’ back in December when he warned that they cannot choose when and where to turn up.

That is the next step in Newcastle’s progress. They have proven they can compete with the best, but not every week.

Shearer slammed Newcastle’s “pathetic” performance against City on social media, and after the full-time whistle, he shared his thoughts via BBC’s Match of the Day.

“It was an absolute horror show from Newcastle United, it was an unacceptable performance,” Shearer said.

“Whether so many players had one eye on the cup final or what, I don’t know. 

“But, they were all over the place today. They were dreadful, and Manchester City were very good again.”

Newcastle United cannot be distracted by Carabao Cup final

Shearer hints that Newcastle players might be distracted by the 2025 Carabao Cup final – which is set to take place in exactly one month.

That will be a huge worry for Howe, who is planning changes in the build-up to the Carabao Cup final in order to avoid the mistakes made in 2023. The Newcastle manager wants less media attention on the final in order to take pressure away from his players.

Frankly, Newcastle cannot afford to throw away any games in the lead-up to the final. The Magpies have just entered an extremely tricky run of fixtures.

Newcastle’s next three Premier League games – the final three before the cup final – includes two direct rivals for Champions League qualification.

Nottingham Forest visit St James’ Park next Sunday afternoon, and another defeat would put a huge dent in Newcastle’s Champions League hopes. Following that is a trip to face Carabao Cup finalists Liverpool, in what will be a telling test before the Wembley showdown.