Newcastle United had an awful summer transfer window, and Alan Shearer is not happy about it.
Financially, the biggest signing Newcastle United made was Odysseas Vlachodimos from Nottingham Forest. He cost £20million, but will probably never play for the club.
He was only signed to help Forest’s PSR situation, after they helped Newcastle out by agreeing to pay £35million for Elliot Anderson.
Vlachodimos was even linked with leaving Newcastle this summer, and has not been involved in any of the Magpies’ first four games of the season.
Away from that deal, Newcastle did not do any of the major business that they had intended to do.
A right-sided centre-back and a right winger did not arrive. Newcastle’s move for Marc Guehi collapsed, while a last-minute approach for Anthony Elanga fell short.
The failure to enhance Eddie Howe’s squad has put Paul Mitchell and Darren Eales under pressure at St James’ Park, with Toon legend Alan Shearer criticising the duo after Newcastle’s win over Tottenham.
Alan Shearer believes Paul Mitchell should address Newcastle’s transfer nightmare
Alan Shearer feels that Eddie Howe was let down in the transfer market, and has now explained what he would like the club’s sporting director to do.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer believes that Mitchell, and similar executives at all clubs, should have to come out and explain things, rather than leave the manager to answer questions from the media.
“They put huge bids in for Marc Guehi,” he said.
“Obviously they have the finance to go out and buy someone. I guess they just didn’t offer enough, or didn’t feel he was worth the £70million that Crystal Palace wanted.
“What I would like to see change is, and not only at Newcastle, because we’re now seeing more and more that it’s coaches rather than managers. We’re seeing more and more sporting directors or chief executives, who are buying the players for the coach.
“Yet we’re seeing the coach having to come out and explain all these decision. Sometimes the coach hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. Eddie said himself this week that he didn’t really know.
“I would like more sporting directors, or whoever is making the decisions, to come out and explain and say how it is, because it’s not fair on the coach all the time to front up every week and answer questions which they don’t know the answers to.”
There is more pressure on Darren Eales than Paul Mitchell at Newcastle
Shearer‘s suggestion comes after Eddie Howe got quite the grilling during his pre-match press conference before the Tottenham Hotspur game.
Howe was quizzed about new signings and Newcastle’s inability to spend, despite his main role being to coach the players he has got.
All the while, Mitchell and Eales are the ones who have failed to enhance his squad while the transfer window was open.
Whether Newcastle fans do get answers remains to be seen, but there is real pressure on Mitchell and Eales moving forwards.
There is even more pressure on Eales, who has been at St James’ Park much longer than Mitchell and holds a higher position. And while Mitchell has been doing his work in the background, Eales has been mixing it up with supporters, singing songs on stage at the St James’ Stack and thanking fans for buying their new Adidas kits.
While Amanda Staveley got so much right as Newcastle United’s public face, Darren Eales is getting so much wrong.
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