F365 Features

In taking the Newcastle job until the end of the season, it seems that Alan Shearer has made a smart move, but there is actually a fair amount of risk involved. Not half as much as Mike Ashley mind...

Alan Shearer
As has been said before, taking the Newcastle job now appears on the surface to be a very smart move.

If he succeeds his legend increases, if he fails he can shrug his shoulders and go back to looning it up with Lineker, Hansen and Lawro.

However, one assumes that Shearer does not want to confine his entire managerial career to these eight games. If it goes well it is impossible to imagine that he will not stay on for next season, despite his insistence on Wednesday, insistence that was probably for the benefit of the convalescing Joe Kinnear.

The problem is, if it goes badly it might colour the rest of his career. If Newcastle go down he can justifiably claim that it was someone else's fault, but it will still be a stain on his CV. Chances are he won't stay on, and which other club is going to employ a man with little experience but one relegation in a hurry? Not that failure will mean he will be confined to the managerial dustbin/Match of the Day sofa, but it will undoubtedly be a setback.

The next six weeks are essentially an audition for the twenty odd years that follow. It's a chance to prove that he can do the job he imagines himself doing for the rest of his working life.

With eight games to go and two points from safety, no game can be written off, and so it is as they face Chelsea on Saturday. There will be an overwhelming amount of emotion and good will at St James's Park, and if Shearer can harness that for the good of his side then he will have taken a big step towards securing their immediate future.

Mike Ashley
Football's least popular Bobby from King of the Hill lookalike has taken a massive gamble, and it's essentially one he's taken with his own money.

Ashley made clear last year that he wants to sell the club, and although he reversed this decision after Christmas, that was only because he couldn't find anyone dumb enough to take the club of his hands for fancy prices.

It's difficult to feel sympathy for Ashley given that he didn't bother looking at Newcastle's calamitous books before purchasing the club, and to think that he could take over a football club - particularly one with a support like Newcastle's - with no previous experience was at best naive, at worst negligent.

However, Ashley is in this for a hell of a lot. At the last count he has put more than £250million into the club, and with his other businesses not in tip-top shape at present, he would desperately like to be rid of a club that has become a burden.

It's enough of a struggle to get rid of such a debt-laden basket case when they're in the Premier League, so shifting the club in the Championship would be pretty much impossible.

Michael Owen
Fabio Capello doesn't rate him, but apparently Shearer does. The new boss has said Owen will start against Chelsea, and will clearly place much of the goalscoring responsibility on his perma-knacked striker.

It's a pretty big burden to place on such a fragile wee frame.

Chelsea
It's not often that players such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien are side shows, but few people will pay much attention to the visitors to St James's.

However, Chelsea are still just about in the title race. After Manchester United proved they are vulnerable, making up a potential seven point gap looks very unlikely, but it's just possible for Chelsea. That will go out of the window if they are overwhelmed by the extraordinary scenes that will greet them on Saturday.

On Tuesday this looked like an away banker. Not so much now.

Manchester United
One loss is unfortunate, two a blip, three would be almost calamitous.

United are still the clear favourites to win the league, but a resurgent Liverpool are closing in quickly, and they can't afford any more slip-ups in the next eight games.

A few months ago Aston Villa at home would have been a very tricky proposition, but after the wheels started to wobble for them a United win is likely.

That's in theory anyway.

Aston Villa
Speaking of teams closing in quickly, five games ago the gap between Villa and Everton was 11 points. Now it's four.

And if you want to be a little more pessimistic about their chances, at that stage the gap between them and eighth spot (and no European qualification at all) has been cut from 18 to 11.

Liverpool
At present, Liverpool just need to keep doing what they have been doing, and hope that the international break hasn't arrested their considerable momentum.

Before the shenanigans at Newcastle their trip to Fulham would have been the highlight of Saturday, but even though the profile of the game is now lower, it's still crucial.

Stoke City
It looks very much like Stoke will stay up, and this is based purely on their formidable home form.

However, they are still without a win away from the Britannia, which makes Saturday's trip to West Brom important for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, three points would take them to 35, requiring probably only five more from their remaining seven games to wrap survival up, meaning they can basically crack out the cigars and smoking jackets for the rest of the campaign.

Secondly, an away win would be an important marker for the future. If they are to progress then better a better record on the road is crucial, and frankly if they can't win away to West Brom then they probably won't do it anywhere.

Portsmouth and Hull
Three and four points away from the relegation zone respectively, and with the likelihood that Stoke, Newcastle and possibly Blackburn (they play the erratic Spurs at home) will pick up points, it's important for both sides to keep up.