*Shearer sinks the Villa*

Aston Villa missed the chance to return to the top of the Premiership when they were made to look ordinary by a resurgent Newcastle, with Alan Shearer proving he is ready for England duty next week by opening the scoring after just four minutes. ‘Typical Shearer,’ John Gregory said. ‘I can’t believe he’s gone so long without scoring.’

Ruud Gullit, anxious to play down reports of a rift between himself and Newcastle’s most expensive signing, had suggested earlier in the week that Shearer was still the best striker in the country and ought to be an automatic choice for England. Glenn Hoddle, who names his team to face France at Wembley on 10 February this Thursday, said much the same thing in his interview with the Times yesterday, although for some reason it was not given much prominence.

After a week full of Stan Collymore’s stress problems - the Villa striker has now checked into the Priory Clinic for a week, Gregory revealed - and Hoddle’s dippy, verging on sinister, philosophising, it was a relief to see a footballer doing his talking on the pitch for a change. Shearer applied himself with vigour, looking much happier in a team who appeared to have rediscovered their old confidence, ending all arguments about his fitness for France. Just for good measure he even demonstrated he has not lost the knack of kicking opposing defenders in the head by the touchline and getting away with it, though this time the contact that led to Ugo Ehiogu’s departure after 40 minutes was clearly accidental.

It was a bad day for Villa defenders. Steve Watson, making his first Premiership return to St James’ Park, was given a roasting down the left by Stephen Glass, whose crosses led to the first two goals and could have brought Shearer a hat-trick. Gareth Southgate was far from his usual dependable self at the heart of the Villa defence, and his young partner, Gareth Barry, was similarly unable to counter the threat Newcastle posed in the air. Only some wayward finishing in the second half let the visitors leave with their credibility more or less intact. ‘Our defending was sloppy, we were awful in the first half and couldn’t get back into it,’ Gregory said.

Villa had a chance straight from the kick-off, with Shay Given having to rush from his area to head clear from Paul Merson, but it was the more celebrated forehead of Shearer that brought about his first goal in the Premiership since September three minutes later. Glass’s cross from the left was quick and accurate, though the Villa cover was conspicuous by its absence as Shearer rose alone in front of goal to plant a firm header past Michael Oakes.

Shearer had the ball in the net again after 25 minutes but saw his header from Nolberto Solano’s corner disallowed for a shove on Southgate. No matter, Newcastle had a second three minutes later, when a determined Shearer burst through the middle and freed Glass on the left. Another early centre, this time a low one, was met by Temuri Ketsbaia. Oakes dived bravely at the feet of Shearer when a mistake from Southgate almost led to a third goal, but what best summed up the way Newcastle were playing was a goal they nearly scored after 35 minutes, when an acrobatic clearance by Solano was turned into a shooting chance for Ketsbaia by a thoughtful pass from Gary Speed.

Their failure to press home a clear advantage began to look worryingly ominous from their point of view when Merson pulled a goal back on the hour with an elegant half-volley from 20 yards out, though the home side retained enough defensive solidity to keep Villa out while continuing to miss opportunities to make the game safe. Shearer was the chief culprit, putting a free header wide and another on top of the net from two more Glass crosses, though when Andreas Andersson came on for Ketsbaia he all too predictably joined in. The Swede could have had the goal of the season when he got on the end of another sweeping attack initiated by Shearer and continued with pace and imagination by Dietmar Hamann and substitute Garry Brady. But he headed over the bar with the Villa defence nowhere to be seen.

Steve Howey put the last chance wide, with a back header that rolled the wrong side of a post, before Merson just missed securing a wholly undeserved point for Villa with a late volley. Privately Gullit might be worried Newcastle were still within catching distance at that stage, but publicly he is not saying so. ‘We had a lot of chances, but we can just be happy with the result,’ he said. ‘I would say that was the best 90 minutes I’ve seen from us this season. We were hungry, people were battling for each other. I’m very pleased.’

Gregory, who confirmed Collymore would not be available for selection next week, was just the opposite. ‘I’m not going to use Stanley as an excuse. I don’t think it affected our preparation or anything,’ he said. ‘But it has had an effect on me. I feel tired and drained. It is something I could have done without.’

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*The Guardian*
Saturday, 30 January 1999

*Shearer sends Villa back to earth*

If Harold Wilson were alive and watching professional football today, he would surely observe that a week is a long time in park politics. And for the Parks in question, Villa and St James’, last week was a long seven days indeed.

On Saturday, after a hectic few days that included Stan Collymore checking into a clinic and Juninho appearing uncertain whether to swap Madrid for Birmingham, Aston Villa delivered one of the least convincing performances from supposed title contenders in many a season.

The previous weekend they had been ushered out of the FA Cup by Second Division Fulham. Here, in becoming the first team in the top six to lose to Newcastle United this season, they passed up the chance to go back to the top of the Premiership.

Newcastle, in the news themselves last week with the return of Kevin Keegan to Tyneside for a benefit match coinciding with alleged disharmony between Ruud Gullit and Alan Shearer, played as well as anyone could remember, but this felt like a defining defeat for Villa.

Only three Saturdays before, Chelsea had come to Tyneside, weathered a first-half battering and strolled away with victory pocketed. Chelsea had shown determination in defence, danger on the break and had surmounted the loss of Pierluigi Casiraghi and Gustavo Poyet.

In contrast, Villa’s defence was run ragged by Shearer; and, Paul Merson’s splendid goal apart, he and Julian Joachim were isolated in attack. John Gregory’s most telling comment concerned the depth of his squad: “We had YTS boys on the bench today.”

The manager added, “We could have done with Stan,” a fact illustrated when Alan Wright slung in a high cross after 35 minutes and saw Joachim, 5ft 6in, competing with Steve Howey, 6ft 2in. Everyone knows that it should have been Collymore challenging for that ball and the nature of his temporary exile is beginning to have a debilitating effect on the Midlands club.

“We had a press conference the other day,” said Gregory wearily, “and I talked about Stan for about an hour and then Juninho for about 40 minutes.” Understandably he wanted to change the subject but was forced to confirm that Collymore will be in the clinic until Friday and that the Juninho deal “is still bubbling under”. Gregory hopes for an update today or tomorrow.

The sideshow is distracting and it will be some achievement if Villa’s reaction to this defeat is equal to the seven-match unbeaten run they put together after their last, at Chelsea on December 9. Gullit spelled out the scale of the task facing Villa now. “The pressure on them is enormous because it is so new to them to be in a title challenge. Can they cope?”

Gullit also said a difference between Villa and Chelsea is that the Londoners are getting results when playing badly. He mentioned “resilience” in this context. That, of course, is a quality he himself will require as he fights to establish control at St James’.

Success dissipates dissension and after witnessing the cold shoulders between Gullit and Shearer before the Bradford City game it was remarkable to see the huge smiles exchanged between them at the end of this match. Gullit had waited for Shearer, the last Newcastle player to come off, and said of him: “I think he’s the best striker there is.”

Shearer had offered evidence for that statement with a stirring personal display. He scored his first Premiership goal since September with a forceful fourth-minute header - a cynic might say it was the first decent cross he has had since September - and supplied the pass from which Stephen Glass teed up Temuri Ketsbaia 25 minutes later.

Afterwards Shearer was chirpy, said he wanted Villa to win the league and that he would have a couple of days off as he is suspended for the team’s next game, against Leeds. What the rest of the week holds for Messrs Shearer, Gullit and Gregory, who knows?