SOD’S law holds that no struggling side should demonstrate their ability until the manager has been sacked. What Graeme Souness had failed to do in Newcastle’s six previous outings, his successors achieved at the first attempt yesterday. That Alan Shearer chose the occasion to break Jackie Milburn’s goalscoring record will not have made Souness feel any better.
The striker had insisted that his duty to assist the caretaker manager, Glenn Roeder, would be carried out only on the pitch, but he could not have anticipated that his prophecy would be fulfilled in such theatrical fashion. His 201st goal for Newcastle, 19 minutes into the second half, capped a spirited performance by a side, who bore no resemblance to the bunch who have laboured for much of the season.
Whether the new manager is Bolton’s Sam Allardyce, the fans’ choice, Martin O’Neill, or a partnership between Ant and Dec, he will have to accept the shadow cast across the club by Shearer. His record total, clinched in front of the Gallowgate end, was gathered over the course of 394 matches, three fewer than it took Milburn to reach 200. “It was incredible,” he said. “I wish Graeme had been here to see it. Whatever anyone thinks of him, he is an honest, hard-working man, but unfortunately, results didn’t go for him. He would have wanted us to win. He’s not bitter.”
If Shearer’s goal sealed Newcastle’s first victory in seven Premiership matches, his talismanic presence was almost as important. This was the first time in months that his team have dominated for long spells, inspired perhaps by a pre-match huddle designed to galvanise the squad. “It could not have been more perfect,” said Roeder.
Even beforehand, there was about the place a sense of relief, as though a nagging illness had been diagnosed at last. Roeder and Shearer are not the cure, but they may be a useful sticking plaster. Shearer’s warning that relegation could not be ruled out was an astute political gesture. In response, the Geordies flooded into St James’ Park, and made a right old racket, determined as they were to dig their team from a hole, rather than complain about the man who had put them there in the first place.
The legacy of Souness will still linger. In the club’s superstore they were selling cut-price photographs of their former manager. The man who spent nearly £50m in his 17 months at the club was on offer for 10p, but there weren’t many takers. And when Jean-Alain Boumsong, the player most closely associated with the departed Scot, was announced in the line-up, his name was greeted only with a ripple of boos. Roeder, though, is his own man, which his selection proved. After a “private chat” with Albert Luque before the match, he dropped the Spaniard from the squad, a decision that prompted the player to go home in disappointment. “I don’t have a problem with that,” said the caretaker. “There is nothing sinister in it whatsoever.”
The same players who have been so lethargic of late were full of energy here. Scott Parker’s grip on the midfield was unshakeable, Shola Ameobi’s return to the attack added another dimension, and the width that Newcastle have been crying out for all season made a surprise appearance. In one sweeping demonstration of the confidence that came with it, Parker’s long pass to the touchline was cushioned by the chest of Nolberto Solano, whose first-time ball into the box prompted a desperate clearance by Linvoy Primus.
In the opening half-hour, Newcastle hit the byline more often than they had in all of this year’s matches put together. Charles N’Zogbia headed Peter Ramage’s cross narrowly wide and Shearer did the same to Solano’s free kick.
Dean Kiely was having a busy time of it, bundling Emre’s bouncing shot round the post before blocking Ameobi’s low strike. Not that the Portsmouth goalkeeper could have done much about Newcastle’s opener. He did well to parry Shearer’s header, after a deft cross from Solano, but by the time he had risen to his feet, N’Zogbia had already slammed home the loose ball.
Doubtless disturbed by Newcastle’s stranglehold on the opening period, Harry Redknapp made a double substitution. Svetoslav Todorov came on to partner Benjani Mwaruwani, but neither were on the end of Portsmouth’s only flirtation with a goal, when Matthew Taylor’s cutback skidded across the goalmouth. It served to persuade the visitors that all was not lost, but just when they seemed to be growing in confidence, they exposed themselves at the back. Barely a second or two after Shay Given had booted the ball from his own area, Shearer was wheeling away with that trademark celebration of his.
It was fitting that he should make and score the goal that broke Milburn’s record. Not only did he rise to flick on the goalkeeper’s clearance, he wasted no time in looking for the return pass. Ameobi took one touch, backheeled the ball into his captain’s path, and watched as the striker poked it through Kiely’s legs.
Had Souness been around to watch what followed, it would have made for uncomfortable viewing. It was as if nothing had been wrong, with Shearer’s name echoing round the ground, and the feelgood factor almost tangible. They even had Kieron Dyer to celebrate, as the midfielder returned from injury, part of a double substitution that prompted smiles and mutual back-slapping.
While Portsmouth probably caught Newcastle at the wrong time, their performance was inadequate. Redknapp now has matches against Manchester United and Chelsea to look forward to. “Can we survive?” he asked. “We need to put a run together. At least the next two games will be nice and easy.”
STAR MAN: Scott Parker (Newcastle)
Player ratings. Newcastle: Given 6, Ramage 6, Bramble 6, Boumsong 6, Babayaro 6, Solano 7 (Dyer 74min, 5), Parker 8 (Clark 86min, 4), Emre 6 (Bowyer 74min, 5), N’Zogbia 7, Shearer 7, Ameobi 7
Portsmouth: Kiely 7, Griffin 5 (Pamarot h-t, 5), Primus 6, O’Brien 7, Taylor 6, Davis 5 (Diao 76min, 4), Mendes 7, Routledge 5 (Todorov h-t, 5), D’Alessandro 6, O’Neil 6, Mwaruwari 6
Scorers: Newcastle: N’Zogbia 41, Shearer 64
Referee: M Halsey
Attendance: 51,627
