Shearer is one of the biggest voices on Tyneside and his assessment will be damning of new manager Steve McClaren whose team have managed just two goals in picking up just two points this season and are firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.
With Aleksandar Mitrovic suspended and Ayoze Perez left out, Cisse played the lone striker role which Shearer felt even he struggled with. Perez did appear for the last 30 minutes when Newcastle enjoyed their most productive spell, but it was too little too late
So there’s much for McClaren to ponder after what he described as a ‘wake up call’, but how many times must the alarm ring before the message hits home – get up and get on with it.
Cisse was a potent form for a time when he first broke into the side, but has been relatively ineffective so far this season, much to the frustration of Shearer, who felt Newcastle would have been better off without them
The former England and Newcastle United captain told beIn Sports: “I looked at Cisse and thought Newcastle would’ve been better with ten men.”
Shearer added: “There was not enough hunger from Newcastle to win. West Ham had more drive and pace. At no point did I ever think they’d win.”
With just two points from their opening five fixtures the pressure is mounting on McClaren, who was axed as England boss as ‘The Wally With The Brolly’, and now it’s not just raining at St. James’s Park, it’s pouring.
Newcastle spent £50million on new players in the summer, but the new hero, the new No 9 is nowhere to be seen.
The current No 9 Cisse has scored once in five appearances for Newcastle this season, on the opening day in the 2-2 draw with Southampton at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United already look like relegation fodder, and McClaren is looking more like the early season favourite for the sack, and that’s saying something considering the season has hardly started when it looks like it’s the end for the once famous back and white stripes of Newcastle.
McClaren describes Newcastle’s season so far as going from two steps forward; one step back to ‘two or three steps back’. Now that’s definitely not progress.