Alan Shearer was noticeably quiet on Match of the Day as Mark Chapman and Wayne Rooney discussed Sunderland’s Premier League opener – but the Newcastle legend has now revealed why
Alan Shearer has lifted the lid on his silence as the Match of the Day panel analysed Sunderland’s 3-0 demolition of West Ham United. The Newcastle United icon made his return to television screens on Saturday evening alongside fresh faces Mark Chapman and Wayne Rooney to dissect the day’s Premier League fixtures.
Yet it seemed as though Shearer was rendered speechless when the programme opened with Sunderland’s win over West Ham at the Stadium of Light.
Following the highlights, Chapman turned to Rooney for his verdict on the game, with the Manchester United legend heaping praise on Regis Le Bris’ men. At the end of the segment, Shearer finally weighed in on West Ham’s performance, without making any reference to his bitter rivals.
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Later, while appearing on The Rest Is Football, Micah Richards was quick to wind up the 55-year-old over his lack of analysis on the Black Cats. The Manchester City icon said: “Alan, when Sunderland were playing, why did you not do any of the analysis mate?
“Why did you leave it all to Wayne? You didn’t say a word for about four minutes? What’s going on?”
Shearer laughed before responding: “You know how it works, Micah,” while Gary Lineker chimed in: “We’ll discuss that game when we come to the second half, but Wayne Rooney was given that game. You know how it works, stop trying to stir it up.”
Shearer was quick to hit back at Richards’ observation, jokingly saying: “I’m more concerned about you by the way. How tight is that shirt on your arms? I was worried about the circulation in your arms today. I was looking at your guns thinking, ‘That is a tight one, man.'”
Later in the podcast, Shearer and Lineker discussed Sunderland’s home win over West Ham, with Lineker introducing the topic: “I tell you who are back, back in the Premier League, back in with a bang – one of your favourite teams Alan, Sunderland.”
Shearer responded with a chuckle: “Believe it or not, I’ve got a few Sunderland pals, and my texts were going this morning, ‘For f*** sake, why didn’t you say anything positive about Sunderland? You just let Wayne Rooney do all the talking about Sunderland and you just went on about West Ham.’
“Sunderland were brilliant, the atmosphere was great. They deserved their three points. There you go, does that sound alright?”
Lineker then chimed in: “Do you want to remind people, Alan? The way Match of the Day works is that you are designated a match each, and Wayne Rooney would have done that game because he was designated that match. Which one were you doing? Because that was a 3 o’clock one as well.
“You were doing the Spurs Burnley game, so your focus was on that. So it wasn’t an anti-Sunderland thing, even though you are anti-Sunderland, let’s be honest.”
Quick to take a cheeky swipe at Sunderland, Shearer added: “Listen, they’ve been that long out of the Premier League, they forget how Match of the Day works, you see.”
The Black Cats were in superb form as they celebrated their Premier League comeback on Saturday afternoon, weathering an early storm from the likes of Jarrod Bowen before turning the match around after half-time.
Eliezer Mayenda broke the deadlock for the newly-promoted side 61 minutes in with a perfectly-placed header from the centre of the penalty area, before hometown hero Dan Ballard powered home another header 12 minutes later to put the result beyond doubt.
Super-sub Wilson Isidor wasted no time in leaving his mark on proceedings after replacing Mayenda, collecting the ball wide from Chemsdine Talbi in stoppage time before driving at the West Ham defence, cutting inside from the right, and finessing the ball past Mads Hermansen.
Shearer would have been disappointed with the Magpies’ display in Saturday’s early fixture, as they were held to a frustrating draw against ten-man Aston Villa on the road. Anthony Gordon was thrust into an unfamiliar striker’s role with Alexander Isak absent amid his ongoing transfer speculation, but struggled to make much of an impact.
Newcastle will now shift their focus to reigning Premier League champions Liverpool at St. James’ Park on Monday, August 25, while Sunderland are set to visit Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday, August 23.
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