Newcastle legend Alan Shearer could scarcely believe how poor his former club were in defeat to Sunderland on Sunday, picking out three ‘awful’ players in the 1-0 loss.
A Nick Woltemade own goal was the difference between the sides at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon, a result which saw the Black Cats climb to seventh in the Premier League table and the Magpies stay 12th.
It was not a game of many chances, with Newcastle managing just two shots on target to Sunderland’s one.
Shearer was more disappointed with the lack of fight and energy from the Magpies, though, hitting out at the lacklustre display in a highly anticipated derby clash.
‘Newcastle were dreadful,’ the former England striker said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
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‘They were rotten and I was really shocked at how dreadful they were because, I mean, that is pathetic in any game, let alone in a derby game.
‘Seriously, you’re going to play in the biggest game of the season at your rivals and you’ve heard all the players all week, “We know how much it means to the fans and we’re going to do this and that.” Well, lads, they did nothing. They were awful, honestly.’
Manager Eddie Howe came in for criticism for his team selection, while his big name players were blasted by the iconic former forward.
‘Eddie made some big calls team-wise, and I thought Eddie got it wrong as well,’ said Shearer.
‘The players who he picked didn’t perform for him. [Anthony] Elanga was awful. [Anthony] Gordon was awful. Woltemade was awful. They offered nothing in forward positions.
‘There was no desire, there was no energy, there was nothing. You go away to Sunderland, and who aren’t a great team, and after half an hour, Sunderland had about 70 per cent possession, as if.
‘I was thinking, “Am I missing something here, are we going away to Arsenal or Man City here?”
‘We’re going away to Sunderland. Okay, they’re hard to beat at home. They’re really well organised and they’re above us in the table but come on, they’re not Barcelona or Real Madrid.
‘Are we going to have a pop at them or have a go at least? There was nothing from Newcastle. It was really, really awful.’
On a day to forget for the Magpies, defender Dan Burn was sent to hospital due to a rib injury he picked up and captain Bruno Guimaraes did not hold back in blasting the team’s performance.
‘It’s so embarrassing for me and frustrating because we know we have a better team than them. It’s clear for me,’ said the Brazilian midfielder. ‘But we didn’t perform like a better team today. It makes me feel angry.’
He added: ‘Disappointed, frustrated, lack of energy, don’t put the things that we are able to do, cross the ball, pass the ball.
‘We were like a mess in my point of view. Disappointed, angry. This one is a tough one to accept.’
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris was unsurprisingly in contrasting mood, saying: ‘Yeah, I am happy. We expected a tough and tight game, and that was the case. I think during the first half, we showed great composure on the ball and without the ball. Tactically, I think it was really well played. The only regret at half-time was the final third.
‘How could we create something more? We were a bit too patient sometimes. Finally, we found a solution just at the beginning of the second half.’