Clarky Puts In The Graft - But Shearer Has The 'X Factor'

Last updated : 28 February 2007 By Footy Mad - Editor
... as long as Freddy Shepherd is chairman of Newcastle United, there will always be ONE Geordie Boy who was destined to lead this club to glory - Alan Shearer!
Clark says he is learning from Glenn Roeder and Nigel Pearson, and the 34-year-old rejected opportunities to continue his playing career last summer in order to pursue a future in coaching.

Shearer on the other hand, was given the chance to jump straight into the hot seat, and Shepherd honestly believed at the time the Toon skipper would take the job. Shepherd even went public and told us "the next Newcastle manager will be a Geordie", without having the intelligence to ASK the man if he wanted the job!

Instead we got "Geordie" Graeme Souness, born in Edinburgh. But that's Freddy for you.

Clark: "I have set myself targets and goals throughout my career, and the ultimate one is to manage Newcastle United. I will do everything I can to make that happen and, as long as I keep learning, I believe it will.

"Glenn promised to show me the ropes and he has done that. He knows what my ultimate goal is. I want to be a manager and to manage Newcastle one day and he has been brilliant with me.

"He has shown me how to deal with agents and the media and I could not be with better people to learn my trade.

"I'm enjoying it immensely. Working with the manager is a great opportunity and he has shown a lot of confidence in me as a coach. That is great for me and the fact that we have someone here of the quality of Nigel has helped enormously.

"He has worked at the highest level inside the FA and has completed every badge. He assesses the coaches who want to become coaches, so to work with someone like him is fantastic for me. This year has been superb for me.

"The opportunity to become a coach is something I always wanted, even as a young player. Management is my goal, so to get my first coaching job at a club like Newcastle was one I couldn't turn down.

"I had chances to carry on playing elsewhere but I decided to knock the playing days on the head a year earlier than I first planned because it was such a great opportunity.

"I originally planned to carry on but circumstances change. It tugged at me and, although I had a choice, it was a pretty straightforward one to take and I haven't looked back.

"You never know what might happen. A good friend of mine, Chris Coleman, was the Fulham skipper. One day he had a horrific injury which finished his career and then he became a coach.

"Within a couple of months he was managing Fulham and I think a lot of people would agree that he has done an incredible job in three or four years down there. For me, he has been the manager of the season every year."

Clark is going about the job in the right frame of mind, while Shearer is enjoying life in the spotlight as TV pundit. Two jobs far removed from each other.

BUT ... right or wrong ... Shearer will ALWAYS be Shepherd's man for the job. And it all boils down to one thing, how long has Fat Fred got in the job?

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were never top class players, and they seem to manage ok.