Alan Shearer left St James\u2019 Park on Tuesday night both encouraged and irritated\u2014delighted with Newcastle United\u2019s overall performance but deeply frustrated by the final scoreline. Like many supporters, he watched the Magpies take the lead twice, dominate long stretches of the match, yet still walk away with only a 2\u20132 draw against Tottenham.<\/p>\n
For much of the game, Eddie Howe\u2019s side looked sharper, more aggressive and far more dangerous than Spurs. They dictated play, created multiple clear chances and should have been ahead long before finally scoring in the 71st minute. Their wastefulness ultimately came back to bite them, leaving Shearer and the fanbase questioning how they allowed the match to slip away.<\/p>\n
Shearer Upset Over Missed Chances Despite Strong Display<\/p>\n
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer didn\u2019t hide his disappointment. Although pleased with Newcastle\u2019s intensity and attacking fluidity, he insisted their failure to convert early opportunities cost them dearly.<\/p>\n
Gary Lineker revealed that Shearer had been sending messages during the match saying Newcastle should\u2019ve been far ahead by halftime.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou texted saying Newcastle should be three up,\u201d Lineker noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the annoyance tonight,\u201d Shearer replied. \u201cThey played really well. The intensity was great.\u201d<\/p>\n
He highlighted the excellent work from Newcastle\u2019s full-backs, who gave Spurs almost nothing in the first half, and pointed to big chances\u2014Miley\u2019s one-on-one, Joelinton\u2019s effort off the post, and several other openings\u2014as evidence of their dominance. But by not finishing those opportunities, they left the door open.<\/p>\n
He also commented on Howe replacing Sandro Tonali with Bruno Guimar\u00e3es at halftime.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure if Tonali had a knock, but Bruno was excellent in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newcastle Lose Control and Let Spurs Back In<\/p>\n
Despite their strong platform, Newcastle\u2019s grip on the game slipped after the break. Their composure faded, passing became erratic, and instead of slowing the match down, they repeatedly handed the ball back to Spurs.<\/p>\n
Joelinton, impressive early on, began coughing up possession in dangerous areas. Across the pitch, Newcastle\u2019s careless moments fuelled Tottenham\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n
That loss of control proved costly.<\/p>\n
Spurs levelled twice\u2014first shortly after Newcastle\u2019s opener, then again deep into stoppage time after Gordon had restored the lead. Rather than managing the closing stages calmly, Newcastle backed off and invited pressure, paying the price in the 95th minute.<\/p>\n
Even Bruno Guimar\u00e3es criticised the team\u2019s mentality afterward, and Shearer\u2019s verdict echoed those concerns. Newcastle had multiple chances to kill the game but lacked the composure and ruthlessness required.<\/p>\n
Promise Shown, but a Bitter Ending<\/p>\n
For Shearer and the supporters, the match summed up Newcastle\u2019s ongoing problem: impressive football undone by poor finishing, lapses in concentration and weak game management.<\/p>\n
There were positives to take, but regret overshadowed them. Newcastle had victory in their hands\u2014twice\u2014and let it slip away.<\/p>\n
In the Premier League, those missed opportunities almost always come back to hurt you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alan Shearer left St James\u2019 Park on Tuesday night both encouraged and irritated\u2014delighted with Newcastle United\u2019s overall performance but deeply frustrated by the final scoreline. Like many supporters, he watched the Magpies take the lead twice, dominate long stretches of the match, yet still walk away with only a 2\u20132 draw against Tottenham. For much …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":56116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/images-2025-12-03T093330.634.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56150,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56149\/revisions\/56150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}