Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has admitted he was "disappointed" and "surprised" with club captain Fabricio Coloccini's bizarre open letter to supporters this week urging them to "support the team" during their crucial Premier League run in. Sections of the Newcastle fanbase have protested against owner Mike Ashley in recent weeks and even staged a boycott of the club's 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park last month. Yet John Carver's side have lost eight games in a row for the first time in the club's Premier League history and the Magpies are just two points and three places above Sunderland, who are 18th, with three games remaining. And Shearer, who scored a club-record 206 goals in 405 appearances for Newcastle between 1996 and 2006, does not support the decision of the Magpies skipper to write to the support base, urging their support. The former England captain highlights the fact that at least 46,000 fans (officially, at least) have turned up to Newcastle's home matches in recent months, and that it is actually the players who owe the fans, believing the Toon faithful have not had "something to shout about for a long time". Speaking to BBC's Football Focus, Shearer said of Coloccini's letter:
"I was surprised that Coloccini had written a letter to the fans asking them to stick with the team because I think if there's one thing that is pretty-much guaranteed at Newcastle is that the fans will turn up and support, despite there being protests and fans not turning up for specific games. "There's always been plus-46,000 there - so for a player to come out and ask for the fans to come out and support them, I was a bit taken back and disappointed in that. "First and foremost the players have got to give the fans something to shout about - and for a long time the players haven't given the fans something to shout about."
Coloccini's 500-word plus letter was released on Tuesday and it urged supporters to attend Newcastle's upcoming fixtures with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, and then away against Queens Park Rangers, followed by a home match against West Ham United. Interim head coach Carver attempted to dispel the theory that the letter was just a publicity stunt by the club during his pre-match press conference on Thursday. Carver held up a piece of paper which he claimed was the draft, in Spanish and in Coloccini's writing, of the open letter. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.