12 Greatest Ever Newcastle United Rants, Outbursts And Melt-Downs

10. Ruud Gullit Blasts Shearer

They may pretend to be one another's best mate whenever the BBC cameras are hoisted in front of their uncomfortable faces during a game where they have unfortunately been paired to pundit together, but everyone in English football remembers the sheer animosity and battle for power that existed between the two at St. James' Park some 15 years ago.
''It was plain he didn't want to play for me. I told him to his face he was the most overrated player I have ever seen. He thinks about himself all the time. It's always about his goals and not about the team. If we were going to succeed as a team, I knew we had to change the way Alan Shearer played but he didn't want to change.'' - Ruud Gullit, March 2004.
Indeed, it was the former Newcastle manager's stubbornness and temerity to challenge the city's crown jewels that ultimately cost him his job, resigning in the aftermath of a loss in the Tyne-Wear derby - a match that Shearer was dropped for.
''The problem was that he had too much power. In the end it became a battle I could never win. He was England's captain and he was playing for his home-town team. All of that meant he was bigger than the club itself. The board decided to try another coach but nothing has changed. Sir Bobby has done well but the rotten apple is still there, the damage is still being done. Unfortunately, for some reason he didn't want to try. Maybe they call him Mary Poppins because he is so innocent. But I know how powerful and ruthless he can be.'' - Ruud Gullit, March 2004.
Contributor
Contributor

Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future. Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.