EPL: NUFC vs THFC

iveco SG

Date: 1 April 2006

Venue: St James Park

KO Time: 1500 GMT

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JOL SALUTES 'LIVING LEGEND' SHEARER

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Martin Jol has hailed former England striker Alan Shearer as a 'living legend' ahead of the trip to Newcastle United.

The Magpies skipper has become the clubs record goalscorer this season but will bring the curtain down on a glorious career in May.

The 35-year-old has spent 10 years on Tyneside without winning any trophies but he is still determined to enjoy the last weeks of a career that brought him 30 goals in 63 appearances for his country.

Jol knows he cannot afford to write off a player who is among the games greats as his side continue to chase a Champions League place.

I think he is one of the few people, like Ian Rush, who is a living legend.

Normally you are only a legend when you are dead but he is already a living legend.

I dont feel there are many better players as a number nine. He has said he doesnt want to play for England any more but if he decided tomorrow to have another go, maybe people would think about it.

But while Jol remains full of admiration for Shearers exploits, he believes Mido is also one of the best around when it comes to having the same qualities as the United hero.

Spurs are currently trying to ensure they do not allow the Egypt striker to slip through their grasp when his loan deal expires this summer.

Mido is different and Mido will say he will probably be as good as Shearer in 10 years time, said Jol.

In the box, there is probably not another striker like Mido as strong. Shearer is more versatile.

Tottenham are at full strength for the trip to Tyneside with Teemu Tainio the only major doubt as the Finland international has a throat infection.

Tainio has a throat infection but Jol is boosted by the return to the squad of winger Andy Reid after his knee ligament problem.

Mido is expected to return in attack at the expense of England international Jermain Defoe.

Newcastle caretaker boss Glenn Roeder would be delighted if Shearer were to get back on the target after four blanks as he becomes the first man to play 300 Premiership games for Newcastle.

"Alan now has seven matches to go until he retires and I am sure they are still more than a few goals left in his locker," Roeder said.

Shearer's cause may be helped on Saturday by the inclusion of two wingers - Nolberto Solano and Charles N'Zogbia - with the young Frenchman getting his first start for a fortnight.

Roeder has urged Stephen Carr to ignore the boo boys against his former team at St James' Park - and do what Scott Parker did against his old side, Charlton Athletic, on Sunday.

Spurs fans have never forgiven the former Republic of Ireland right-back for quitting north London in summer 2004, and Carr knows he will get the full treatment on Saturday.

This is exactly what happened to Parker at The Valley - and the Magpies midfielder responded with his first Barclays Premiership goal in a black and white shirt.

Roeder said: "I am certain Stephen Carr is not worried in the least about what kind of reception he is going to get against Spurs.

"I know when I went back to a club and I didn't get booed I used to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with me.

"In fact I hope he does get booed because it will be a back-handed compliment and we all saw what Scott Parker's reaction was when he scored at Charlton.

"Obviously Carr would settle for being on the winning side but if he can take a leaf out of Scott's book and score against his old team he will be absolutely delighted."

Roeder was not exactly happy at the manner of Newcastle's defeat at The Valley and he is looking for a big improvement.

He said: "Some heads have been down this week but part of being a professional sportsman is that you have to pick yourself up off the ground.

"You saw by the way the players left The Valley that they were more hurt than they were following our defeats by Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea because it was particularly disappointing to lose in the manner we did.

"Now I am looking for a good reaction. If they are big players they will wipe out the memory of last Sunday and we need 11 big players on the pitch."

Midfielder Lee Bowyer has pledged his future to Newcastle saying: "I could have gone last summer but I chose to stay and fight for my place and I'll do the same next season."

Newcastle welcome back Robbie Elliott from suspension for the game with Spurs after the left-back's red card in the FA Cup defeat at Chelsea last week.

Central defender Titus Bramble is also back in the squad after being laid low with a hamstring injury he picked up against Charlton in February but his chances of playing are only rated 50-50.

Celestine Babayaro is still out with a thigh injury while Parker has glandular fever and is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Newcastle United (from): Given, Ramage, Carr, Elliott, Boumsong, Moore, Solano, Bowyer, Emre, N'Zogbia, Shearer, Ameobi, Dyer, Clark, Faye, Chopra, Harper.

Tottenham Hotspur (from): Robinson, Cerny, Stalteri, Kelly, Dawson, Lee, King, Gardner, Jenas, Davids, Carrick, Lennon, Huddlestone, Barnard, Defoe, Mido, Keane, Reid.

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Newcastle United ended their run of four successive defeats with a resounding victory over Champions League hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur.
A first-half blitz saw the Magpies race into a 3-1 lead inside the opening half-hour.

And although they rode their luck after the break, Michael Dawsons 61st-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence effectively ended Tottenhams fightback.

Lee Bowyer fired the hosts in front with just a minute and six seconds gone, and although Robbie Keane levelled, Shola Ameobi restored Newcastles lead after 25 minutes.

Alan Shearers 30th-minute penalty - his 203rd goal for the club on his 300th Premiership appearance - ultimately sealed the win, although Keane saw a piledriver come back off the crossbar and later clipped a post, and former Magpie Jermaine Jenas could not find the unguarded net after rounding Shay Given.

The bulk of a crowd of 52,301 went home happy, although wondering what might have been after seeing their side dominate a team challenging for the top-four finish Newcastle so crave.

Caretaker boss Glenn Roeder insisted in the run-up to the game that there was still plenty to play for in a season which ended in terms of the big prizes with Newcastles FA Cup quarter-final exit at Chelsea last month.

With Scott Parker having joined Michael Owen on the sidelines with glandular fever and Kieron Dyer once again missing from the 16, Newcastle could have been forgiven for wishing for a merciful release.

However, Roeders message had obviously registered with his players as they set about Tottenham with a relish which belied their troubles.

Bowyer, who this week pledged his continued allegiance to the St James' Park club, opened the scoring with his first Barclays Premiership goal of the campaign and his first in any competition since last July.

It came from a flowing move involving Charles NZogbia, Shearer and Nolberto Solano which set the tone for a thrilling display.

The first half was not without its scares as a rearguard which included three men - Robbie Elliott, Peter Ramage and Craig Moore - who would not figure in the clubs strongest back four was kept on its toes by Keane.

The Irishman headed the visitors back level after 19 minutes, applying the finish after Aaron Lennon had comprehensively beaten former Spurs full-back Stephen Carr. Keane then smashed a shot against the crossbar in injury time.

But by that point, Newcastle had taken the game by the scruff of the neck.

Ameobis 25th-minute strike restored their lead, and there was more to come when Bowyer was adjudged to have been shoved to the ground by Edgar Davids after Shearer and Solano had carved Tottenham open.

Shearer hammered the penalty past Paul Robinson to give his side a deserved 3-1 lead, and had he not earlier missed from the kind of headed opportunity upon which he has built his career, Roeders men could have been out of sight.

The home side returned knowing an early goal for Tottenham would change the complexion of the game once again, and it needed Moores intervention to deny Lennon a chance to claim it after he once again slipped past Carr with just a minute gone.

Keane was dropping deeper to pick up possession earlier and run at the home defence, but it was a policy which proved only partially successful.

Michael Carricks last-ditch tackle denied Solano a fourth goal for the Magpies on 53 minutes, but when Tottenham broke from the resulting corner, they should have been back in the game.

Elliotts attempt to head a long ball away from the danger area succeeded only in directing it into the feet of former team-mate Jenas.

The England international, who left Tyneside for White Hart Lane in a £7million move during the summer, rounded Given easily, but with the goal at his mercy, sliced his left-footed shot into the side-netting.

Keane clipped the outside of the post with a well-struck 59th-minute effort, but his side were dealt a blow two minutes later when Dawson, who had been cautioned before the break for a foul on Emre, picked up a secoond yellow card for a tug on Shearers shirt and was dismissed.

Had it not been for Robinsons agility, Ramage would have wrapped up the points with a 63rd-minute header, and although Keane and substitute Jermain Defoe both wasted good opportunities as time ran down, the hard work had already been done.