St James' Park legend fears supporters are losing faith in a club that is increasingly happy to sacrifice ambition for profit
When Alan Shearer went to his first Newcastle United game he was dared to dream. Like millions before him, the boy who would go on to become England captain fell in love with football at St James' Park and the club that represents the proud and passionate city he calls home.
He dared to dream not only that he would one day play in front of the Gallowgate End, he dreamed Newcastle would eventually return to its former, trophy-winning glory.
He fantasised about Wembley trips, cup finals and European adventures. He was filled with wonder, hope and excitement about what the future held.
He believed in the pursuit of glory, of a football team that feared nobody and did everything possible to reward their loyal supporters with exciting, attacking football and, maybe, from time to time, a bit of success on the pitch.
Like many others on Tyneside, Shearer is not convinced the people who run Newcastle still share the same dreams as its supporters.
He fears it has become nothing more than a business, judged and defined by a balance sheet. A football club that has sacrificed ambition for profits, replaced the pursuit of trophies with a tedious focus on mid-table league finishes, while suggesting European football is a dangerous distraction that risks relegation.
It is a club without "hope" because owner Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley, the managing director, have made it clear cup competitions are not a priority.
It is a team that will never compete at the top of the table because it persistently sells its best players as long as a profit can be made.
It has been 46 years since Newcastle lifted a trophy, the Fairs Cup in 1969. They have not won the league title since 1927. Success is not something Newcastle supporters expect, but they'd still like to dream; they still want to believe it can happen, otherwise what is the point?
"There is no excitement, no anticipation," said Shearer. "It takes its toll, even on the most loyal fans in the country. Fans want to dream their team can be successful, whether that's in a domestic cup competition or in Europe.
"Newcastle fans at the minute are showing why they are some of the best around, because they can't dream. They've been told the cups aren't a priority, that finishing 10th in the Premier League is more important."
It has been 11 years since the Magpies last played in the Champions League. It has been 16 since they reached a cup final and a decade has passed since they even managed a semi-final appearance, Eight of those years have come with Ashley in control of the boardroom.
Under-achievement is nothing new, but the crucial difference now, according to Shearer, is Newcastle give the impression they are not even trying to win anything.
"Over the last few years, they've been knocked out of the cup competitions early and they've been happy to do that, year after year," he said.
"When you look at the teams that are left in the FA Cup this year, but also the year before when Hull got to the final and Wigan Athletic before that.
"Bradford, Reading ,West Brom, Blackburn and Villa are in the quarter-finals this year and Newcastle are out. They must look at it now and think 'God, why not us'. Except the thing is, they probably don't.
"That's the most disappointing thing. That's where we are now with Newcastle. They told us the league is the main priority and the cups aren't a priority. But that's what fans dream of, a trip to Wembley, of playing in Europe. Newcastle can't win the Premier League."
The crushing of ambition is sucking the soul out of the club, yet Newcastle still attract crowds of more 50,000 almost every week. The bond cannot be broken, but Shearer suggested more and more people go to games out of a sense of duty or habit, rather than pleasure.
"I think they are going at the moment because that's what they always do," he explained. "It's what their parents did, it's what they want to do with their kids. It's the way they've always spent their weekends.
"They save their money up all week so they can go to the football match at the weekend. It's a cultural thing. They want to go and they want to be entertained, but they aren't at the moment.
"I think there are a lot of people thinking about giving up their season tickets. I can only talk about my own experience, but I've got friends who have paid for a box at St James' Park for years and they are talking about giving it up.
"Unless the club are going to bring in a load of exciting players in the summer, which is highly unlikely when you look at the way it's been run, then I think people might look at giving up. I can only tell you what my mates are thinking about doing because of the lack of hope at the minute.
"I'd dearly love us to have a cup run, I'd dearly love us to get to Wembley again, I'd much rather that than just finish in mid-table year after year.
"It's not going to happen because we've played a weakened team in every cup game. They've been playing weakened teams in cup competitions since 2007."
Newcastle have been in the doldrums before, but Shearer remembers vividly how one man galvanised his club, and with it the city. First as a player, then as a manager. Shearer will cling on to the dream someone can do so again.
"My first game was Kevin Keegan's first game as a player for Newcastle, in 1982 against QPR. It was his debut, I was desperate to go.
"I went with a group of my mates and stood on the Gallowgate End and was thrown from one end of the stand to the other when Keegan scored. It was a wonderful day.
"I think that was day I realised I had to be a footballer. It was the whole atmosphere , walking up to the stadium, the smell, the sounds. I loved it."
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