It was the last throw of the dice in a season already full of bitter acrimony, bad calls and catastrophic failures.
With eight Premier League games to go, Newcastle United had appointed record goalscorer and former captain Alan Shearer as their new manager, despite the fact the 38-year-old had no previous coaching experience.
Newcastle were in the bottom three having won one of past 12 league games, and Shearer, who scored 206 goals in 404 games for the club, admitted it was going to be “one hell of a battle” to keep the club up.
"There are very, very good players that are just lacking in confidence and it's up to myself and the rest of the staff to get the best out of them,” he said.
In that 2008-09 season, Newcastle owner Mike Ashley provided the perfect template of how not to run a football club, alienating managers, players and supporters alike.
Shearer was manager No 4 that campaign. Another local hero, Kevin Keegan, had started off with the reins but bailed out not long after the season had kicked off.
The man who taken the club agonisingly close to the title in the mid-1990s in his first spell at St James’ Park walked out in frustration at Ashley’s ownership and the decision-making of director of football Denis Wise.
After agreeing to sell key midfielder James Milner to Aston Villa, Wise then brought in midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez on loan, not for his footballing prowess, but as a favour to South American agents.
“I was asked to sign him on the basis of some clips on YouTube,” Keegan would say during his later claim for constructive dismissal.
The Uruguayan would play just 38 minutes in two substitute appearances at Newcastle and Keegan would be awarded £2 million in damages.
With "King Kev" gone and supporters apoplectic with rage, Ashley then made the bizarre appointment of Joe Kinnear as caretaker manager.
The Irishman, who had been out of the game for four years and had not been involved at a top-flight club since 1999, would enjoy his moment memorable moment at the club not in the dugout, but during his first press conference.
Kinnear would embark on an infamous foul-mouthed tirade against the local media about what he perceived had been unfair coverage of his appointment.
By February, the 62-year-old was also gone. Kinnear, who suffered a heart attack 10 years earlier, was rushed to hospital after feeling unwell ahead of the game against West Bromwich Albion. He would have to undergo a heart bypass operation and his short time as manager was over.
Chris Hughton took over as caretaker No 2 until Ashley made the audacious move to tempt club legend Shearer off his comfy BBC television pundit’s chair and take over the Newcastle hotseat.
Paul Gascoigne, a former Newcastle player and ex-England teammate, said of Shearer at the time: “People say he’s got nothing to lose, that if they stay up, he’s a hero and if they do down, it wasn’t his fault. But Al won't be thinking of it that way; if the team did go down, he'd take the blame.”
But even a sold out St James’ Park with Shearer in the dugout for the first time could not lift the players as Chelsea ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.
It was also clear that the elements in the dressing room were far from united behind the manager. After Joey Barton was sent off in the 3-0 defeat at Liverpool, a furious Shearer had confronted the midfielder after the match for the “coward’s tackle” that earned him a red card.
In his book The Boy On the Shed, Magpies physio Paul Ferris described Barton's reaction to the criticism: "He was a jabbering mass of incoherent vitriol and bile. Like the possessed girl in the The Exorcist, head swivelling and spitting venom."
Barton was banned from the training ground for the rest of the season.
In the next game, Shearer’s sixth, Newcastle would brush aside local rivals Middlesbrough 3-1 in front of a rocking St James’ Park. It would be the only victory he would enjoy while manager.
The final match of the season saw Newcastle lose 1-0 to Aston Villa and their 16-year stay in the Premier League was over. After a season of shooting themselves in the foot, it was appropriate that a Damien Duff own goal had sealed their fate. They finished third bottom, one point adrift of safety.
“I’m still raw, angry, disappointed and hurting,” Shearer - who had overseen one win, two draws and five defeats - said after the match. “You can put all those words together and that still doesn’t sum it up.
“There are huge problems at the club, that’s clear for everyone to see. Relegation isn’t about today, it’s about what’s gone on this season and the season before … a hell of a lot needs to be changed.”
Shearer had hoped to be given the chance to implement those changes, but the call from Ashley would never come and his reign as Newcastle manager would turn out to be a short and bitter one.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
Facebook | Our website | Instagram
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Omar%20Hilal%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Farrag%2C%20Bayoumi%20Fouad%2C%20Nelly%20Karim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m, Winner: ES Rubban, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Al Mobher, Sczcepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Jabalini, Tadhg O’Shea, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: AF Abahe, Tadgh O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Makerah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Law Of Peace, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
