EXCLUSIVE Alan Shearer takes aim at Ruben Amorim after Man United manager said missing Europe could benefit club
Alan Shearer has hit back at Ruben Amorim 's claim that Manchester United 's lack of European football next season could be an 'advantage.'
After United finished a worst-ever 15th in the Premier League and lost to Spurs in the Europa League Final, Amorim said from United's postseason tour in Malaysia that missing out on the Champions League could allow the club to better prepare for games.
However, Shearer chafed at the suggestion and said 'one small advantage' was overpowered by 'eight or nine disadvantages' to missing out on Europe.
'I can only think of one advantage and the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages,' he said after being asked about Amorim's remarks.
'The advantages are - Newcastle sort of sampled that this season - where two seasons ago, they struggled with injuries, didn't have a big enough squad, and that sort of hurt them.
'That's the only advantage,' he added, while promoting the Premier League Summer Series. 'There are some negatives, so many negatives, I should say, about not being in Europe, particularly in the Champions League. One is obviously attracting the very best, because the best want to play in there. Financially.
'You as a manager, you as a player, you as a fan, want to see the very best, which is in Europe. So there's one small advantage. Other than that, there's probably eight or nine disadvantages.'
Despite Man United's historically poor performance last season, they've managed to sign £62.5m ($85million) attacker Matheus Cunha from Wolves, and are in talks for Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo as well.
Nonetheless, Shearer stressed that United's preseason - which will include stops in North America alongside Everton, Bournemouth and West Ham - will be 'massive' as Amorim looks to find his footing.
On the other hand, Shearer's old club Newcastle are back in the Champions League after finishing fifth, and he doesn't feel as though they're that far off from winning their first English league title since 1927.
'You have to strengthen when you're at your strongest and Newcastle are in a really strong position by winning a trophy and qualifying for the Champions League,' he said.
'So I guess if they were to get three or maybe four players in that can play first team football or challenge to get into first team, then yeah, they can challenge. They're not that far away.'
The Magpies ended a 56-year trophy drought by beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, and Shearer thinks the weight of that drought being lifted will only help his former club.
'I think the longer you've gone without success, the harder it becomes. And it's been really difficult for Newcastle, and I sort of played my part in that by getting to two FA Cup Finals and not winning, and getting to a semifinal and not winning that either. And Newcastle last year, getting to the Carabao Cup final, not winning it,' he said.
'And it becomes difficult, because everyone's talking about how long it is, and then the pressure mounts. But now they've been able to do that, I would hope that with the experience they've had of winning it, it's only going to stand them in good stead. So I I would hope and I would expect, that Newcastle can challenge, whether that's for trophies or whether that's for Champions League football most years now.'
Shearer's remarks come ahead of Man United, Everton, West Ham and Bournemouth readying for a US preseason tour that will see them play in New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta.
The 54-year-old pundit - in addition to his duties with the BBC - has also done work for American network NBC Sports, and has had a front row seat to the rise in the Premier League's popularity Stateside.
'No one could have predicted the machine that the Premier League would become,' he said. 'You know, I was lucky enough to play on the very first day of the season in 1992. Never did we think it would ever be as big as it is now.
'You can't compare it, [from] now to then. I mean, the pitches, the stadiums, the fans, the atmosphere, the interest, the media. I mean, it's just grown incredibly all over the world, the US being one of those places that it's just gone off the charts, the interest is huge. And I've seen that firsthand both as a player and as a fan.'
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