Newcastle’s defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday night was more than just the end of the Toon’s involvement in the FA Cup – it was also the effective end of one of the greatest playing careers in Premier League history.

Goalscoring legend Alan Shearer will now have to bow out of the game without having won a single medal with his beloved club and it is hard not to feel sorry for him.

Yes, of course there are still a few more Premier League games to go before he hangs up his boots officially and I am fairly certain that Alan – now assistant manager – will make sure he is picked in just about all of them.

But Newcastle have nothing left to play for other than mid-table mediocrity. They have little chance of making the UEFA Cup places and even less of being drawn into an end-of-season relegation battle.

Which means that while Alan will still give it his all in the remaining matches, he is pretty much just winding down the clock on what has been a truly magnificent career – Wednesday night was the last game in which the outcome was important and it showed on his face as he huffed and puffed to bring his team back into it.

There is always the chance that he may decide to go on for another season. Rumours in that regard have been circulating. But, and this was the other thing that showed on his face against Chelsea, he is no longer capable of winning matches like he used to.

He still puts in the effort and still has a fantastically lethal ability to score goals, but the pace has long gone and with it the desire must surely be diminishing too.

Shearer is too old and too wise to realistically believe he has another season left in the old legs. He may not have won any silverware with his adored Newcastle but he has, at least, broken Jackie Milburn’s scoring record this season.

And that, as they say, will probably be that as far as playing is concerned.

Management, on the other hand, is a whole new ball game for the lad and I fully expect him to one day be the boss who leads Newcastle to the success that their status and magnificent support deserves.

Still, the big man will enjoy these last few matches: take it easy, score a couple more goals and milk the moments for all they are worth, soaking up the adoration of his own Toon Army.

And, considering what he has given the game over the years, nobody can begrudge him that.

Steve Bruce

How long, do you think, can Steve Bruce hold on to his job? I have been predicting for months now that he was only one or two more defeats away from the sack. But those one or two defeats have come and gone and been followed by one or two more and yet he still hangs on in there.

The humiliation Birmingham suffered at the hands of Liverpool in the FA Cup – and that particular 7-0 home defeat can only be described as a humiliation – should have been the final straw.

And yet, he continues to hang on by the skin of his teeth.

Maybe it is too late in the season for the Birmingham directors to realistically sack him. Maybe they still have some mistaken belief that he will dramatically rescue them from relegation. Maybe he has some huge compensation clause written into his contract.

Whatever the reason for their reluctance to let him go, Bruce must realise he is incredibly lucky to still be in a job when others with far better records have already lost theirs this season.

Liverpool

What the devil has happened to Liverpool? After scoring about five goals in 100 matches (exaggeration, I know, but good for making the point) they have now scored a quite staggering 15 in a week.

Even more remarkable is that just about all their strikers who couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo a month ago, are now firing on all cylinders.

I just wonder how much Benitez would have given for just one or two of the “spare” goals they have scored in the past week to have come in the Benfica match…?

Favourite letter

Finally, to my favourite letter of the week.

If you remember, on Wednesday I mentioned how disappointed I was with the behaviour of Cisse for Liverpool and Gallas for Chelsea, both of whom decided it was a good idea to wind up the opposing fans.

Since then we have heard absolutely nothing from the FA about Cisse while Gallas has been given “a warning about his future conduct” for his thumbs down gesture to Fulham fans.

Pathetic, to say the least, and certainly nothing like the treatment Gary Neville received for his crowd wind-up earlier this season.

And this has not escaped the attention of Major John Schembri:

“Almost certainly inadvertently you have today reinforced my long-held belief that the game in England is characterised by one qualifier and one alone: crass hypocrisy.

“For now that the world – and presumably also those old farts at the FA headed by an abomination from Merseyside – has witnessed the antics of Cisse and Gallas which you so rightly picked upon, what will it do?

“Will it follow its own form when it dealt with Gary Neville earlier this season? Will it hell! And why? Because one of the players plays for that unspeakable excuse for a football team which shames the game on a regular basis with impunity, and the other plays for your wonderful nouveau riche champions elect.

“Disgusting! So roll on Germany in June where I dream of a quarter-final pairing with Portugal where in the last minute the Godawesome Cristiano Ronaldo fakes a penalty, converts it and knocks England yet again out of a major tournament.”

I can’t say I even begin to agree with Major Schembri’s World Cup thoughts, Nor do I think he is being particularly fair on Chelsea or Liverpool. But, considering Gallas has got away with a warning and Cisse with nothing, the Major does have an extremely valid point about the FA’s lack of consistency.

Any Liverpool or Chelsea fans with an opinion on this one? Let me know.

Contact James on: [email protected]