Dressed as though he was on his way to a funeral, Alan Shearer made a fashionably late entry on his return to St. James’s Park on Saturday – one without fanfare, announcements or triumphalism. He was not interested in grandstanding or playing to the crowd.
And as he prowled the touchline, occasionally pointing vaguely to his players and shouting instructions, every act from Shearer screamed out that he knows the seriousness of the problem he has walked into.
But while he is understandably desperate to play down any feeling that this is a one-man crusade, saying: “I will try and do everything to deflect the thing away from myself”, passion is probably the only thing that can save this ailing club from relegation.
And if that involves taking the limelight, then that it what it necessary.
Chelsea failed to read the script for the hero’s return, but if there was one worry for Newcastle, it was the actual lack of obvious reaction from the players to Shearer’s arrival.
Under Houghton and Calderwood, Newcastle lacked leadership. And we were all expecting Shearer to provide it.
When a new manager comes in, just to have a fresh face at the training ground and picking the team can often raise the level of performance.
‘The Shearer effect’ would once have been good enough, even against one of the best teams. Not anymore.
Chelsea, who have been a disappointment themselves this season were very comfortable when circumstances should have dictated a testing afternoon.
More worryingly however, there was no fire from Newcastle. In fact, there was barely even a spark.
Newcastle’s starting line-up contained two Argentines, two west Africans, a Spaniard and a Dane, players who are not going to get the same lift from all this talk of a proud, Geordie nation.
On the contrary, its Newcastle’s English contingent – the very players who are going to be inspired by Shearer’s tenure such as Nicky Butt and Steven Taylor – who are the ones, who more often than not, have given their all for the club week after week.
That is not to say foreign footballers are to blame for Newcastle's plight - there have been some lousy British ones this season, but the reality is that Shearer's appointment is all about inspirational impetus, something that is unlikely to be felt by players like Fabricio Collocini and Obefemi Martins, whose tenures have seen managers come and go – and so-called messiah’s for that matter.
Super Al will ultimately discover that the success of his spell rests on the shoulders of his team and their response to his leadership. But how frustrating will that be for a man who single-handedly carried Newcastle with his will-power and spirit on the pitch for the best part of a decade?
At the same time however, it also illustrates that this is an assignment that will tell us nothing about Shearer and everything about Newcastle.
Shearer is a man whose scouting record of Europe is completely blank, whose never coached a team before, whose starting from scratch.
And with just seven games to make his mark and in doing so galvanise a city that has become torn apart over the fortunes of its ailing football club, he will talk about the need for organisation, discipline work rate and dedication.
Those are the traits that made his career. And those are the characteristics he will want Newcastle to demonstrate immediately.
Risking his reputation to starve off relegation and answering Newcastle’s fans cries for a new messish are brave and selfless acts.
But in spite of all the clichés, Newcastle are not in the market for Messiahs. After all, Christians look to the messiah as an establisher of peace and one who rules the world for a long time. Shearer, for all his god-like connotations on Tyneside, has already stated that this is simply a guest appearance.
But forget the threat of relegation. Newcastle fans need someone who loves them.
What they don’t need, however, is someone who loves them and leaves them. They need a relationship, not a one-night stand.
There are those who believe that Shearer’s motive for taking on the role is that it is a win-win situation.
And on the face of it, he cannot lose. Survive and he is a hero, fall and it is the fault of the club’s farcical past.
But if Shearer walks away at the end of next month, it could be seen by some Toon fans as a betrayal.
There is no doubting Shearer’s affection for his hometown club - this guy could have won every honour in football with Manchester United and chose instead to play for the Toon.
But If he really loves them as much as he says he does, will he really be able to sink back into the snug BBC sofa, spouting platitudes about the gilded world of the Premier League, while Newcastle battle in the realms of Peterborough and MK Dons?
And if they survive, what chance will the club’s successor have while the saviour sits under the TV spotlight, smugly passing judgement?
Shearer is effectively Mike Ashley’s last big gamble, for an owner who likes a gamble. And his last throw of the dice has certainly dealt the club a lifeline.
But perhaps Ashley has played his cards right too little too late.
Why he waited until he had steered the club so perilously close to the edge before applying it is unknown. But for now, if not applauded, he should at least be recognised for doing not so much the right thing for Newcastle as the only thing.
And if it is a decision that saves the club from the perils of the Championship, then maybe Ashley’s place amongst the “Cockney Mafia” will dissolve
Until then, Newcastle have a fight on their hands and it is now down to Shearer to take centre stage, inspire his side and write a happy ending to a story that started with a miserable first chapter.
How that story ends could shape the future of this ailing club forever.
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