Legend fumes as Shelvey stupidity costs Newcastle

Rafa Benitez, somewhat conspicuously, refused to join in the chorus of disapproval directed towards his Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey. By contrast, Alan Shearer did not — and with every justification. Shelvey had, after all, played a large part in ruining Shearer’s birthday.

While the Spaniard tiptoed around Shelvey’s latest moment of madness, former Newcastle hero and England captain Shearer was not so diplomatic, going in with both feet, rather as the stand-in Newcastle captain had in his needless assault on Dele Alli, which irrevocably turned the tide against his side on a chastening re- introduction to the Premier League.

Breaking off from celebrations to mark turning 47, Shearer took to Twitter to express the feelings of the majority of the 52,000 inside St James’ Park.

“That is just pathetic, Jonjo Shelvey.”

After a case of new season, same old Shelvey, it was an apt description.

The stand-in Newcastle captain’s annual moment of madness arrived early as the notoriously short-fused player received a straight red card for treading on a prone Alli shortly after halftime, paving the way for a comfortable 2-0 victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The hosts had coped comfortably enough with a largely lacklustre Tottenham display until that pivotal 49th minute, but the numerical disparity soon told. Pochettino introduced Heung-Min Son to increase his attacking options, and almost immediately Alli, unmarked at the far post, stretched to volley home a cross from Christian Eriksen just after the hour mark.

The lack of protest from Shelvey suggested he knew his fate when, in attempting to pick Alli up as the England midfielder lay on the St James’ Park turf after conceding a free-kick, he inexplicably but very deliberately trod on his opponent under the nose of referee Andre Marriner, who brandished red.

Shelvey’s departure added insult to injury, with Benitez forced to replace defenders Paul Dummett and Florian Lejeune.

Their potential absence “for maybe two weeks or more” adds further urgency to the manager’s efforts to strengthen a squad whose limitations Spurs ruthlessly exploited.

In Shelvey’s absence, Tottenham took Benitez’s tiring troops through almost three-quarters of an hour of chase-ball purgatory.

Ben Davies doubled the advantage from close range with 20 minutes left, nipping in ahead of Eriksen to thump the ball past Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot.