NEWCASTLE - FIVE years ago this month Alan Shearer scored his 173rd goal for Newcastle United as the Magpies defeated Chelsea 2-1 and edged closer to a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League.
Fast forward to 2009 and a repeat result might just lift the troubled St James' Park club to fifth bottom but the club's all-time leading goalscorer must now rely on others to score the goals which matter.
Long since retired as a player, and with eight league fixtures remaining to save Newcastle's top flight status, the former England captain welcomes Chelsea to Tyneside as a rookie manager looking to guide his hometown team to safety.
It would be a tall order for even the most experienced of coaches. Yet, unlike Saturday's opposite number Guus Hiddink, Shearer has no managerial experience whatsoever.
Whereas Chelsea's celebrated coach has six Dutch league titles and two fourth-place finishes at the World Cup under his belt, Newcastle's fourth manager this season has yet to acquire his Uefa Pro Licence.
It is a contrast not lost on the iconic figure appointed to save United from relegation in the absence of Joe Kinnear, the erstwhile Mgapies' manager forced to take a temporary leave of absence following heart surgery.
