So far it seems that the Messiah is yet to deliver his miracle. An uninspiring stalemate in the first, and arguably the easiest, of three must-win home fixtures leaves Newcastle United looking forward to a car-crash fixture against Middlesbrough as the next opportunity to play their get-out-of-jail card.

Alan Shearer’s arrival on Tyneside certainly came out of the blue but in reality, nothing really strikes you as a surprise when the men from St James’ are involved.

The manager the supporters had demanded for so long was finally on board and, in true Hollywood style, would be the hero who would turn up at the final moment to save the day.

There’s no questioning that sentimentality was at the heart of the decision. The club’s record scorer couldn’t bear to see the club that was closest to his heart slumming it with the likes of Barnsley and Peterborough next season.

What we can question, however, is the logic.

Watching Newcastle’s attack-heavy side failing to find the net and their back four struggling to cope with a Portsmouth attack that turned up with little intention of doing anything remotely interesting, it struck you just how little Shearer was seemingly doing in the home dugout.

Chairman Mike Ashley isn’t as stupid as many people would probably tell you. Putting a rookie in charge of an eight-game salvage operation? Out of the question. Instead, Ashley has surrounded his favourite TV pundit with a copious amount of managerial experience.

Colin Calderwood, the eyes and ears in the stands, has two Football League promotions to his name; both of which were built on watertight defences. His headset is plugged in to Iain Dowie, a man who knows a fair bit about relegation battles, albeit unsuccessful ones.

Down on the bench is Chris Hughton, the familiar face who has often been left to pick up the pieces as Newcastle jump from one failed manager to the next.

So where does Shearer fit in this? There appeared to be a lack of communication, a lack of ideas and a seemingly lost look about the Messiah. Aside from taking full advantage of the occasional opportunities to shout at the referee, he never really jumped into life and if the miracle was ever going to come, it was going to be a quiet one.

I would suggest that, based on his sideline demeanour, Shearer had been drafted in as lead cheerleader for the remainder of the season although on Monday night, that job had been given to an opera singer with a flag and “Top Chanter” printed on the back of his shirt.

The reality is that Shearer hasn’t been brought in to manage the side, pick up the points and rescue the club from oblivion. Instead, he’s been drafted in to repair a damaged reputation. Not his own reputation, not Newcastle’s reputation, but Mike Ashley’s reputation.

The head honcho of the so-called “Cockney Mafia”, Ashley is still far from Mr Popular in the North East. The manner in which he ‘disposed’ of Kevin Keegan’s services still grates with the Gallowgate End.

The problem is entirely of Ashley’s doing. Upon arriving in Newcastle in 2007, the retail tycoon made the two most critical mistakes that a club owner can make. Firstly, he associated too closely with the fans. Secondly, he started listening to them.

Football supporters like to think that they know everything about their football club. They know the history, they like to think that they know which player should be playing at left-back, what the manager should say at half-time, which through ball the winger should have picked, how the club should price their tickets; the list goes on. The problem is that they don’t know any of those things.

Anything that a football supporter knows about the game and their club is based on what the see on a large green space between the hours of 3pm and 5pm every Saturday, knowledge that is topped up only by the mediated messages that come out of the club’s PR office.

So when Ashley starts listening to people whose knowledge of the game is, with the greatest respect, pretty limited, he’s asking for trouble. When those giving the advice are his new best friends, he has well and truly backed himself into a corner.

The net result is that Sam Allardyce is out and Keegan is back in charge.

A lack of knowledge isn’t the only thing that keeps fans out of the boardroom and in the stands. Fans won’t make difficult, unpopular but necessary decisions. That includes selling the favourite player, buying one from your rivals or, more importantly, sacking a manager that was effectively picked by the supporters.

Whether Keegan jumped, was pushed or merely squeezed out of Newcastle, the supporters turned on Ashley overnight. When the much desired Arabian oil magnate with the bulging cheque book didn’t show up, Ashley was left with a club that he and nobody else wanted, supporters that didn’t want him and a manager who had unfortunately fallen ill.

Knowing a thing or two about marketing, Ashley needed something to get the supporters back on his side as quickly as they had turned on him. The answer was on his television set every Saturday.

Despite what the club would tell you, the job that Shearer had reportedly wanted for so long still seems to elude him. Shearer isn’t calling the shots and he isn’t guiding the Toon to safety. He’s just the fan friendly, media savvy face that has been drafted in to rescue a beleaguered chairman.