Alan Shearer Exclusive: Tottenham desperately need a win and I expected bumps along the road for Newcastle

Three weeks will feel like three months if Spurs don't get a result

Roberto De Zerbi desperately needs a result. Clearly, he got what he wanted having kept them up last year, and there was a deal that he could bring in whoever he wanted at whatever cost.

I have said it before and I'll say it again, they have paid way over the top for some of the players they have brought in, and it is not working.

Some of his comments regarding their fitness are tough to understand, so he desperately needs a result and a goal. The longer it goes on, the harder it becomes.

The Tottenham hierarchy will want to see a return on their investment now. When you spend that type of money, you need to get results quickly, and the longer it goes, the more desperate it becomes. When you have paid that money out for those players, you need results quickly. They are under huge pressure, there is no doubt.

I'm not seeing anything really positive yet to justify the money spent. How can you? They haven't scored a Premier League goal or won a game.

I didn't think they would qualify for the Champions League, but I thought they would be in and around sixth or seventh, something like that. But at the minute, I have not seen anything to suggest they can do that.

They have a tough one at Aston Villa away this weekend, who are in a sticky patch themselves in the league but got a great result in the Champions League. Spurs have been really poor up to now.

From what I have seen, I wouldn't be too hopeful that it'll get better quickly.

If they don't get a result, the three-week break will feel more like three months. That's why both teams, particularly Spurs, need a result on Saturday.

Spurs just haven't been good enough and haven't created enough. I have seen them miss one or two chances, but nowhere near enough.

I know they signed Savio and Marmoush. The situation with Richarlison isn't going away, but I haven't seen anything that suggests to me it will change.

I saw Marmoush miss a couple of chances, but I guess that is one positive they have, because if you keep getting in there, then it'll change. But the longer it goes, the harder it becomes.

It's not as if they are blowing teams away and being really unlucky.

Richarlison is another unwanted headache for the manager

Richarlison isn't in the squad, and De Zerbi has said he is not going to play, so you can't reverse it, there is no going back. He has made a decision and he will stick with that.

What they do now, I haven't got a clue. You have a player not in the squad that you obviously have to continue to pay a salary to, and he'll be a problem. I don't think he will sit around and be nice.

When they haven't got any goals or wins, and then that on top of it, it is just another problem the manager could do without. But he feels he didn't warrant a place in the squad for whatever reason.

Obviously, he fell out with the manager, and the manager doesn't like him and vice versa. That is never a healthy situation at any football club.

I expected a few bumps in the road for Newcastle

Newcastle had a really promising start to the season, unbeaten before Monday's game, and it was a reality check against Leeds. But I haven't changed my mind one bit on Newcastle, though.

I knew we would have these moments. Clearly, you can't have too many of them because the performance the other night was unacceptable, terrible.

They were outfought and bullied, so you can't have too many of them in the season. But I did expect bumps in the road this season, and that was one of them.

I still say we will finish anywhere between 10th and 15th.

Losing Elanga will be a blow, but Jacob Murphy now has an opportunity

Anthony Elanga has been like a new signing because we didn't see anywhere near his potential last season at Newcastle after what we saw at Forest.

He started really brightly after a promising World Cup, so it would be a blow, absolutely, because of what he offers Newcastle in terms of his pace. He scored a brilliant goal at Spurs and scored against Liverpool too, so it will be a big blow if it is long-term.

Jacob Murphy has been there for a while and knows what it is, but he is a different player to Elanga. He's the one that will have to step up.

There's a new manager and a different scenario. There was talk of him leaving this summer, but the manager wanted to keep him, so he will have to step up.

A win against Brighton is crucial for Michael Carrick

It is a massive game tonight for Manchester United. There were one or two rumblings on Sunday at Old Trafford that you could hear because of how poor they were in the Derby.

I know it was a really controversial goal, but I thought they were poor against Man City once they went down to 10 men. United didn't use it to their advantage at all. They hit the woodwork a couple of times, but they didn't create anywhere near enough.

Most of the talk has been about how shocking the goal decision was, but I guess because of that, there hasn't been much scrutiny on how poor United were, and they were.

I haven't been impressed with them at all. I know there is a lot of talk that they bought forwards last year and midfielders this year, but I am not convinced that in forward positions they have enough anyway.

They still lack a top-quality centre forward, and clearly Michael Carrick doesn't trust Benjamin Sesko.

It is a huge game for them against Brighton because you can imagine the noise if they were to be beaten again.

Carrick needs a result, like a few managers do. You are always going to get that intense pressure because of the size of the club and the expectations. There is always pressure on whoever is in charge at Man Utd.

If they don't get the results, which they haven't, as they were beaten by Hull and City, you can imagine the noise with a three-week international break. There will be lots to talk about, and they will not want that going into that break. But it will be if they are beaten again.

Sunderland getting into Europe could backfire on them this season

I won't be watching or cheering on Sunderland tonight in the Europa League. I will never cheer on Sunderland. They did very well getting to the Europa League, it has been a while since they have been in there. I know the song is "Have you ever seen a Mackem in Milan?" and now they will be going to Milan, so good for them, but I won't be cheering them on!

Playing Thursday and Sunday is a new challenge for them, and I think it could have a negative effect on their Premier League position. They did an unbelievable job getting to Europe, no one thought they would do that, or even their own fans thought they could do it.

I guess you put pressure on yourselves and make it more difficult for yourselves in terms of the squad and travelling, everything else. But you have to enjoy it because they worked incredibly hard to get there last year.

So, it is important they do enjoy it, but it is totally different playing on a Wednesday or Thursday and then back into the League for your squad.

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