Alan Shearer column

It was a great game of football that had everything, from great players to great excitement and a great atmosphere.

There are a lot of teams that try to sit in and defend, soak up pressure and hit the other team on the break when they play them. That was not the game plan of the team. They took the game to their opponents.

I was worried that this was not going to be a good day for them after they were down by a goal. They were the better team for the majority of the first half. Three goals were scored in the match.

It wouldn't have surprised anyone if City got the winning goal because the last few minutes were boring.

This start under Eddie Howe is better than it has been in the past, as it is the first time in four years that they have started the season without a loss.

'Saint-Maximin ran Walker ragged'

The rest of the season could be a good one for the club. Unless they quickly sign three or four players in the remainder of the transfer window, that finish will not happen.

The goal will be to improve upon last year's 11th place finish. They were only three points behind eighth place after a bad start. They have five points from three games and it's a good start. If you claim seventh spot in the conference you can get a spot in the league.

At times, they took City apart. The level of the football club and how the manager wants them to play is what is expected. They showed up after putting up a good performance. Fans will be happy that they took a point out of the game.

The fans at St James' Park were driving the City forwards in the game. You have to give a lot of credit to the way they came back. They don't panic because they know who they are. Everyone knew they would get a point back. There was a draw.

Newcastle team
How Newcastle lined up against Manchester City

Allan Saint-Maximin was running ragged. At the end of the game, the England full-back wore his socks on. I don't recall a player running past him that many times. There is no question Saint-Maximin can do it. He had a great ball against City.

The understanding that the pair have is shown by the fact that the Frenchman has given four assists for Wilson in the league. They will create chances if they can stay fit. He is hard to stop when he is singing.

Wilson wants to break back into the England squad. There are places up for grabs behind Harry Kane, even though he will play inQatar. Wilson is a good player and will score goals, but he is not in top shape.

The manager took him off with 15-20 minutes to go against City in order to save him from injury in the last part of the match when he is tired and the muscles are fatiguing.

Nick Pope has made a good start to his career and has to be pushing Jordan Pickford for England's number one jersey. He kept a clean sheet and won his team a point at the Seagulls.

He made a number of important saves on Sunday, including the one from Erling Haaland at 3-2, where he was quickly off his line. He took the pressure off his defenders by coming for a lot of balls in the last 20 minutes of the game.

'New owners have galvanised the club and supporters'

Considering where they were a few years back and at the beginning of last season, it's exciting to see how far they've come. The side was 19th in the table when Howe took over. If you look at where they are now, you can see the hope that the city and football club has.

The new owners did their business in a sensible and measured manner. Everyone is very happy with that way of going. Many clubs try to make success happen quickly by spending. Over the years, they have spent a lot of money chasing the dream.

The owners want to bring in people who want to immerse themselves in the city, such as Matt Targett, Dan Burn and Pope.

Bruno Guimaraes is from Brazil so he just gets the area. The club wants to do things. He covered more ground than any other player on the pitch when he was booked against City.

Premier League table
Arsenal are the only side with their 100% record still intact this season

The strategy is working forNewcastle at the moment. The club and supporters have been rejuvenated by the owners. The manager has done a great job since Howe came in. In the second half of last season, they collected more points than any other team, and they have carried that on into this season.

Three years after City took over, they won the FA Cup and the title of premier league. I don't think they will challenge for the league in three years' time, but I think they will do better in cup competition than they have in the past.

The last time the club made the semi-finals of the FA Cup was 17 years ago. There hasn't been anything since. You will see a better squad in the early rounds of the cup games and hopefully will progress to bigger and better things.

They have not done it in the cups in a long time.

'Newcastle need to bring in a forward player'

If they can get a couple more players in, particularly in a forward position and possibly in the middle, they will be in better shape. They would have a better chance of finishing in a better position.

They are trying to get into a forward position.

We will have to wait and see because there are so many names linked with the city. It's expected with the amount of money they have to spend.

It wouldn't be right to name players at other clubs, but they need to sign a player in the forwards and a player in the middle. Jonjo Shelvey needs to be covered because he is out for a while.

Shearer was talking to Hafez.

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