According to the Daily Mail, Alan Shearer has confirmed he will reduce his appearances on the football show "Match of the Day," appearing roughly once a month in the new season. The main reason is his desire to free up more weekend time to watch his beloved Newcastle United play live.

Shearer has been a commentator for "Match of the Day" for 20 consecutive years since retiring in 2006 as the Premier League's all-time leading scorer. Before the start of the new season, he revealed he would reduce his involvement in the show. Last weekend, he appeared on the show alongside Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney to comment on the first round of the new Premier League season.

Shearer explained: "I had told them before that I wanted to get some Saturdays back. I'll probably do it about once a month now."

"I'll be watching more Newcastle games. I really enjoy doing match commentary. Once the FA Cup starts in January, there will also be plenty of live commentary for me to participate in."

Despite reducing his regular appearances on "Match of the Day," Shearer will continue to serve as a co-commentator for BBC's live FA Cup matches. Meanwhile, BBC has also expanded its football commentary team for the new season, with Toby Alderweireld, Robbie Keane, Ashley Young, and Thomas Frank joining the lineup.

In the interview, Shearer also discussed the phenomenon of some players pushing for transfers by refusing to train or play in recent years. Last summer, Isak pushed for a move to Liverpool and Florian Wirtz pushed for a move to Arsenal through similar means. Recently, there have also been suggestions that Ollie Watkins may have taken a similar approach to facilitate his transfer from Aston Villa to Saudi club Al-Hilal. In addition, Tolu Arokodare even halted a Wolves training session to push for a move to Ajax.

Regarding this, Shearer said: "When fans are spending their hard-earned money to come and watch you and support you, and you're on a very high salary, it doesn't look good."

However, regarding Watkins' situation, he specifically emphasized that he doesn't know all the facts yet: "I'm not saying Ollie definitely did it, because we don't know the full situation. But when a club is still paying your wages and you refuse to play for them, that's not right. That's a part of football I don't like."

"Of course, any player has the right to leave a club, but it should be handled in the right way. I left Blackburn a year after winning the Premier League because I wanted a different challenge, and I eventually returned to Newcastle. I completely understand players wanting to leave; no one can say you don't have that right, but the problem is you should do it in the appropriate manner."

Isak joined Liverpool from Newcastle last summer for a British football record transfer fee of £125 million, but his adaptation at Anfield has not been smooth, and he missed 24 games last season due to a fractured leg.

Shearer believes that even when Isak was healthy, he did not receive the tactical support best suited for him at Liverpool.

He said: "Look at him at his best at Newcastle. To get the best out of him, you need to get the ball in behind the defence quickly, or deliver it rapidly from deep into his running path."

"But I don't see Liverpool playing like that right now. I think they might need to make some changes."

"Isak alone isn't working at the moment, and Liverpool has invested huge sums in him. When he was at his best at Newcastle, the midfield would get the ball in behind the opposition quickly, and the wingers would deliver it forward rapidly. I haven't seen that style of play at Liverpool yet."

Shearer believes that Isak's serious injury last season was indeed a significant factor, but if Liverpool wants to return to the Premier League's top four, Isak must perform significantly better.

Speaking about Newcastle, Shearer admitted the club had a very difficult summer. Eddie Howe resigned, while key players like Bruno Guimarães, Anthony Gordon, and Sandro Tonali were sold. Although Newcastle has extremely wealthy owners, due to restrictions from Premier League and UEFA financial rules, the club had to balance its books by selling core players.

Shearer believes that a "big reset" of the squad is not necessarily a bad thing: "It's been a long summer, but there's still a lot to be optimistic about at Newcastle. The team really needs to start over."

"We also can't forget that some of the players who were sold wanted to leave anyway and didn't want to stay. Their performance last season wasn't good, with Newcastle finishing 12th."

"So the team has to rebuild. Of course, this process requires patience. I still hope for one or two more players before the transfer window closes, but based on last weekend's situation, there's still a lot to look forward to."

Shearer expressed dissatisfaction with the current financial rules, pointing to Aston Villa as an example, noting that multiple teams have been forced to sell their best players. He believes that if Chelsea and Manchester City had been restricted by these rules during their development stages, it would have been difficult for both clubs to reach the heights they later achieved.

However, he also admitted that Newcastle can only accept reality: "I don't like these rules, but that's how they are, and you have to find a way to deal with them. Newcastle has done that. Now it's a fresh start – a young new coach, new ideas, and hopefully a lot to look forward to in the future."

Regarding this season's goals, Shearer does not expect Newcastle to qualify for European competition: "I don't expect us to get into Europe this year. If we do, that would be fantastic, a huge bonus, but I'm not expecting it."

"Before the transfer window closes, we undoubtedly need another midfielder and possibly another attacking player. This is a transitional season, and we have to accept reality because losing both your best players and manager at the same time is never easy."

He believes that Newcastle fans will understand the team's situation and give young players time to develop.

Shortly after Shearer suggested the team needed to strengthen its midfield, Newcastle signed Nico González from Manchester City for £52 million. The 24-year-old Spanish midfielder previously joined Manchester City from Porto and played under Pep Guardiola for one and a half seasons, making 36 Premier League appearances.

Shearer highly approved of this deal: "This is a very good deal. He's been at Manchester City, has the relevant game experience, and has played under Pep in that winning culture. These experiences will greatly help Newcastle."

Shearer also has expectations for the new coach, Matthias Jaissle. He believes that although Newcastle is likely to have a transitional season after a major squad overhaul, the new coach, new ideas, and the direction of building a younger team still bring new hope to St James' Park.

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