LONDON — Saturday at St. James' Park Alan Shearer, without a second's managerial experience, will lead Newcastle United against Chelsea, whose manager Guus Hiddink is one of the most successful coaches in world football.

It is a measure of how desperate the relegation-threatened club is that it pleaded with its greatest ever goal scorer to somehow wave a magic wand and keep it in the Premier League.

Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, has almost made an art form of bad decisions during his time in charge, not the least believing coaches Chris Highton and Colin Calder could keep the club in the Premier League while manager Joe Kinnear recovers from his latest heart surgery.