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Newcastle’s quick tour of Australia has not received particularly positive feedback and certainly ended on a low note when Eddie Howe’s young side were thrashed 8-0 by the A-League All Stars on Friday.
Most of the Premier League side’s top stars had already returned home after Wednesday’s penalty shootout victory over Tottenham and their replacements had a night to forget in Melbourne.
Lewis Hall, Elliot Anderson and England’s Kieran Trippier were the only first team regulars in the matchday squad and all three remained on the bench throughout the match.
The two post-season friendlies arranged for the Magpies faced widespread criticism from the football world with former Newcastle legend Alan Shearer describing them as pure “madness”.
Shearer was not the only one to express concern about the rapid turnover faced by players who played their last Premier League game just five days ago.
England manager Gareth Southgate, who named Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier in his provisional squad for Euro 2024, described the friendlies as “not good news”.
Every year, a team from Europe’s top league travels to play the All Star team.
Manchester United were the first team to do so in 2013 and since then teams such as Juventus and Barcelona have made the long journey to take on Australia’s best.