It was only a tweet, but even with a mere 140 characters to play with Alan Shearer summed things up perfectly.
Sunderland’s 3-0 win over Everton sealed Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship, the second time this has happened in seven years.
The last time, Shearer himself was acting Newcastle manager. Appointed on April 1 2009, it was too late for Shearer to save his beloved club from the drop.
Reacting to the news that Newcastle have once again lost their Premier League club status, Shearer stated that the club had not learned their lessons from 2009 – appearing to suggest that the March appointment of Rafael Benitez was too late to save them from the inevitable.
Shearer also congratulated Sunderland and manager Sam Allardyce on their survival – not the easiest of tasks for a man so closely connected to Newcastle on a night such as this.
You can't pretend it hadn't been coming. @NUFC not learned lessons from 2009. Hard as it is for me to say, well done Sam and @SunderlandAFC
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) May 11, 2016