Shay Given and defender Robbie Elliott acknowledged Souness was under pressure at the club as a result of injuries to the squad and admitted some players were to blame for their lack of all-round effort, but also admitted there was a bad atmosphere at the training ground, with Souness seeming to favour some players over others. Alan Shearer acknowledged the fans never really accepted Souness, as well as several injuries being instrumental in damaging the team's confidence. Chairman Freddy Shepherd declared it was the team's formation and loss against Manchester City that prompted his decision to sack Souness. Souness did not return to football management after leaving Newcastle. Stevens inquiry In the report of the Stevens inquiry into football corruption published in June 2007, Souness was criticised for an apparent lack of consistency:Souness issued a statement denying any wrongdoing:The Stevens inquiry then issued a clarification:In July 2007, Newcastle United was raided by the City of London Police, who were investigating transfer deals involving Newcastle, Rangers and Portsmouth. Two Souness transfers, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Amdy Faye, were among a list of 17 transfers not cleared by Quest. The Boumsong deal in particular was so odd that it was widely commented upon at the time. Four months after succeeding Sir Bobby Robson as manager, Souness was in his first transfer window as Newcastle manager. At £8.2 million, Boumsong was his first big signing and Souness said he would replace Jonathan Woodgate in the Newcastle defence, which had conceded several leads earlier in the season. Newcastle were well aware of Boumsong prior to his move from Auxerre to Rangers on a free transfer. Robson had travelled to France to watch him, but he declined the opportunity to sign Boumsong. Liverpool were also interested in signing Boumsong. Robson's doubts were confirmed when Boumsong marked Alan Shearer in a pre-season game against Rangers. Shearer came off to speak in dismissive terms about the Frenchman's lack of physicality, and he later mentioned Boumsong's previous availability on a free transfer on television. When Boumsong was given a torrid time by DJ Campbell during his Newcastle debut against Yeading in the FA Cup, doubts over the wisdom of the transfer mushroomed. The agent in the Boumsong and Faye transfers was Willie McKay. On 7 November 2007, Quest issued the following statement about McKay's dealings: Career after management Media work Souness has appeared as a television analyst in the