Birth Date: August 13 1970
Birth Place: Gosforth, Newcastle
Birth Nation: England
Height: 180cm
Weight: 79Kg
Nationality: British
Position: Forward
Shearer is the highest scorer in the history of both Newcastle United (206) and the FA Premier League (260). He is currently employed as Newcastle's 'Sporting Ambassador' after retiring at the end of the 2005/6 season.
Strangely enough Alan was originally rejected as a youngster at the Toon and instead he signed as an apprentice at Southampton at the age of 16. He made his debut, as a substitute against Chelsea in 1988, his full debut coming a month later, against Arsenal when he scored a hat-trick. He became the youngest ever scorer of a top flight hat-trick at 17 years and 8 months, breaking Jimmy Greaves record which had stood for over 30 years!
Despite this hat-trick he was eased into the first-team gradually at Southampton but becoming a regular for the England U-21s team, scoring 13 times in 11 U-21 appearances in 1991. This form was noticed by then England manager Graham Taylor and in February 1992 he made his England debut in a match against France. Shearer scored one in the first half as England eased to a 2-0 victory.
Taylor took him to the Euro 92 finals but he only managed one appearance in a goalless draw with France as England went out early. Still Alan had done enough to attract the attention of Blackburn's manager of the time Kenny Dalglish who, with Jack Walker's millions at his disposal, bought Shearer for ?3.6 million. Manchester United also agreed a fee with Southampton but Shearer chose to join Rovers - a fact the United fans never let him live down, booing him mercilessly every time he appeared against them.
The following season started off well, a second goal for England in a World Cup qualifier against Turkey, and 16 goals in 21 games for Blackburn, before an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered against Leeds United on Boxing Day ended his season prematurely. Back to business in the 1993/4 season, Shearer scored 31 goals in 40 games for Blackburn as they came runners-up to Man Utd in the English Premier League. Shearer also won the Footballer of the Year award, and scored 3 more goals for England, though they failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
Chris Sutton arrived at Rovers for the start of the 1994/5 season and the two quickly struck up a lethal partnership - nicknamed the SAS. In 42 League games for Blackburn, Alan scored 34 goals as they clinched the league title on the last day of the season, at Dalglish's old club, Liverpool.
The following season he scored 31 goals from 35 games for Rovers but failed to hit the back of the net in 11 England appearances, but, despite calls from the public for him to be dropped, England manager Terry Venables stuck by him going into Euro 96.
The PFA Players' Player of the Year repaid Venables faith in the first 20 minutes of the tournament with a long range shot which beat the Swiss 'keeper. The match finished 1-1, and left England needing a result against the Auld Enemy, Scotland. Shearer scored the first in a match memorable for a moment of brilliance from Paul Gascoigne to score the second as England ran out 2-0 winners and just needed a draw against Holland to progress. In one of England's best ever performances Shearer got 2 of the goals as they ran out 4-1 winners against a much-fancied Dutch side.
The next round saw England totally outplayed by Spain but they hung on for a penalty shoot out victory, with Shearer converting his penalty. But, despite Alan netting in less than 5 minutes against Germany, penalties saw them crash out in the next round, despite him scoring his pen. He did finish the tournament as top scorer with 5 goals and was named in the official UEFA Team of the Tournament.
After the tournament Shearer was again approached to join Manchester United but the lure of his beloved home town club Newcastle United was too much. His boyhood hero, Kevin Keegan paid ?15 million to take him 'home'. The pressure of the enormous price tag seemed to have no effect on Alan as he went on to score 25 goals in 31 appearances, and also scored 5 goals for England in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup.
He picked up the PFA Players' Player of the Year award again, and also was made England captain by new coach Glenn Hoddle. This was despite the previous captain, Tony Adams, still being a regular, and Shearer never having captained a side and Adams being Arsenal captain.
He broke his ankle in a pre-season tournament but came back and helped the Toon to the FA Cup Final. But the season was surrounded with controversy after he kicked Neil Lennon (then of Leicester) in the head during a Premiership match. Shearer always maintained it was accidental and he was never punished (FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly claiming that it was due to his threat to pull out of the England squad if he was punished though Alan has always denied this).
He went to France in 1998 as England captain and scored twice as England went out against rivals Argentina. 1999 saw Newcastle as losing FA Cup finalists, again. But the following season there was more controversy, despite his first England hat-trick in a September World Cup qualifier against lowly Luxembourg. He was dropped by Newcastle manager Ruud Gullit after a behind the scenes power struggle. Local rivals Sunderland beat them in a derby match and Gullit was replaced with Bobby Robson.
A News of the World journalist covertly recorded Newcastle directors, Douglas Hall and Freddy Shepherd (who went on to become Chairman), calling Shearer a 'Mary Poppins' figure, amongst insults directed at the Toon fans.
He retired from international football following Euro 2000, where he scored 2 goals taking his total to 30 goals in 63 caps, joint fifth on England's all time list. He resisted all calls to return to the national side, instead preferring to concentrate on playing for Newcastle.
While the club failed to win a single honour with him as player he did receive a number of individual honours including: an OBE for services to Association Football in June 2001, Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in March 2001 and the Barclaycard Merit Award in 2002 for scoring 200 Premier League goals. His 200th goal coming in front of his home fans against Charlton Athletic on 20th April 2002.
He originally announced his intention to resign at the end of the 2004/5 season but was persuaded to play on for one more season by his then manager Graeme Souness. He stayed on as a player-coach and broke Jackie Milburn's scoring record for the club when he scored his 201st goal for the Toon in a home match against Portsmouth on 4th February 2006. Though Milburn did score a lot of goals for the club during the Second World War that aren't included in official records.
On April 17 2006 with just 3 games remaining in his playing career he collided with Julio Arca from local rivals Sunderland and tore his medial ligaments, putting a premature end to his career. But he had managed to score a penalty (his 206th goal for Newcastle) in the match.
Shearer was awarded a testimonial which was played against Celtic in May 2006 while he was unable to play. All the tickets sold out in a matter of days.
Alan Shearer Rumours and Transfers
15 08 2007
Villa defender Mark Delaney retired from football Wednesday due to knee injuries.
The 31 year old fullback, who played 36 times for Wales, played only 158 English Premier League games in more than 8 years with Villa due to persistent knee problems.
He twice had surgery last year under knee specialist Dr. Richard Steadman, who successfully operated on England forwards Michael Owen and Alan Shearer, however was unable to recover sufficiently.
"Mark has tried absolutely everything," Villa manager Martin O'Neill said. "He's been dedicated, coming in here every single day. Everything he's been asked to do, he's done. He's gone to the very best people and he's tried everything. I am sure he has a future in the game and I wish him all the very best in whatever he does."
Villa mentioned Delaney plans to become a coach.
Delaney played his last match in February's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, being replaced at halftime of the FA Cup game by Liam Ridgewell.
He was on monthly contracts since his regular deal with Villa lapsed in June.
"This is a very sad day for me and this is not a decision I have taken lightly," Delaney said.
"But, having taken everything into consideration, I feel this is the right decision for myself and my family."
10 08 2007
Francis Jeffers could were written off by some critics, however the former England forward is determined to prove them wrong after dropping out of the Premier League to join Sheffield Wednesday.
The 26 year old signed a 3 year deal with the Owls after manager Brian Laws persuaded him to quit Blackburn Rovers in his search for 1st team football.
Neither club said that the size of the fee, however it is thought to be the largest financial outlay since the £1 million arrival of forward Shefki Kuqi in 2002.
Big things were tipped of Jeffers when he quit Everton for Arsenal in an £8 million deal, netting on his only England international appearance after equalling Alan Shearer's all time England U21 scoring record (13 goals in 16 appearances).
Jeffers said, "It is a chance for me to show people what I am all about. A lot of people have written me off however one thing I will do when I get regular games is score goals and I always have done wherever I have been. Hopefully, I can do it here with a regular run of games on a massive stage. Playing on a good ground like Hillsborough only gives me a platform to show people what I can do."
Jeffers has only had a brief taste of Championship football – he scored 4 goals in 7 starts on loan at Ipswich at the end of last season.
They were desperate to make the deal permanent, however manager Jim Magilton was unable to agree personal terms with Jeffers.
Laws has succeeded in persuading Jeffers to take a drop in divisions as well as wages and would have given him his debut tomorrow when the Owls travel to Portman Road in an ironic twist for the Championship kick-off.
After missing out on a legion of strikers, that included Kenwyne Jones, Billy Sharp and Grzegorz Rasiak, Laws is relieved to have in the end secured a big name signing.
"I am delighted to have secured a player of Francis Jeffers's calibre here at Hillsborough," mentioned Laws, who expects to bring in a mystery Champions League player next week.
"Francis has spent most of his career in the Premier League due to the quality that he possesses and I think he can be a regular scorer with us in the Championship. We are all looking forward to the season starting, it is been 6 weeks planning and waiting for this moment. We had such a finish to the season, everybody felt on such a high, then we had the floods, a probable takeover, uncertainty with players and now we only would like to get back to playing good football. I have been in football a long, long time and its probably one of the whackiest pre seasons I have ever had."
03 08 2007
Newcastle chairman Chris Mort has rubbished reports that Kevin Keegan maybe set for a return to the club.
Reports last weekend suggested Magpies legend Keegan maybe on his way back to St James' Park as director of football.
Mort has moved to dismiss the rumours and he also rubbished talk that Alan Shearer was being lined up to become the club's new manager.
"As far as Kevin Keegan is concerned I have never talked to him and I have no intention of," Mort informed the Daily Star.
"And there is no truth in reports that we are looking to bring in Alan Shearer as manager."
20 06 2007
Former Wales forward Iwan Roberts mentioned that Alan Shearer was wrong to warn Newcastle United that it could be a mistake to re-sign Craig Bellamy.
Wales and Liverpool forward Bellamy was linked with a move back to St James' Park inspite of leaving the Magpies 2 years ago after a turbulent time.
"It is a bit of a shock that he (Shearer) has come out in the papers and beat Craig," Roberts said.
"When Craig was in the Newcastle side they were a much, much better team."
Roberts played with Bellamy, 27, both at club level with Norwich City and with the Welsh national side.
He recognises Bellamy's fiery temperament, which led to bust-ups with then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, coach Terry McDermott and also an alleged criticism of Newcastle and England legend Shearer.
"They (Shearer and Bellamy) have had their differences in the past, incidents have happened," Roberts informed BBC Sport Wales.
"Obviously Shearer still thinks very bitter about that, however it is not like him to criticise somebody in public. It is a hammering to come out with a statement like that, that he has to go out and get drunk when he heard Newcastle maybe coming back in for Craig."
New Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce is still seeking to strengthen his team and is not scared of taking on players who have had disciplinary problems at other clubs.
The former Bolton manager paid £5.8 million for Joey Barton last week inspite of a list of misdemeanours at Manchester City.
Bellamy has his own list of troubles, the latest an alleged fracas with Liverpool team mate John Arne Riise in February at a training camp.
20 06 2007
Alan Shearer has reignited his grudge with Craig Bellamy by warning new manager Sam Allardyce to steer clear of re-signing him for Newcastle.
Bellamy was linked with a return to St James' Park as Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has said he will unload the forward after only a season with the beaten Champions League finalists.
The new Wales captain was also linked with West Ham, Blackburn, Juve and Roma last week however Shearer – among those who endured a tempestuous relationship with the forward during their Newcastle days – remembers his disruptive influence more than most.
The former England captain was also sent abusive text messages by Bellamy when the latter was in the end sold by Graeme Souness.
Bellamy is alleged to have taunted Shearer with, "Your legs are gone. You're too old. You're too slow," after Newcastle's 4-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat by Man Utd in 2005.
Shearer was mentioned to have shaken visibly with rage and threatened to "knock his block off".
Allardyce has already signed Joey Barton and Mark Viduka however Shearer fears Bellamy would also be lined up as the manager is on the verge of being handed substantial funding by new billionaire owner Mike Ashley.
Shearer said, "I was having several days away in France with Gary Speed and Steve Harper and the wives and I picked up a newspaper. I was having a fantastic day however when I read Bellamy for Newcastle, I thought I would definitely must have another drink, so I had several. Has no one found out their lesson about signing him? If only Rafa Benitez had rung me, I would've informed him exactly what he was like. I hope there is not anything in it. It could be interesting, especially with Terry McDermott still here, because there is a scuffle at Anfield when Craig and Terry were coming down the tunnel."
Shearer maybe on the verge of being offered a position by Steve McClaren with the England set up after revealing at a charity dinner in Newcastle that he has passed his UEFA A licence.
Shearer turned down McClaren's approach last year however he has swept through the coaching qualifications and would even take on a top managerial position of his own.
But the former Newcastle No 9, who retired 13 months ago, is not ready to step into management only yet. That will be a relief for Allardyce as he is looking to establish himself at St James' after his shock departure from Bolton.
Shearer said, "I have only finished my badges so I would go into management now if I would like to, however why should I? There is only one place I am going to go when I do it, so I only would like to enjoy some time out. My wife says, 'We see less of you now than the previous 10 years,' so I am going to take a bit of time to spend with the family, however I will do it one day. If I get to 50 or 55 and I look back and I have not done it, I will regret it, however I do not know when I will do it."
Shearer was signed by Kevin Keegan in 1996 however was unable to add to his solitary Premier League title medal under 6 Newcastle managers.
He turned down the chance to take over from Glenn Roeder in April however has seen enough of the club's recent managers to have a good idea how to succeed in the St James' Park hot-seat.
Allardyce has also been linked with Holland U21 forward Maceo Rigters, who has scored 2 goals in the current European Championship in his home country. Rigters' agent Tom Smit mentioned the NAC Breda player will decide between Newcastle and Celtic after his interest in the competition has ended.
18 06 2007
Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has confidence Magpies forward Michael Owen will still be at St James' Park at the start of next season.
Owen was linked with a move away from Newcastle after it emerged he has a buy out clause inserted into his Magpies contract.
And inspite of all the speculation, Owen has refused to say whether he will still be a Newcastle player by the start of the new season.
However, Shearer, who played a big part in persuading Owen to join Newcastle from Real Madrid 2 summers ago, thinks that he and Mark Viduka can form a terrific partnership next season for Sam Allardyce.
Shearer informed the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, "I am sure there are lots of people who would like to ask me whether I think Michael Owen will be at Newcastle next season. To be honest, I do not think anyone could be prepared to pay £10 million or £11 million for him until they have seen him play for 5 or 6 months. So if anyone mentioned that to me 'will he be here next season' I must said yes, I think he will be. And I also think him playing up front with Mark Viduka will be a good partnership for United. Viduka is good at holding the ball up and we all know how good Michael is at scoring goals. So I do not think there will be lots of better partnerships out there in the Premier League next season than the one at St James' Park."
