Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer, OBE (born Newcastle upon Tyne, England, August 13 1970) is a successful and widely-admired English professional footballer, currently in the twilight of his career at hometown club Newcastle United.

Blackburn and England (1992-1996)

Taylor selected Shearer for his squad for the finals, but he only featured in one group game - a goalless draw against France - and England were eliminated at a disappointingly early stage. However, his ability had been noted by Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish who, armed with unlimited funds from club benefactor Jack Walker, offered Southampton an irresistible 3.6 million pounds for their prized asset, and Shearer made his move. He was also offered terms by Manchester United but turned them down - a decision which still sees him mocked and criticised by Manchester United supporters to this day.

Related Topics:
Blackburn Rovers - Kenny Dalglish - Benefactor - Jack Walker - Pound - Manchester United

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shearer became an England regular the following season, scoring his second goal in a 4-0 win over Turkey in a qualifier for the {{Wc|1994}}. His first season with Blackburn was mixed - he missed half of it through injury (and more World Cup qualifiers) but scored an excellent 16 goals in the 21 games in which he did feature. The season ended sourly, however, as England failed to qualify for the World Cup.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At Blackburn, Shearer settled down and became the most feared goalscorer in the Premiership. He rattled in a huge 31 goals from 40 games in the 1994 season as Blackburn finished a close second in the table behind Manchester United and also won the honour of the Footballer of the Year for that season. He added three more goals to his England tally before embarking on his most successful domestic season as a player.

Related Topics:
Premiership - 1994 - Footballer of the Year

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From 42 games, he scored a phenomenal 34 goals as Blackburn took the Premiership title on the last day of the season. This remains the only honour as part of a team which Shearer has won in his career, though he quickly followed it up with a personal award, winning the PFA Players' Player of the Year prize for the 1995 campaign. He famously "celebrated" the title by going home and applying creosote to his garden fence.

Related Topics:
PFA Players' Player of the Year - Creosote - Garden

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He put away 31 goals the next season from 35 games, though his England strike rate completely dried up, with no goals in eleven games leading up to {{Ec|96}}.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England, now managed by Terry Venables, were hosting the event and therefore hadn't needed a qualification campaign. This made Shearer's unproductive spell in front of goal less of a problem, but as the tournament neared he was still expected to produce the goods. The country need not have worried.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the opening 20 minutes of the inaugural group game against Switzerland at Wembley, Shearer hammered home a 25 yard drive on the turn to break his duck and settle the nation's nerves. After that game ended 1-1, a victory against the old enemy Scotland in the next game was crucial, and Shearer stood up to be counted.

Related Topics:
Switzerland - Scotland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A tight and goalless first half was opened up early on after the break when 21 year old right back Gary Neville - the youngest member of the England first team - swung over a delightful curling cross and Shearer stooped low to head home at the far post. It set England on their way to a 2-0 win, helped by a penalty save from David Seaman and a stunning second goal from Paul Gascoigne. England now needed to avoid defeat against the Netherlands in the final group game to guarantee qualification for the last eight.

Related Topics:
Gary Neville - Penalty - David Seaman - Paul Gascoigne - The Netherlands

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shearer and his strike partner Teddy Sheringham had arguably their greatest game as a partnership as England turned on the style against the Dutch, winning 4-1 with a performance described as "total football" by pundits, ironically against the nation that coined the phrase more than two decades earlier. Shearer scored the opener from the penalty spot and got the third after a delightful tee-up by Sheringham, who also weighed in with the other two.

Related Topics:
Teddy Sheringham - Decade

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the quarter finals, England were outplayed by Spain but got through to a penalty shootout after a goalless draw. Shearer scored the first England penalty, while the Spaniards failed to score from two of theirs, sending England to the semi finals.

Related Topics:
Spain - Penalty shootout

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Their opponents were their nemesis nation - Germany - and Shearer gave England the perfect start when he headed them ahead after three minutes. The Germans quickly equalised and the match went to penalties again. This time, the Germans stayed their ever-ruthless selves from the spot, and though Shearer scored, his team-mate Gareth Southgate missed his kick and England went out. Germany duly won the final. Shearer's five goals (penalty kicks in a shootout don't count) made him the competition's top scorer.

Related Topics:
Germany - Gareth Southgate

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~