The history of a legendary club

Enjoy some images from the marvellous history of our legendary club…

King Alan: Alan Shearer 1996-2006

Alan Shearer was born on August 13 1970 in Gosforth, a local council estate in Newcastle. When he was a boy, Shearer was known as 'Smoky' as he had a fondness for smoky bacon crisps! His family has long supported Newcastle United for generations and the young Shearer once queued for hours just to catch a glimpse of his boyhood hero, Kevin Keegan.

At 12, Shearer was captain of his school's football team. Even then, his skills were so remarkable that his sports teacher remarked, "If Alan was ill, we tried to get matches called off." He once scored 13 goals in one game. Yet, during his Newcastle trials, Shearer played in goal! Needless to say, Newcastle failed to notice his goal-scoring abilities, a mistake which has cost them £15m. Joe Hixon, Southampton's talent scout however, saw his potential and signed him as an apprentice for the club.

Shearer then left Newcastle at age 15. His only school qualifications included a CSE in English Oral, his chosen topic being unsurprisingly, football. He has joked that his massive thighs were to "make up for my lack in intellectual ability!" During his 1988 league debut, Shearer became the youngest player ever to score a first-class hat-trick. However, Shearer never really made an impact at the Dell. Yet his strong work ethic was renowned - he used to get up before dawn for three-mile runs and practised by himself after training until he had to be dragged away! It is this quality of sheer hard work that has turned Shearer into one of the best footballers today.

On a more personal note, Shearer met his wife Lainya on a blind date in a Southampton pub. Funnily enough, she hated football and couldn't understand his strong Geordie accent. Shearer, then earning £25 a week, was always broke, so she ended up paying for the two of them most of the time. They married at age 20 and have 2 girls, Chloe and Hollie, both of whom can beat him at video games!

In 1992 Shearer moved to Blackburn Rovers for a British record of £3.6 million. He became the only player in English football history to score 30 or more goals in three consecutive seasons, helping Blackburn win their first Premiership title in 81 years in the 1994/95 season. This despite sustaining a few injuries throughout the seasons. At Euro 96, Shearer became the top scorer with 5 goals in what were some of England's most memorable performances at home soil.

After the success of Euro 96, Shearer rejected lucrative offers from other top clubs to fulfill his childhood dream of playing in the black-and-white jersey. "All I ever wanted to do was play for Newcastle. I'd stand on the terraces dreaming of the day I would walk out on that hallowed turf." That day arrived on August 6 1996, when Shearer's return home shattered records worldwide, making him the world's most expensive player at £15m. But it was a move made for sentiment and not money as Shearer not only returned to his roots but got to play under idol Kevin Keegan. The move was a crowning glory for Geordies and a remarkable part of English football history as 15,000 people stood in a rainstorm just to watch him wave.

Sadly, Shearer's Newcastle seasons have been plagued by injury woes and by the sudden departure of Keegan. His rather quick recovery from a career-threatening injury suffered in 1997 helped his team avoid relegation. More about the man's hard-working attitude - Shearer was often seen shifting impatiently on the bench and shooting his manager with piercing glares in order to get playing time even though he had just recovered!
In 1998, Shearer was inducted into the FA Hall of Fame for his 1994/95 season with Blackburn. He also received the England captaincy in 1996, a task which he has carried out with tremendous pride. In fact, Shearer is seen by many to be the perfect embodiment of the nation. He also captained England into France 98. In a touching move, Newcastle fans crowned him the Angel of the North by placing a giant Shearer jersey replica on the 65-ft Tyneside statue before the FA Cup Final.

Off the pitch, Shearer has been deemed bland and boring. His deadbat television technique and taciturn PR skills are largely responsible for this tag. One magazine described him as having "all the personality of a suet pudding" while 2 infamous Newcastle directors, labelled him 'Mary Poppins'. Former Blackburn team-mate Tim Flowers too has dubbed him 'Mr Mogadon' while another has commented that he kept Shearer's season diary next to his bedside as it put him to sleep. Shearer was once challenged by team-mates to incorporate the title of an Abba song into an interview. So he answered a question with: "Yes, but the winner takes it all." In a now famous comment, Shearer said that he would be celebrating Blackburn's triumph by "going home and creosoting the garden fence".

Still, Mark Lawrenson who worked with Shearer at Newcastle says, "That's Shearer. Put a microphone under his chin and a camera in front of him and he switches off. But I can tell you now that he has got one of the most outstanding personalities in football." Shearer himself says, "There is another side to me which people don't often see, but it's very hard for me to show that. When I do interviews, I'm talking to people I don't know and when you speak to a stranger you don't open up, do you?"

There are stories that Shearer is a dressing-room prankster, subjecting his clubs' and England teammates to various jinks and laughing his boots off each time they discover that the toes of their socks had been mysteriously cut off. Journalists too have been shocked when Shearer was heard cackling on the phone everytime former Southampton friend Neil Ruddock (they are godfathers to each other's children) told him of a new career setback.

While he may be one of the most famous strikers in the world, Shearer remains fiercely proud of his working-class background. His father, Alan is still a sheet-metal worker and his mother Anne, works as a home help. He maintains a close relationship with his parents and Joe Hixon, keeping contact with them almost every day. Shearer still prefers sharing a pint with his pals from his boyhood to mixing with rich and famous stars. He is a keen golf-player, owns 2 Jaguars (courtesy of his sponsors), gets free food from McDonald's and unfortunately, listens to Rod Stewart (could be worse, really).

Thanks to the author of this biog.