ONE OF THE GREATS-yes definitely!!

 17th April 2006

Alan Shearer was (is?) one of the "greats of the English game"!  His 206 Newcastle United goals and 260 Premier League goals were both records, he was a Footballer of the Year, PFA Player of the Year, one of his transfers was for a world record fee, he was a Premier League title winner and scored 30 times in 63 England appearances. He had planned to retire at the end of the 2005/06 season, his tenth at hometown club Newcastle United.  But on Monday 17th April 2006 his playing career came to a slightly premature end when a knee injury saw him substituted in what proved to be his last match with three matches of the season remaining. Mind you it was a fitting finale with Newcastle winning 4-1 away to their local rivals Sunderland. Of course Alan Shearer scored one of those goals. Fitting for such a great player.

Injuries were never far away, especially for somebody so "sort after!!" 

Another injury problem, this time an ankle ligament injury sustained in a pre-season match at Goodison Park, restricted Shearer to just two goals in 17 games in the 1997-8 season. His injury was reflected in the club's form, and Newcastle finished just 13th in the Premier League. To help Shearer get over the injury, club physiotherapist Paul Ferris devised unorthodox methods. At the club's training ground at Durham University, Ferris stacked six school benches and placed Shearer on top with high-jump mats either side – the striker trying to improve his balance by standing on one leg and bending over to pick up coins while having objects thrown at him, while a crowd of student onlookers watched on!!

Alan Shearer (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and former professional player. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the greatest players in Premier League history, he is the league's record goalscorer with 260 goals. He was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995. In 1996, he came third in both Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004, he was named by Pele in the FIFA List list of the world's greatest living players. Shearer was one of the first two players inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.

Shearer played his entire career in the top level of English football. He started his career at Southampton in 1988 before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 1992, where he established himself as among the most prolific goalscorers in Europe and won the 1994-5 Premier League In the summer of 1996, he joined his hometown club Newcastle Utd for a then World Record £15 million, and in his first season won his third consecutive P.L. Golden Boot. He played in the 1998 and 1999 FA Cup Finals finals, captaining the team in the latter, and eventually became the club's all-time top scorer. He retired at the end of the 2005-6 seasonj.

For England, Shearer appeared 63 times and scored 30 goals.  UEFA Euro 10 was his biggest success at international football; England reached the semi-finals and Shearer was awarded the UEFA Euro Golden Boot and was named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament. He went on to captain England at 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, then retired from international football.

Since retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009, he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008-9 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation. Shearer is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities. More than a Hat Trick!!