Alan Shearer was named Football Writers' Association Player of the Year in 1994 and won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1995.
73 Facts About Alan Shearer
2.
Alan Shearer played his entire career in the top level of English football.
3.
Alan Shearer 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.
4.
Alan Shearer led Newcastle to the 1998 FA Cup and 1999 FA Cup finals, and eventually became the club's all-time top scorer.
5.
UEFA Euro 1996 was his biggest success at international football; England reached the semi-finals and Alan Shearer was awarded the UEFA Euro Golden Boot and was named in the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament.
6.
Alan Shearer went on to represent England at 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.
7.
Alan Shearer retired from international football following the end of the latter competition.
8.
Since retiring as a player in 2006, Alan Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC.
9.
Alan Shearer is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities.
10.
Alan Shearer was born in the Gosforth area of Newcastle upon Tyne on 13 August 1970, the son of Anne and sheet-metal worker Alan Shearer.
11.
Alan Shearer's father encouraged him to play football in his youth, and Shearer continued with the sport as he progressed through school.
12.
Alan Shearer was educated at Gosforth Central Middle School and Gosforth High School.
13.
Alan Shearer captained his school team and helped a Newcastle City Schools team win a seven-a-side tournament at St James' Park, before joining the amateur Wallsend Boys Club as a teenager.
14.
Alan Shearer had successful trials for First Division clubs West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City and Newcastle United, before being offered a youth contract with Southampton in April 1986.
15.
Alan Shearer was promoted to the first team after spending two years with the youth squad.
16.
Alan Shearer made his professional debut for Southampton on 26 March 1988, coming on as a substitute in a First Division fixture at Chelsea, before prompting national headlines in his full debut at The Dell two weeks later.
17.
Alan Shearer was the star of the tournament where he scored seven goals in four games.
18.
On 15 August 1992, the opening weekend of the first Premier League season, Alan Shearer scored twice against Crystal Palace with two strikes from the edge of the 18-yard box.
19.
Alan Shearer missed half of his first season with Blackburn through injury after snapping his right anterior cruciate ligament in a match against Leeds United in December 1992, but scored 16 goals in the 21 games in which he did feature.
20.
Alan Shearer as described in The Guardian on 10 April 1995.
21.
Alan Shearer had his first taste of European football in the UEFA Cup that season, and scored in the second leg as Blackburn went out in the first round, losing to Trelleborgs FF of Sweden.
22.
Alan Shearer missed the final three games of the season for his club due to injury, but recovered in time to play in England's UEFA European Championship campaign.
23.
However Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards and Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz stated that Blackburn Rovers refused to let Alan Shearer go to Old Trafford or Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
24.
Ultimately Alan Shearer joined his boyhood club: Newcastle United, Manchester United's title rivals.
25.
Alan Shearer's injury was reflected in the club's form, and Newcastle finished just 13th in the Premier League.
26.
However, United had a good run in the FA Cup; Alan Shearer scored the winning goal in a semi-final victory over Sheffield United as the team reached the final.
27.
An incident during a game against Leicester City in the league saw Alan Shearer charged with misconduct by the FA, with media sources claiming that video footage showed him intentionally kicking Neil Lennon in the head following a challenge.
28.
Former Football Association chief Graham Kelly, who brought the charges against the player, later claimed in his autobiography that Alan Shearer had threatened to withdraw himself from the 1998 World Cup squad if the charges were upheld, a claim strenuously denied by Alan Shearer.
29.
Alan Shearer saw red for the second time in his career this season, after allegedly elbowing an opposition player in a match against Charlton Athletic this decision was later rescinded.
30.
Alan Shearer scored a hat-trick in the first round win against Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin, and ended the season with a haul of 11 European goals, in addition to his one goal in domestic cups.
31.
Alan Shearer decided to continue playing in a player-coach capacity until the end of the following season.
32.
The banner measured 25 metres high by 32 metres wide, covering almost half of the Gallowgate End, aptly placed above the club bar, Alan Shearer's Bar, opened in his honour in 2005.
33.
Alan Shearer was awarded a testimonial match by the club, against Scottish side Celtic.
34.
The match was a sell-out, and saw Alan Shearer perform a lap of honour at the end with his family, with his young son covering his ears due to the volume of noise produced by the crowd in tribute.
35.
Alan Shearer scored the first England penalty, while the Spaniards failed to score from two of theirs, sending England into the semi-final against Germany.
36.
Alan Shearer headed England into the lead after three minutes, but the Germans quickly equalised and the match went to penalties again.
37.
Alan Shearer scored a first-half equaliser from the penalty-spot before David Beckham was sent off early in the second half.
38.
Alan Shearer scored again, but England were eliminated after David Batty's shot was saved by the Argentina goalkeeper.
39.
In September 1999, Alan Shearer scored his only England hat-trick in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against Luxembourg.
40.
Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in the history of the Premier League, Alan Shearer was often styled as a classic English centre-forward, owing to his strength, physical stature, heading ability and strong shot, which enabled him to be a highly prolific goalscorer.
41.
Later on in his career, Alan Shearer played a more forward role, after his age robbed him of some of his pace.
42.
Alan Shearer was noted as a proficient penalty taker for both club and country, and he scored 45 times from the spot for Newcastle, where he was the first-choice taker; with 56 goals from 67 attempts, he is the most prolific penalty-taker in Premier League history.
43.
Alan Shearer scored five goals from free-kicks for the north-east club.
44.
Alan Shearer was known for his accuracy and shooting power from outside the penalty area either when taking set-pieces or from open play.
45.
On his retirement as a player, Alan Shearer responded to speculation of an immediate move into coaching, saying that he would take some personal time off to "enjoy life" for the next couple of years.
46.
Alan Shearer was quoted as saying that he would eventually like to move into management, "when the time was right" however as of March 2009 he was yet to start the UEFA Pro Licence course, which is required to be permitted to manage a team in the Premier League and European competition.
47.
Alan Shearer took a brief role in the dugout for his final three games under Glenn Roeder.
48.
Alan Shearer had rejected offers of coaching or assistant roles at Newcastle under both the returning Kevin Keegan in February 2008 and Joe Kinnear in November 2008.
49.
Alan Shearer had previously had talks about, but never been offered, a full-time manager's role at Newcastle until his appointment on 1 April 2009.
50.
Alan Shearer was unveiled at a press conference the following day by club managing director Derek Llambias.
51.
In explaining his acceptance of a managerial role at Newcastle at this time, Alan Shearer stated that he would not have done this for any other club in this position, including his two other previous Premier League clubs.
52.
Amid persistent questioning regarding the permanency of the appointment, Llambias announced that Alan Shearer was to be manager for the remaining eight games, and after his recovery, Joe Kinnear would return as manager after the end of the season.
53.
Alan Shearer confirmed that the BBC had agreed to giving him an 8-week sabbatical from his Match of the Day role.
54.
Llambias confirmed Dennis Wise had left his executive role at the club and the club had no plans to appoint a replacement, with Alan Shearer stating that "the people that have moved, were moving on anyways, that had nothing to do with me".
55.
Alan Shearer accepted the surprise offer on the Monday on the condition that he could bring in Iain Dowie as his assistant.
56.
Alan Shearer brought in Paul Ferris to oversee club medical, physio and dietary matters.
57.
Alan Shearer did not get the manager's job on a permanent basis.
58.
Alan Shearer met his future wife, Lainya, whilst playing for Southampton.
59.
Alan Shearer has described his wife as a quiet and reserved person who is uncomfortable with the public attention his fame sometimes brings.
60.
Alan Shearer cited not wanting to uproot his family as a key reason for remaining in England during his career, having had the chance to move to Juventus or Barcelona when leaving Blackburn.
61.
On 6 December 2000, Alan Shearer was given Honorary Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, with the citation "in recognition of his role as captain of Newcastle United Football Club and as former captain of England which have enhanced the reputation of the City".
62.
Alan Shearer was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Birthday Honours for charitable services to the community in North East England.
63.
On 4 December 2006, Shearer was created a Doctor of Civil Law by Northumbria University, at a ceremony at Newcastle City Hall, where the university vice-chancellor declared that "Throughout his career Alan Shearer has been hard-working, committed, disciplined and focused in his endeavours, fighting back from career-threatening injuries with great determination and courage".
64.
On 1 October 2009, Alan Shearer was commissioned as Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, having been nominated by the Duchess of Northumberland in her capacity as Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, and approved for the position by the Queen.
65.
On 7 December 2009, Alan Shearer was made a Doctor of Civil Law by Newcastle University.
66.
On 12 September 2016, a statue of Alan Shearer's likeness was unveiled outside St James' Park.
67.
On 26 April 2021, Alan Shearer was announced as the first inductee in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
68.
Alan Shearer formed part of the team which covered the World Cups and European Championships from 2006 onwards for the BBC.
69.
Alan Shearer is among a group of high-profile athletic figures in British pop culture to promote the brand, which includes Olympic champions Daley Thompson and Linford Christie, footballer John Barnes, rugby player Jonny Wilkinson, and Tomb Raider heroine Lara Croft.
70.
Since retiring from football Alan Shearer has done work for several charities both nationally and in the Newcastle area.
71.
Alan Shearer played and scored twice in Soccer Aid, a game involving celebrities and former players at Wembley Stadium in September 2008, to raise money for UNICEF.
72.
On 26 July 2009, Alan Shearer played and scored in the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match, a charity match held at St James' Park in tribute of Bobby Robson and in aid of his cancer charity the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
73.
On 15 October 2009, Alan Shearer became the new patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.