Exclusive Q & A with Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer [VIDEO]

As part of his ‘Legends of the EPL’ series, Outside90’s Benny Jones recently caught up with former England, Newcastle United, Blackburn and Southampton legend Alan Shearer to discuss his playing days, charity work, unique goalscoring celebrations and his thoughts on the current national setup in England.

Outside90: Joining us to kickstart our ‘Legends of the EPL’ series is one of the most iconic names in EPL history, a man who memorably wore the number nine jersey at Newcastle United throughout many prolific goalscoring seasons, 303 EPL matches which yielded 148 goals, and also over 550 domestic appearences and more than 280 goals. A man who also represented his country 63 times with great distinction.

Alan Shearer, thanks for joining us.

Alan Shearer: Thanks for having me, thank you.

O90: Another massive season of the Premier League is upon us. The great names coming into the EPL year in, year out, the pace of the game, the calibre of goals being scored and the rate they are being scored at, the standard of the league, as an observer and a pundit these days, easy to see why it’s viewed upon as one of, if not the best, domestic competition world football?

AS: It is, I think it’s a whole round package, for the entertainment, for the atmosphere, for the stadiums and combine that with the quality of player, you put all that together then I think that’s probably the best in the world.

I mean we get more goals, such spectacular goals and continue to attract the worlds best players to our league. That along with people watching from all over the world, in places like Australia, I think that says it all.

O90: Let’s open up with England. Hard to crystal ball tournaments of this size of course Alan, but with the 2016 European Championships in France now less than 12 months away, the Three Lions look to be cruising towards qualification, and looking at the young stocks, players just getting their toes wet in international football, what should the expectations be coming into the Euros?

AS: Well, what will happen is, we will continue to breeze through the group, win all our games, and then turn up and win the Euros, that’s how we work here in England (laughs)!

But of course being realistic, I think this tournament arriving when it does will still be to early for us to start talking about being challengers to win it. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think that will happen.

Having said that, we do have some quality young players coming through, if he can stay fit Sturridge is excellent, Stones is excellent, Sterling all class and Barkley too, they’ve all got good futures and if we can settle these guys down and simply let them enjoy their international football rather than placing too much pressure on them that might help us in a year’s time.

O90: You were part of the BBC’s coverage for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, your observations on the England performance, where you’re always of the opinion they would battle to progress from their group, and whilst Costa Rica’s performances stunned the world, did it come as a huge suprise that Roy Hodgson’s men bowed out as early as they did?

AS: Well it was to me, I think for the first time in a long time England went into a World Cup without any great expectations placed upon them, both internally and externally, certainly in my time, every tournament has arrived, the media, including myself have been saying England can do very, very well.

But that wasn’t the case in this one, and I thought that might help the team and settle them down, maybe they could enjoy it a little bit. But I don’t think anyone could have anticipated what would happen as in Costa Rica playing as well as it did, and England out of the tournament after what, two games in five days?
So after all that build up it was very disappointing.

O90: You’ve probably been asked this a few times since hanging up the boots, but your career, through all the highs and lows, the awards, the goals, the amazing moments you provided so many football fans around the world, what is it that you’re most proud of looking back?

AS: I think the biggest and best thing that ever happened to me was being named England captain. As a kid growing up I wanted, desperately wanted to play for England, my dreams of playing for England never in my wildest dreams would I be captain, walking out onto Wembley with 95,000 watching with that armband on and leading your team out. The feeling doesn’t, it just doesn’t get any better than that, and that was amazing, clearly the best thing.

O90: Something else I imagine that sits high up the pecking order of honours might be the EPL premiership medal you won with Blackburn back in 1994-95, and that in itself still causes plenty of wonder and amazement around the world of EPL fans, because we have seen the league dominated largely by just four clubs along the journey, literally sharing the title between themselves ever since. An incredible season both personally and from a team perspective, a whirlwind at the time but what an incredible period in your life that must have been?

AS: Well it was, we had a tremendous team spirit there at Blackburn, and for little old Blackburn to be promoted up from the old second division and into the Premier League, and then come in and not only take the big boys on but actually beat them, to beat United and to beat Chlesea, Arsenal and Liverpool was one hell of an achievement. We had a great manager helping us get there in Kenny Dalglish, a great owner in Jack Walker and also had a great coach in Ray Harford.

You put all that together, and we had some quality players, I feel it was our attitude that got us through in the end because it was a bit shaky in the last few games when of course we just wanted to get over the line, which we were eventually able to do at Anfield despite being beaten on that last day. But it was a great feeling.

O90: Alan, I’m not going to press you on your musical ability, whether you can play drums, or belt out a tune, but I imagine the move to Newcastle a couple of years later, and the rock star-type reception you recieved from the fans, must have been the closest thing you ever felt to being a genuine rock star, and what a head spin that must have been?

AS: Yeah, it was great and I’ll never forget that day when I first signed for Newcastle when I went up and outside the ground, walked out and all I could see was this mass of black and white fans and nearly 20,000 of them. Just for a signing it’s worth noting! That made me feel very, very speacial and I feel it helped me get off to a terrific start with the club.

O90: Mentioned earlier your glittering career at the Magpies, the games and goals make for impressive reading, but is there one of either, a game or a particular goal that stands out with fond memories?

AS: Well I think my best goal was my volley against Everton at St James’ Park, was one of those where you just take pot luck and the vast majority of the time they go into the top row of the stands. But I just knew I’d caught that one sweet at the time and watched it go into the back of the net instead.

https://youtu.be/XO7qbKlvnOM

But as for the most memorable one, it would have to be the goal I scored to break the record (Jackie Milburn’s club goals record at Newcasle) my 201st goal, at home down at the Gallowgate End, it was just a very speacial feeling. Standing there with my arms aloft, I just didn’t want that moment to ever end, and if I could have bottled that there and then I’d have made an absoloute fortune becuase it was such a great feeling!

O90: You were adored for your goals but also your ‘known the world over’ goalscoring celebrations, or almost in a sense, lack of them, very nonchelant, the one arm raised heading to the corner flag. Was there ever a consideration of changing that up, perhaps throwing a somersault in later in the career, or just happy to keep it simple and trademark that one?

AS: (laughs) No, no I was quite happy with that one, my body wouldnt quite allow me to do the somersault or a backflip, so I figured I’d carry on with just the one arm in the air instead!

O90: You played with some amazing talent, both for club and country, against them as well. Who were the standouts, teammates, defenders trying to kick you for a living, strike partners and the like?

AS: Well, the best centre-half I played against was Tony Adams (former Arsenal and England defender) without doubt, you just knew that you were going into a huge battle with him whenever we played the Gunners. But the best bit about Tony was while he wanted to kick me, and I wanted to kick him, we were both desperate to win but after the game we’d both shake hands and that’s the way it should be.

As far as strike partners go I had one season with Les Ferdinand at Newcastle and we got 49 goals between us despite two or three months with injuries.

At international level Teddy Sheringham. I knew his game inside out and he knew mine, and it was one of those partnerships we never had to work on, it just clicked and we worked really well togther.

O90: I was looking for an Australian angle for our Outside90 readers for this chat Alan, of course there was your Blackburn teammate in that title-winning season in Robbie Slater, but I thought I’d ask you about one of our nation’s finest footballers in Mark Viduka, who joined Newcastle I believe the season after you retired, but you did manage him at the club for a short period of time?

AS: Yeah I had eight games with him (in 2009) and I have to say his attitude was absoloutley fantastic. Before I’d got in there they’d kind of written him off, the coaches beforehand and said he wouldn’t be fit enough for the rest of the season and we’d simply discard him. But to his credit I asked him if he wanted to be part of the fight and the battle and he got himslef fit and tried his very best to keep us in the league.
Obviously it didn’t happen (Newcastle were relegated) but he was a predigious talent and first class, and I have to say I got along very well with him.

O90: Before we sign off, I wanted to chat to you about another passion of yours, the Alan Shearer Foundation, making an incredible impact on a number of lives, community groups as well, this an area you invest alot of time in and clearly means a great deal to you?

AS: Well it does. I was fortunate enough to have a testimonial in 2006 and there were over 52,000 people there, and we raised over £1.6 million  which was an icredible amount of money so I just felt it would have been wrong of me to take that. So I set up a foundation, and a respite home for disabled kids and their parents, and it’s set up about 15-20 minutes from where I live now and it gives me great pleasure to go along there and see the benefit it’s given so many people and so many children and I’m very, very proud of it and honoured to have my name linked to it.

O90: Just finally, any plans to venture out to our shores any time soon, is Australia a place you’ve frequented much?

AS: I travelled, and it was very briefly with Umbro many years ago to Brisbane, to Sydney, Melbourne and to Adelaide but it was only for a day or so in each place, very much a whistlestop tour.
But other than that, no, I haven’t spent a lot of time there and it would definitely intertest me down the track.

O90: Well Alan you’ve got no shortage of fans in this part of the world, so we’d love to see you pop out for a visit any time, but greatly appreciate in the meantime you giving us a few moments to look back on your time in the EPL here on Outside90.

AS: You’re welcome, thanks very much.

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