The Telegraph, April 23 2006

OLD DEVIL SHEARER A CLASS ACT

By Patrick Barclay

It was typical of Alan Shearer that, when the last small objective of a career meriting just about every laudatory adjective except ''glittering'' was wrenched from his vision - he would have loved to have shot Newcastle into Europe before retiring - the great man displayed not a shred of self-pity. He simply smiled through the pain from his knee, got on his crutches and began what may prove an infinite lap of honour.

In some ways, Shearer is an old-fashioned hero. Ever since Blackburn's Jack Walker broke the British transfer record to sign him from Southampton, he has been aware of his price but given value for money. To paraphrase John F Kennedy, he has not asked what his clubs can do for him but what he can do for them. Thus, having helped Blackburn to their first championship since the First World War, he rejected the relatively easy option of Manchester United in favour of his beloved home-town club so St James' Park rather than Old Trafford could harvest the further fruits of his labours.

Some would say this noble decision (later to be echoed by Steven Gerrard when the Liverpool captain decided against joining Chelsea) has rebounded and certainly there can be few neutrals who did not sadly sigh when Newcastle, with only one trophy attainable this season, drew Chelsea in the FA Cup. So for Shearer it was 10 years at St James' and not a pot lifted - 10 years in which dozens of inferior centre-forwards have waved from open-topped buses. But what memories Shearer has given us with his goals: my favourite was his own, a volley against Everton that was of Marco van Basten quality, although it relied on force as well as accuracy. Such has been the power of Shearer's shooting, indeed, that you could say the real heroes have been the goalkeepers who have faced it.

He has not always been an angel. Almost his last act as England captain was to dive (unsuccessfully) for a penalty against Romania in 2000 and I once saw him push a Dynamo Kyiv player, upon whose retaliation he reeled back, earning a penalty; the ploy was executed in the manner we all deplored when Slaven Bilic did it to Laurent Blanc in a World Cup semi-final between Croatia and France. As old devils go, however, Shearer has been a class act. He might not have too many medals but, like our Matthews and our Finney long ago, he is part of our lives, to be treasured for ever.