Gareth Messenger

Alan Shearer scored his 260th and final Premier League goal for Newcastle against Sunderland on 17 April 2006.

In the 14 years since no player has come within 50 goals of this record tally for the competition. Shearer is one of those names synonymous with the game of English football, that when he made his debut as a starting player in April 1988, before the formation of the Premier League, at age 17 for Southampton, he scored a hat-trick against Arsenal in a 4-2 win. Nobody knew at the time just how much of an impact this teenager would make.

Viewed as the classic English striker, Shearer could compete in aerial duels, score with either foot and link up with team-mates as the focal point of the three clubs he represented – first Southampton, before he joined Blackburn Rovers before the inception of the Premier League.

While many see his time with Newcastle United as the golden years, it was actually at Ewood Park where Shearer was in his prime, scoring 112 in 138 appearances, claiming two consecutive Golden Boots awards between 1995 and 1996, and, perhaps most importantly, the Premier League title (the only major trophy he ever won).

His unrelenting partnership with Chris Sutton, dubbed the “SAS”, finished with a combined 49 goals in that league winning campaign, one of the best duopolies to ever grace football.

For flair and technical ability, there are far more accomplished players to analyse, not just now but even during Shearer's years as the unrivalled goal-scoring master. But when it comes to getting the ball in the net, which ultimately, is what strikers are there to do, no one in the Premier League even comes close.

After wearing the red and white of Southampton, then the blue and white of Blackburn, Shearer turned down the chance to joined Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. In July 1996, he moved to his boyhood club, Newcastle United, for a world record transfer fee of £15 million.

At Blackburn, he is forever an icon. But at Newcastle, he is worshipped as a God. On Tyneside, Shearer scored a staggering 206 goals in 404 games, placing him top on their all-time scoring list ahead of Jackie Milburn, Hughie Gallacher and Peter Beardsley, an accolade he might feel prouder of than any of the others he holds. 

To those outside the English game, it may seem odd that a player who won just one Premier League trophy and failed to lead his boyhood club to any silverware might hold such an unbreakable bond with the fans. He only came as close as finishing second with Newcastle as well as helping them to two finals which they lost. It’s the major black mark against his career.

Yet, ironically, turning down the domestic giant Manchester United and dismissing links with European heavyweights Barcelona or Milan, turned out to be the icing on the cake.

Instead, he stuck with his home and it allowed him to be the footballer he was always born to be – the classic goalscorer. He finished team moves, smashed in free-kicks, thumped home penalties and even produced volleys from the top drawer. Those moments were his trophies. 

Every goal, every assist, every point, every roar of St James’ Park was Shearer’s way of giving back to the cause. He became the hero Newcastle never knew they needed.

Even the great players to grace the Premier League have never got within an arm’s length away of his achievement. Wayne Rooney ran him closest with 208 goals. Even the grace of Thierry Henry, the guile of Andy Cole, and the now-venomous ability of Sergio Aguero are yet to lay a glove on Newcastle’s very own hero. 

The most orthodox strikers enjoyed the most unorthodox career, in terms of ability to success ratio. His greatest success to date remains, the player that nobody in the Premier League could ever dare of catching in the race for supremacy.