- Published
Alan Shearer knows that if he wants to preserve his record as the Premier League's all-time record goalscorer, it would be helpful if Erling Haaland moved away from the English top flight.
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Haaland → publish → flight
The former Newcastle United and England striker scored 260 Premier League goals across his 14 years in the league.
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striker → score → league
Haaland has netted 120 Premier League goals in four-and-a-bit seasons and should he stay with Manchester City - and City stay in the league - it is feasible the Norwegian could surpass Shearer's tally.
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Norwegian → net → tally
However, Shearer acknowledges that if Haaland does not break the record, someone else likely will.
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someone → acknowledge → record
Before Haaland it was England forward Harry Kane closing in on the number.
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Kane → close → number
But his sum of 213 goals halted after he swapped Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich in 2023.
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he → halt → 2023
"I'm sure it will be broken one day, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts," Shearer told the Football Interview.
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Shearer → break → Interview
"If we can get Haaland out to Real Madrid or somewhere like that in the next couple of years then it should be alright."
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it → get → years
Twenty years after retiring from football, Shearer sat down with Kelly Somers to discuss his love of Newcastle, almost continuing his managerial career and swapping the pitch for the commentary box.
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Shearer → retire → box
'How on earth did my parents let me leave home at that age?'
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me → let → age
But there was a time when the 56-year-old thought he would never return to his home city after moving to Southampton aged 15, where he lived in digs with another family.
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he → be → family
"I wouldn't change anything - one of the best things I did was move away from home at 15," Shearer said.
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Shearer → change → 15
"But when my kids got to 15 I thought 'how on earth did my parents let me leave home at that age?'
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me → get → age
"There's no way I could have let my my two girls and my son walk away from their home at 15 years of age.
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girls → be → age
"I remember getting on the train at Newcastle Central station, looking at my mum and dad and the tears rolling down my mum's face when I was pulling out of the station and waving thinking, 'is this the last time I'm ever going to live back home?'"
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I → remember → station
A move closer to home followed in 1992, working with Sir Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn Rovers where Shearer won the Premier League title before returning to his beloved Newcastle in 1996 - a return to his boyhood club a matter of when not if.
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return → follow → club
Little did he know that would be his last taste of silverware as a player - he was on the losing side of two FA Cup finals in a Newcastle team that never went as far as first hoped.
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that → know → team
But, regardless of Newcastle's league status and once the opportunity arose, there was never any doubt of Shearer returning to the north east.
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Shearer → arise → east
He recalls standing in the Gallowgate End of St James' Park as a youngster, watching his hero Kevin Keegan then the "surreal" feeling of signing for him years later.
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hero → recall → him
"I saw the adulation that he [Keegan] had.
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he → see → that
He was like the pied piper in Newcastle, everyone followed him everywhere," he said.
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he → follow → him
"I was one of those little kids that went to the training ground, to the ground - and I wanted a piece of that."
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I → go → that
Shearer became a club legend himself, spending 10 years in the north east and scoring 206 goals in 405 appearances across all competitions.
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Shearer → become → competitions
It is that status that means on the occasions where he can enjoy a pre-match pint with friends and walk up to St James' Park as a fan, there is an element of disguise required.
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he → mean → disguise
"My friend owns a pub in Newcastle called Harry's and I get dropped off outside the pub and then I walk up from the ground," he said.
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he → own → ground
"I've got a cap on and I very rarely look up because it would take me forever to get from the pub to the ground.
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it → get → ground
But I often do it.
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I → do → it
"They've [friends] done that all their life and I'm able to do that now and I love it."
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I → do → it
Despite calling time on his playing career two decades ago, it is still rare for Shearer to find himself with a weekend off.
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Shearer → call → weekend
Now a regular pundit on Match of the Day, as well as co-commentating on England games and sitting alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards on The Rest Is Football podcast, he has become one of the most respected pundits in the game.
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he → co → game
But that was not always going to be the case.
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that → go → ?
Unsure of whether he would enter the world of management or media post-retirement, Shearer served as interim Newcastle manager in 2009 for the remaining eight games of the season.
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Shearer → enter → season
It ended badly, with the Magpies relegated and Shearer never returning to the dugout.
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Shearer → end → dugout
"Newcastle were were in desperate trouble and I could never say no - we were bottom of the league, fighting for our lives," he said.
"I should have known that when I signed the contract on April Fool's Day that it wasn't going to work out!
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it → say → Day
"I always felt that I was going to go into it again and I wanted to.
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I → feel → it
I had a couple of interviews and got offered the job at Cardiff.
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I → have → Cardiff
And then things changed ... and I thought, 'what am I doing here?'
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I → change → what
That ended Shearer's brief brush with management and he returned to punditry, spending his weekends travelling between Newcastle and Salford for Match of the Day.
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he → end → Day
For me travelling from Newcastle, it's a probably 19-20 hour day," he said.
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he → travel → Newcastle
"What people don't realise is that you're meant to be at your brightest and your liveliest when you go on live at 10:30, whereas if you're watching football all day on the settee, you're ready to nod off at that time.
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you → realise → time
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
