Talk:Alan Shearer

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[edit] Newcastle, NOT Northumberland

I have changed Shearer's place of birth details to indicate that he was born in Newcastle Upon tyne, NOT Northumberland. Northumberland itself is a few miles from Gosforth, and Gosforth is regarded as being part of Newcastle Upon Tyne, I should know, I live here myself. Check Gosforth's article if you don't believe me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.72.35.70 (talk) 15:18, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Untitled

year of death? somebody has been mixing things up here

One of the best shots ever,

     A true inspiration
           Tom + Mo

I rate him as England's best ever centre-forward to date (yes, even above Rooney and Owen). I'm suprised no one mentioning Shearer breaking Jackie Milburn's record to become newcatsle's highest scoring forward ever though. Ondog 04:41, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Well, it is highly debatable rating Alan Shearer as Englands's best ever centre-forward. There were better players than him in the 1950s and 1960s who played for England. However, Shearer is definitely one of the best centre-forwards England has ever produced and perhaps the best ever player to play for Newcastle. --Siva1979Talk to me 16:41, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox

Do we keep the player infobox even though they've retired? Mark272 15:44, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

The template says to use infobox2 for retired players. So I'd change it over to that for now. - Motor (talk) 16:03, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
Done. Mark272 10:40, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Country of birth

Some people are changing it to United Kingdom rather than England. Which is correct, if any? Mark272 14:30, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

United Kingdom is correct: England isn't actually a country, in terms of "celebrity X was born in country Y". However, in terms of football, FIFA does consider it so (AIUI), so when talking in terms of "celebrity X played for his native Y" you'd say England. Does that make sense? fuddlemark (fuddle me!) 14:41, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
The division between Eng/Sco/Wa/NI is sharp (and heated!) in football... so I'd go with England. If nothing else, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham all use England (and those were the first ones I checked). It might be worth asking on the template talk page if you want a more authoritative answer though. - Motor (talk)

There shouldn't be a debate, he was born in England. Someone born in Sweden don't say they were born in Scandanavia. Alright, so it isn't exactly the same situation, but you get my point.


Correction: England IS a country. However, two parts of the UK (namely Wales and Scotland) are currently its only commonwealths. England, however, like NI, IS indeed its own country due to its founding of the UK itself (and NI entering much later on). i.e. the UK comprises Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but England is its own country. Besides, I'd never call myself 'British' - no way! English by the Grace of God! - Tom —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.148.69.84 (talk) 18:50, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Weasle Words

Saying that Shearer is "widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the history of the game" is a use of weasel words (see WP:AWW). I would suggest instead saying that he has been recognized with the honours of Footballer of the Year or the PFA Players' Player of the Year. Or mention that he was on the FIFA 100. I don't feel qualified to choose the best way of stating his qualifications; I've put a weasel tag in for that but it really isn't that big of a thing to change. 68.40.58.88 19:30, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Same user, forgot to sign on last time. There's another one under Blackburn and England saying "had arguably their greatest game as a partnership." Who argues this? When did they say it? Is it just a couple of fans in England? Then it isn't wikipedia material. Simply put context in. Crito2161 19:36, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Creosote to garden fence

Not looking for an edit here, can someone just explain why him celebrating this way is weird? Forgive me, i don't even know what creosote is.

As in, what is the back-story of this event?—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.178.33.100 (talk • contribs) .

Not true

After winning the Premiership, a myth arose that Shearer "celebrated" the title by going home and applying creosote to his garden fence.

He drove home, ran upstairs, threw his wife on the bed and ....hoovered where she'd been standing.

[edit] caretaker manager

i think that it's right to mention that shearer was joint caretaker manager of newcastle alongside glenn roeder from february to the summer. opinions?--Scott w 20:23, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Where is Gosforth?

ok originally i thought i was in the no on this topic and it was a part of Newcastle (WHICH IT IS), so why does this article say he's from Gosforth instead of Newcastle, shouldn't the article say Newcastle instead of going into tiny detail about this? if your going to go into detail, find out exactly where beardo and whatnot are from LUKE OUTCrabman123 19:15, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Middle name

User:80.41.18.121 has added a middle name of "Samuel". I am unable to verify this from any other source. Is this a fact? Daemonic Kangaroo 07:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe it is crap. See [1] RCS 08:15, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nicknames

"The Lion Of Gosforth", "Big Al", "Wor Al", "Legend", "The Worlds Greatest", "Big Bad Al", "The Goal Machine" - Are all these for real or is someone getting carried away? Daemonic Kangaroo 16:22, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

lol. I think these three: "Legend", "The Worlds Greatest" and "Big Bad Al"... although they are all very appropriate, are not commonly used as nicknames for Shearer. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.125.237.118 (talk) 08:40, 9 January 2007 (UTC).
"The Goal Machine" MUST feature as one of his nicknames. He was often if not constantly referred to as that during his days at Blackburn Rovers. The part of his career that basically made him! - Matt

[edit] Height

Different sources have slight variations on his height. Soccerbase[2] gives 6 ft 0 in whereas footballdatabase[3] gives 180 cm (which equates to approx 5 ft 11 in). My reference book agrees with the latter at 5 ft 11 in. Can any one give a definitive answer? Daemonic Kangaroo 18:18, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I see we have a joker

I note that someone has added a jokey section stating Alan Shearer may be gay on this webpage. I have tried to remove this section as I'm sure his wife and kids wouldn't agree, but this section seems to be hidden. Can anyone save Alan's reputation and remove this. It's above the section THE FUTURE. Mick4839 13:53, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Wife and Kids? as did Barrymore mate.. [unsigned]

[edit] Another Joker?

i see someone has put that alan shearer regrets not joining man u because he could have won more trophies! i think you will find that shearer has never said this and that he has actually said that although people pelieve it was the wrong decision he did things "my way". IZutam 19:02, 11 March 2007 (UTC)iZutam 11/03/2007ouch

[edit] "Balls of Steel"

Is this really relevent in the life of Alan Shearer?...

On an episode of Channel 4's hidden-camera prank show Balls of Steel, broadcast on 9 March 2007,The Annoying Devil was shown illuminating The Angel of the North at night with the phrase "Shearer is a Gay". It was later revealed that The Annoying Devil is a Middlesbrough fan.

A moment of idiocy on some lower-end TV show is hardly relevent to Alan Shearer's encyclopedia entry. If it has to be on Wikipedia anywhere it should be on the shows own article. - The Daddy 17:43, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Comment about Rooney and Ronaldo world cup comment

What shearer actually said was "I think there's every chance that Wayne Rooney could go back to the Manchester United training ground and stick one on Ronaldo because he hasn't helped him there" I don't interpret that as encouraging Rooney to "stick one on" Ronaldo, it's merely a prediction that he might. I just think this part of the article has twisted what he said to make out he encourages acts of violence.

[edit] International goals section

I'm guessing Score means the half-time score. It's not very clear. - Dudesleeper · Talk 10:29, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

  • No - this would be the score in the game as a result of his goal, if you know what I mean. Thus in the Luxembourg game, he scored three goals (25, 26 & 27). Daemonic Kangaroo 10:36, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
So what does the 2-0 in the Luxembourg row represent? - Dudesleeper · Talk 12:15, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
It depends on which Luxembourg game you mean - For goal 22, he scored the second of England's three goals. For the other, he scored the first, second and fourth of England's six goals. Clear now?  ;-) Daemonic Kangaroo 12:31, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
Oh, the summer heat's getting to me. Didn't see the other Luxembourg games first time around. That aside, there has to be a different way of presenting that information. I doubt I'll be the only person confused by it. - Dudesleeper · Talk 12:34, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Barclaycard merit award

I removed a line of text about this - "He was also awarded the Barclaycard Merit Award in 2002 for scoring his landmark 200th Premiership goal, against Charlton[1] at St James' Park on 20 April 2002.". There seems to be a mistake in this as the BBC reports Bobby Robson as winning it that year. Iain99Balderdash and piffle 10:48, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Intertoto Cup

Alan Shearer was not involved in Newcastle 2001 Intertoto Cup defeat to Troyes as he was injured for all of the games at the time. Also in reference to the Barclays Merit Award Shearer recieved one after the Charlton game, Bobby Robson also recieved one at the actual awards ceremony. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.66.175.71 (talk) 20:59, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Shearer's Total League Goals is 261

This article showed that Shearer scored a total of 260 goals. This is not correct. The discrepancy was in the number of goals scored in the 2001/2002 season. The table indicated the total number of goals was 23, but he in fact (according to the Newcastle United official site which lists all Shearers goals(http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ShearerGoalDetail/0,,10278~757279,00.html)) he in fact scored 24. The official Premier League website (http://www.premierleague.com/page/Statistics/0,,12306,00.html) confirms that Shearer scored 261 goals in his career, including 24 in 2001/2002.

Interestingly, the total number of goals scored in the season (27 goals) is accurate.

I have edited the page to reflect the correct information.Nickpullar (talk) 17:21, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

As far as I can see, the arithmetic is wrong. If you look at the 2001-02 results at [4], Shearer did score 27 goals in total but 4 of those were cup goals; 2 vs. Ipswich & 1 each vs. Palace and Peterborough. Thus, his league goals in 2001-02 were 23, not 24. This ties up with the totals at Soccerbase and www. allfootballers.com. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 20:31, 24 February 2008 (UTC)
There seems to be a problem with the stats at the Premier League website which clearly has Shearer as joint top scorer for 2001-02 with 24 goals, so I guess some more research is needed. Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 07:41, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
Premierleague.com has inaccurate totals for most of the top 10 Premiership goal-scorers. The sporting books section at any WH Smith's will have several reference works that state the record is 260 goals. Catchpole (talk) 17:14, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Violent conduct

Shearer was banned for violent conduct a few times and many players who went up against him complained about him leading with his elbow in challenges. Should this not be mentioned in the article?

When was he banned for violent conduct "a few times" as you say? He only ever got 2 red cards, one was rescinded and the other (from Rennie against Villa in 99) is widely regarded as being nonsense. I'm not saying he was an angel on the pitch, he liked to rough it up a bit, but he rarely took outside the laws of the game and certainly wasn't banned "on several occasions". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.201.138.238 (talk) 19:01, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Photo From Newcastle Section

Please don't use this photo as illustration and please stop adding it back.

As mentioned in the editing area it is not a representative picture. I have seen this photo added here before and it was deleted on numerous occasions because it is a photo of Shearer after missing an important penalty against Sunderland (Newcastle's local rivals).

I see we have a prankster claiming to be an NUFC fan who took this photo himself. But I'm guessing this is someone trying to "take the piss" and get this photo up there. This is a press photo, proof of this is that you can find the photo in Gettyimages' gallery.

Please do not undo its deletion, thank you. - MattM4

Thanks for finally explaining. - Dudesleeper / Talk 11:27, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
I don't see any reason to remove this photo, irrespective of who added it and why. If you don't think the photo is appropriate for wikipedia it should be deleted itself at the unwanted image desk. Simply removing it because you don't like it isn't on, there are precious few photos on wiki as it is, and it is a photo of Alan Shearer. MickMacNee (talk) 12:52, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
Two points: I don't want it deleted just because I don't like it, but because it isn't representative or "encyclopedic" at all. Plus this photo is NOT of private ownership as it claims to be. It is a known press photograph and therefore doesnt clear copyright anyway. - MattM4
Of course it is representative, it is a photo of Alan Shearer, unless it is your assertion he never missed a penalty - no photo can be removed on these vanity reasons. If it is of disputed origin, you need to file it at WP:PUI. I am reinstating it pending conclusion of the proper procedure for deleting disputed images. Do not remove it again, doing so will be treated as vandalism. MickMacNee (talk) 14:46, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
I've listed the image for deletion under copyright violation. As Matt stated, the image is owned by Getty Images (see here). - Dudesleeper / Talk 15:10, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
Good find. My general points still stand though, this isn't the way to remove images, the infringing image would have remained on wikipedia, still in violation. It's wierd how the small one is of worse quality then the original though, a sophisticated attempt or just a bad conversion? MickMacNee (talk) 15:25, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
Did you read my initial post Mick?? I listed it as belonging to Getty it's clearly a cropped version of the original AND couldnt have been taken from the stand listed in the description anyway. Dudesleeper was clever enough to look it up himself. My claim for it to be removed is valid for at least one of the reasons I cited. Why could you not acknowledge that? My other reason also stands and is not a vanity driven exercise. That specific photo was added in the sole purpose of spite AND it was removed in the past by Wiki people for the very same reasons! It isnt a random photo that would be representative it's of one specific event that is supposed to resume his whole tenure at Newcastle? Ridiculous. I'm glad Dudeslessper recognised the points I was making and didn't straight away assume I was trolling. MattM4
Neither here nor there, complaints that it is a bad photo because it is of a particlar event etc just do not stand up, that is absolutely not how it is done here, and the defence that others did it aswell don't hold much sway either. If it wasn't a copyvio problem, removal on these grounds would be a clear cut case of WP:IDON'TLIKEIT. It's a photo of Shearer, the article is about Shearer, end of. And as I said above, removing it from the article is not how we deal with copy infringements, so I am perfectly justified to revert. If you don't know how to do it yourself, you should have posted the info here without removing it. By simply removing it, wikipedia remains in violation of copyright. MickMacNee (talk) 16:48, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
I put forward the fact the photo is in copyright infringement and lay into me, a fellow editor points it out to you again, and it's "nice find!". Double standards. The fact others have removed it in the past DOES stand as it shows that for one reason or another it was in violation. Why is the photo still there if it has been established to be in violation? As long as it's gone I don't care how or why. MattM4
It's a nice find because Getty Images must have a million pics of Shearer. It is not yet established to be in violation, follow the links on the page for the procedure, it can/will be deleted when that process completes. It doesn't matter if a hundred people make the same edit if it has no grounds in policy, or common sense. Anyway, I'm not going to repeat the previous points, that's my last word, I'm done here. MickMacNee (talk) 17:20, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Career statistics

What's with the constant changing of this section? It is now missing subtotals, for example total appearances and goals for Southampton. There used to be that line in the previous version of the table, now it's gone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by MattM4 (talk • contribs) 14:59, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

So no one fancies totalling up the sections? Plus I think there are a few mistakes in there. I would if I knew how the tables worked on here. Have updated the site though: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/shearerm4/stats.shtml so it might be able to be used as a guideline. - MattM4 (talk) 14:22, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
I'm leaving it alone since nobody seems able to agree on the correct totals. - Dudesleeper / Talk 00:35, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I've now amended the table to include the club by club totals and to fix various errors. The table now agrees to both www.allfootballers.com and soccerbase. --Daemonic Kangaroo (talk) 05:02, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Nice one. Thanks for adding the sub totals. I added a goal you were missing (from Rovers 93-94 FA Cup). It's now perfect as far as I know. Only thing missing are the 8 games and 5 goals he managed in the Full Members Cup for Southampton, should they be in there somewhere? MattM4 (talk) 20:56, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pics

Was just wondering if anyone had any uncopyrighted pictures of the great man...??

It would help the page's presentation a fair bit. Besides, it makes me feel sick to look at other footballers on here who are no where near the calibre he set in the division!

Cheers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.148.69.84 (talk) 18:42, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

How did that photo of the Testimonial banner not clear by the way?
Wasn't it taken from a random person on the day? Was it because it was seen as a photo of a promotional poster or something? Or was it taken from a journo, therefore copyrighted? Because I have personal photos of that banner myself. MattM4 (talk) 12:10, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
I think the problem lay with the fact that the uploader was claiming it as their own work, when in actuality, the poster itself wasn't their own work. - Dudesleeper / Talk 19:10, 27 May 2008 (UTC)