 I do not remember
much about my first meeting with Alan Shearer. He was one
of around 500 soccer-mad kids who attended a fun day at
Newcastle United when I was a player there. The picture
taken of us together shows him as a typical bright-yeed,
freckle-faced youngster shows him as crazy about football
in general and Newcastle in particular. I am afraid that,
even if he had shown the most outstanding ability on that
occasion, he would have gone unnoticed because there were
so many lads there. The next time I saw him, he was
rather different. I was playing for a Southampton Old
Boys Eleven against the current team in a benefit match
at the Dell for a former colleague. Steve Mills, who died
under tragic circumstances. Alan was a young appertice, a
gangly teenager full of energy and enthusiasm, and when
he came on as a substitute he was obviously out to
impress Saints manager Chris Nicholl who was on the other
side. Chris had other ideas and tried to kick lumps out
of his trainee striker. If my memory serves me correctly,
Chris came off second best that night. My early
impressions of Alan still hold true today. He was busy
and bustling and always on look-out for a goal. I made a
mental note of the name. 'Alan Shearer,' I thought. 'He's
a strong and gutsy youngster who could make a big name
for himself.'
Kevin Keegan Alan Shearer: My Day As The Dell Boy; PART ONE [ MAIN PAGE | SHEARER INDEX ] |
