Alan Shearer stands ground after Gary Lineker's Man Utd question on the BBC
Alan Shearer has once again defended his decision to snub Manchester United after being quizzed by Gary Lineker live on the BBC.
Shearer was front and centre of the BBC’s coverage of Blackburn vs Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday night. And with an extra 15 minutes to fill after kick-off was delayed, Lineker decided to ask Shearer about his career choices.
The Geordie goal machine famously avoided joining a so-called ‘big’ club, instead preferring to play for Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle. After choosing Rovers over United, he won the Premier League title in 1994/95 before leaving to plunder 206 goals in 405 appearances for his hometown club, rather than joining Sir Alex Ferguson ’s trophy-winning machine.
Lineker said: “People often say ‘why didn’t you go to Manchester United, you would have won loads of stuff there’. You’ve often said to us that you wouldn’t swap it.”
Shearer immediately shook his head and replied: “I don’t really care about whether people believe it or not. I’m telling you how it is, if I had the same decision to make again now, I’d do exactly the same again.
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“I had 10 unbelievable years there, it’s my club, my hero was Kevin Keegan, I used to go and watch him. So to go and score goals at St James’ Park was my dream, so to have the record, the statue there, and to have everything I’ve got in Newcastle, I wouldn’t swap that for the world.”
Shearer held talks with Ferguson over a move from Blackburn to United, but Keegan managed to sway him towards Newcastle in the end, sealing a £15million transfer. Writing in ‘In A Will to Win’, his diary of the 1996/97 season, Ferguson admitted that he was “‘sick and angry” about missing out on Shearer, who had just scored 112 goals in 138 Premier League games for Blackburn.
Alan Shearer doesn't regret joining Newcastle instead of Manchester United (Shaun Botterill/Allsport/Getty Images)He never won a trophy with Newcastle, twice finishing as runner-up in the FA Cup, but he finished his career in 2006 as the club’s top goalscorer and holds the Premier League’s all-time record of 260 goals. "I am more than happy with my decision,” Shearer said on the Rest is Football podcast last year. “If I had the same decision to make again, I would do exactly the same thing. I loved my 10 years at Newcastle, despite us not winning anything. I wouldn't change anything.”
Shearer was pleased with the result on Tuesday night, having nailed his colours to the mast before kick-off. Newcastle could only draw 1-1 with Championship side Blackburn, but came through on penalties thanks to two saves from Martin Dubravka.
Anthony Gordon gave Newcastle the lead in the 71st minute from a cut-back, but a mistake by Jamal Lascelles helped Sammie Szmodics equalise soon after and neither side could get a winner in extra-time. Dubravka then saved from Szmodics and Rovers captain Dom Hyam to put Eddie Howe’s side into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
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