Shearer: The Man Who Almost Walked Away From Newcastle
Alan Shearer is the kind of name that makes Geordies stand to attention — Premier League record scorer, title-winner with Blackburn and a figure carved in stone outside St James’ Park. But even icons have near-miss moments, and Shearer has opened up about one period at Newcastle when he very nearly packed his boots because of a cold relationship with manager Ruud Gullit.
Bad vibes from the off
Shearer says the pair did not click from the moment they met. According to his recollection, Gullit’s early gestures and team selections left him feeling sidelined, and he quickly took the view that the Dutchman would rather see him out than in. That is not small talk — this was the club’s talisman, having already proven himself in the Premier League, feeling pushed to one side by the new boss.
The derby that changed everything
It all came to a head in the opening Tyne-Wear derby of the 1999/2000 season. Shearer was named on the bench while a relatively unheralded Paul Robinson started in his place — a selection that ruffled feathers, not least because Robinson was known to be a Sunderland fan. Newcastle lost 2-1 and Gullit’s position evaporated within days.
Shearer now admits that if Newcastle had won that game, the repercussions might have been the opposite — Gullit could have stayed, and Shearer believes he would have left Tyneside, which would have rewritten the club’s history.
What that would have meant
Think about it: no 206 goals for Newcastle, no statue, no Barrack Road snapshot of triumph. Shearer’s Newcastle career — ten years, 405 appearances, 206 goals and 58 assists — would have looked very different. He finished his final season in 2005/06 still banging in Premier League goals (10 that campaign) and even scored in his last outing, a 4-1 triumph at Sunderland. The man who could have left is instead immortalised.
Gullit’s managerial path after Newcastle
Gullit didn’t return to English management after he departed St James’ Park — he stepped away for almost five years before taking the Feyenoord job in 2004. That spell didn’t last long; his tenure there was brief, and subsequent stints at LA Galaxy and Terek Grozny were similarly short-lived. It serves as a reminder that sometimes headline-grabbing appointments don’t translate into stability.
Final word from a pundit’s perch
As a bit of a doyen watching from the terraces, you can’t help but savour the irony. Football is full of twists — managerial ego, squad politics and little moments that steer careers. Shearer’s anecdote is a case study in how one selection in one derby can flip the narrative. For Newcastle, fortune smiled. For the man himself, staying put delivered a legacy many clubs only dream of.
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Whether you’re a purist who remembers the Blackburn title or a Geordie who lives and breathes Newcastle, this is one of those behind-the-scenes vignettes that remind you how fragile sporting narratives can be. Shearer might have been driven to the exit by a manager he couldn’t warm to, but instead he stayed, and the rest is history.
