Style of Play
As a player, Shearer was often styled as a classic English centre-forward, owing to his strength, physical stature, heading ability and strong shot. Of his 206 Newcastle goals, 49 were scored with his head. Earlier in his career, especially at Southampton, Shearer played a more creative role; providing chances for fellow strikers, and making runs into space, owing to his early development as a midfielder. Later on in his career, Shearer played a more forward role; his age meant that he lost much of the pace which served him on the south coast. Able to hold the ball up well, he also functioned as a target man, providing balls for other players. Although his strength allowed him to hold on to the ball, his playing style sometimes brought him criticism; most commonly that his play was too physical, and that he used his elbows too aggressively; it was this which contributed to both of his sendings off, although one was later rescinded on appeal. As well as the two red cards, Shearer received 59 yellow cards during his career.
Shearer was noted as a proficient penalty taker for both club and country, and he scored 45 times from the spot for Newcastle, where he was the first-choice taker. He also scored 5 goals from free-kicks for the north-east club.
Read more about this topic: Alan Shearer
Famous quotes containing the words style of, style and/or play:
“Each child has his own individual expressions to offer to the world. That expression can take many forms, from artistic interests, a way of thinking, athletic activities, a particular style of dressing, musical talents, different hobbies, etc. Our job is to join our children in discovering who they are.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)
“The most durable thing in writing is style, and style is the most valuable investment a writer can make with his time. It pays off slowly, your agent will sneer at it, your publisher will misunderstand it, and it will take people you have never heard of to convince them by slow degrees that the writer who puts his individual mark on the way he writes will always pay off.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“I’ve come close to matching the feeling of that night in 1944 in music, when I first heard Diz and Bird, but I’ve never got there.... I’m always looking for it, listening and feeling for it, though, trying to always feel it in and through the music I play every day.”
—Miles Davis (1926–1991)