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he used his elbows too aggressively; it was this which contributed to both of his sendings off, although one was later rescinded on appeal.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.
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