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!!! NEWCASTLE UNITED!!! You´ll never walk alone!!!
Newcastle United F.C. ist ein englischer Fußballverein aus Newcastle upon Tyne. Der Verein wurde 1892 gegründet. Der Grund dafür waren die finanziellen Probleme der beiden Stadtteams "Newcastle East End" und "Newcastle West End".Das Team "East End", welches bei seiner Gründung Stanley hieß, zog quer durch die Stadt um sich im St. James Park, der Heimat von "Newcastle West End", niederzulassen. Die "Magpies" waren die dominierende Mannschaft in der Zeit vor dem 1. Weltkrieg. Damals gewannen sie die 3 Liga-Meisterschaften und den FA Cup im Jahre 1914. Mit Jackie Milburn, der damals einen legänderen Status errang, gewannen sie drei Mal den FA Cup in den 1950ern. 1969 gewannen sie den UEFA-Cup, mit einem 6 zu 2, gegen Ujpest Dozsa aus Ungarn. 1992, als die Toons in der Second Division (der zweiten Liga in England) spielten, wurde der frühere Magpie-Held Kevin Keegan Trainer. Seine Arbeit verhalf den Magpies zu einem "kick-start" und während seiner 5-jährigen Arbeit wurde Newcastle härtester Konkurrent von Manchester United im Titelrennen um den FA Premier League Titel. Als Sir Bobby Robson 1999 das Ruder übernahm, nutzte er den Antrieb der Keegan-Jahre und brachte Newcastle wieder unter die besten 4 in der Premier League im Jahre 2002. Sir Bobby Robson wurde in der Saison 04/05 nach 5 Spieltagen wegen Erfolgslosigkeit entlassen. Neuer Trainer wurde Graeme Souness. Doch auch er konnte nicht verhindern, dass die "Magpies" vorerst auf Mittelmaß gesunken sind. Zur Geschichte des WappensDie zwei Seepferde stellen Tynesides starken Anschluss an das Meer dar, während die Burg die Normannenherkunft der Stadt symbolisiert. Die Markierungsfahne ist dem Stadtkamm nachempfunden, eine Version des Kreuzes, die dem Kreuz von St. George ähnlich ist.Das Schild bedeutet das gestreifte Hemd der Vereins in den Vereinsfarben schwarz und weiß. In der Mitte der siebziger Jahre und nach den 80ern benutzte die Magpies zwei unterschiedliche Abzeichen eines modernen Designs auf ihrem berühmten Hemd, bevor sie das neue Wappen designten. Kader Saison 2005/06
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Abwehr
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Gegen Porthsmouth am 4.2.2006 schoss Alan Shearer (Nr. 9) sein 201. Tor für Newcastle und ist somit der alleinige Torschützenkönig von Newcastle United!
Und der größte Spieler aller Zeiten ist............ Alan Shearer!!!Alan Shearer (* 13. August 1970 in Newcastle upon Tyne) ist ein englischer Fußballspieler. Seit 1996 spielt er bei Newcastle United und war zuvor beim FC Southampton und bei den Blackburn Rovers aktiv. Shearer spielte insgesamt 63 Mal für die englische Nationalmannschaft und erklärte nach der Fußballeuropameisterschaft 2000 seinen Rücktritt aus dem Nationalteam. Im Jahr 2001 wurde er von der Queen zum OBE ernannt. Pelé setze ihn auf die Liste der besten 125 lebenden Fußballer. Die Saison 2004/2005 sollte laut Shearer seine letzte als Profifußballer sein, er ließ sich jedoch Ende der Saison von Fans, Freunden, Familie und Mannschaft überzeugen, noch eine Saison dranzuhängen. Alan Shearer hat bis einschließlich der Saison 2004/2005 für Southampton, Blackburn und Newcastle insgesamt 273 Tore in 525 Liga-Spielen erzielt.
Seine Biographie (Ist aber leider auf Englisch!) "All I'm interested in is playing football and enjoying it" "With Alan, you get exactly what you see; you get power, pace, aggression ... straight forward things. When he's face on with that goal you know he's gonna finish off with a shot." Alan was born on August 13th 1970, in Gosforth, a local council of Newcastle. Alan was and still is a mad Newcastle United fan, when his hero Kevin Keegan signed for the toon, Alan queued outside the stadium from 9 AM to see his debut against QPR. He never missed a game when Keegan was involved, who would soon become his hero and model. Very quickly Alan got involved with the Gosforth school team, where he always was the best player. Alan already had that winning attitude, he was the school captain. Problem was at Gosforth School they didn't have enough players so Alan had to play in midfield. He was one of those players who thought he could do everything and wanted to do everything, take corners, throwins, goal kicks etc ... Recognising Alan's talent, very quickly a teacher recommended he should try and play for a Boys team. Wallsend had a good reputation at the time and that's the team Alan joined. He first asked if he could train with them, but he soon became the major asset of the side. And then later went on to play for Cramlington Juniors for a year. Every person who has worked with Alan has been amazed with his maturity, he would never ask for other people to do things for him, even at a young age, he would always say things himself. Anyone involved with a boys team in the region, is bound to play a part and be in the sights of the Newcastle boys team, so Alan had one of his dreams come true when he got to wear that black and white kit. At the age of 13, Jack Hixon appeared in Alan's life. A north East scout at the time, Jack had noticed Alan's potential and would follow him around everywhere watching him play for Wallsend at the time then later for Cramlington and Newcastle boys. He very quickly took Alan under his wing and got full confidence from Alan's parents. The first thing that struck him about young Shearer was his maturity. Jack did his best to find breakthroughs for his young ace, and would do anything to help out, soon becoming a very close friend of the family. Even at career interviews Alan would say that he wanted to be a footballer. That's what he'd set his mind on, and he was ready to do anything to achieve it. And it's a good job he did, because he wasn't really interested in school work. Alan had a trial for Newcastle and could have signed for them being a Schoolboy player there already. Sadly he played in goal and the rumour says that Newcastle having only seen him in goal turned Alan down.
Travelling over 300 miles from the North East down to Southampton at only 15 years of age wasn't always easy for young Alan Shearer, luckely the Southampton youth coach, Dave Merrington, who was also from Newcastle, was very helpful and understanding. Southampton would always let the players go back for the weekend when times were hard. Aswell as forging their footballing skills, Southampton would train these young players and make them into men, developping characters. Alan always had what you could call a "positive" aproach to the game, and was never afraid to say what he thought, he was already a lot more mature than most of the boys there. Alan met Lainya during his time at Southampton. They were both 17 years old at the time, and met in a pub one evening. At the time, Lainya was earning more than Alan, so it's safe to say she didn't go for him because of the money. In his very first season, Alan did well for the youth team, scoring loads of goals, and Dave Merrington tried to fit Alan in the first team after only 12 months,because he was ready for it ! But it wouldn't happen yet. Alan's second season at Southampton was a mixture between playing for the youth team and playing for the reserves. And one day, the callup came, 9th April 1988. Southampton striker Danny Wallace had failed a fitness test that morning and as Alan was having lunch around about 12.30PM, Chris Nicholl, the Southampton manager came and told him he was IN ! Alan came out on the pitch that afternoon and made a name for himself in front of the whole nation. He scored his first Senior goal after only 5 minutes ... and famously went on to score a HAT TRICK, he was only 17 years and 240 days old... Alan's days as an apprentice were soon over after that, as he was called into Chris Nicholl's office a few days after the hat trick to sign his very first professional contract. Before long Alan and Lainya were living together in their own home. However Alan only played another 2 games after that in his debut season, not scoring any goals this time. His second season wasn't prolific either, stil in the shadow of the first team regulars, Shearer only played 8 games without scoring any goals. His third year, 89-90, was much more encouraging, Alan scored in his first appearance of the season, coming on as a sub against QPR. And later went on to score 5 goals in total. In September 1990 Shearer established himself in the first, this was his third season at the Dell. In all he played over 45 games and scored 14 goals. International recognition came along aswell: Alan was picked for the England Under 21 side to play in the Toulon tournament, where England won in the Final against France, Alan scored. He also picked the awards for top goal scorer and best player of the tournament. Shortly after that Lainya and Alan got married in Southampton. 1991/1992 was to be Alan's final season at the Dell. Under new manager, Ian Branfoot, he ended as the club's leading scorer with 21 goals in all competitions, playing a staggering 60 games. He also continued his good form for the Under 21s. But it wasn't long before he just couldn't be ignored anymore by the full England setup. Graham Taylor played him in a friendly against France at Wembley, and Alan scored on his full international debut, to put his country on the way to a 2-0 win. Taylor even selected Shearer in his squad for the Euro 92 finals in Sweden, but he only featured in one group game - a goalless draw against France - and England were eliminated at a disappointingly early stage. It was inevitable that everytime Alan went away on international duty he would catch the eye of coachin staff around the country. Ray Harford who had worked with Shearer at England under 21 level was now a Blackburn Rovers coach, and had been recommending Alan to the Rovers' board for quite some time. Blackburn soon started to make inquiries but at the time they were still in the old second division. In the summer of 92, Blackburn Rovers, who had just gained promotion under the guidance of Kenny Dalglish, had another inquiry to speak to Alan granted. Blackburn had become very ambitious and were armed with chaiman Jack Walker's unlimited finds. The deal involved a move for David Speedie going the other way. And Alan joined Blackburn for a total fee of £3.3 million, beating the British record. He was also offered terms by Manchester United but turned them down. Lainya was already 7 months pregnant at the time, and they all had to move up to Lancashire leaving the South coast where she had lived all her life. Alan's days as a Dell boy were over. When the Shearer family first got to Blackburn, the Dalglishes were very good to them and made them feel at home almost straight away showing them all the hot spots and nice places in the city. Lainya had just had Chloe for a week and the couple were in a rented home. Marina (Dalglish) went out of her way to help her settle. Alan's goal scoring record wasn't particularly good at Southampton and a lot of people doubted Shearer's ability and questioned the amount Rovers paid for his services. On top of that a lot of fans were very disapointed to see David Speedie, who had scored the goals that got Blackburn into the newly created Premierleague, go the other way. There was a lot of pressure on Alan to do well. All the way to the Christmas period, Shearer scored a total of 16 league goals for his new club including 5 braces. Such good form made him into an England regular scoring his second international goal in a 4-0 win over Turkey in a qualifier for the 1994 World Cup. But things came to a very sudden halt on Boxing Day 1992. Blackburn were playing Leeds at Ewood Park and were leading three goals to one. With ten minuted to go. Alan, who had already scored twice putting the game beyond the opposing side, was chasing a long ball up the pitch. He got caught in between a Leeds defender and their goalkeeper. Once the challenge was over, Shearer was left in a motionless heap just outside the penalty area, something was wrong. He was taken off and it was later revealed he had snapped his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He rested it for the following ten days, tried training, but it went once again. Shearer missed the remainder of the season for Blackburn and England having to watch World Cup qualifiers from home. 16 goals in the 21 games in which he did feature for the Rovers was an excellent record, the season ended sourly however, as it became clear England would fail to qualify for the World Cup. It was his very first test of character in professional football, but Alan had a great attitude and knew what the injury was, and knew he would be back. Once the Premierleague campaign got under way, Shearer was put on the bench and only given 20 minutes as a substitute, Dalglish wanted to slowly break him in. Four games in and the main man was back on the scoresheet again against Newcastle of all teams at St James' Park. Sure enough, two games after that Shearer was back in the starting eleven. Eventually, Shearer settled down at Blackburn and became the most feared goalscorer in the Premiership. He bagged an astounding 31 goals from 40 games in the 1993-4 season as the Rovers finished a close second in the table behind Manchester United. On top of that, Alan won the honour of Footballer of the Year for that season. He added three more goals to his England tally as well. After 42 league games, Blackburn Rovers were deservedly crowned Premiership champions but it was after a final day scare, an emotional final day full of drama for the East Lancashire club. Blackburn were away at Anfiled to play Liverpool while Manchester United were to play West Ham at Upton Park. United's nerves had started to show in midweek, when they needed a late Denis Irwin penalty to beat Southampton and ensure that the title race went to the wire. United needed a win on the final day and hope Blackburn didn't. Alan Shearer provided the first twist in the tale that day, putting Rovers 1-0 up from a Stuart Ripley low cross on 20 minutes. That event was briefly followed at Upton Park, although it was the Hammers who earned a shock lead as Michael Hughes finished to put the Red Devils temporarily out of the title picture to universal acclaim at Anfield, the Liverpudlians applauding at the prospect of their rivals fail to retain their hold on the championship. At the break, Rovers were in full control, but things would quickly change. An emotional Jack Walker was standing proud with a tear in his eye applauding his heroes. The team that Jack built had pulled off a great achievement and were champions of England. To the Premiership crown, Alan added the personal honours of top goalscorer and PFA Player of the Year for the 1994-5 campaign.
The next season, expectations were very high for Rovers to do well and it was hard for Blackburn to live up to them. They simply didn't win enough league or cup games in the first months of the season to be in contention again. Their Champions League campaign was a disapointment too, as they got knocked out in the group stages. The team pulled their socks up and played some great football from December onwards and rose up the table with only two other teams doing better. On a personal level, Alan won the golden boot once again scoring 31 goals in 35 games (including four hat-tricks) making him the first player to score 30 goals + in three consecutive seasons. For England however, Alan's strike rate had somewhat dried up with no goals in eleven games leading up to the 1996 European Championships. By 27th March 1996 when England played Bulgaria at Wembley, Alan's goal-less run stretched back 18 months. Shearer's hold on the England number nine was under serious threat as Les Ferdinand wore it against the Bulgarians with Teddy Sheringham playing in the usual support role. Alan also suffered a slight injury that would force him out of the last two Premierleague games of the season, nothing serious but if left unatended could keep out of Euro 96 too. A month later England played Croatia, and this time Robbie Fowler was up front with Sheringham, the game ended goal-less. On May 18th, England beat Hungary 3-0 in a friendly. Ferdinand was in the starting lineup, but failed to score before Shearer replaced him. At least Alan was back in action and when Terry Venables anounced the squad, Alan's name featured next to his beloved number nine. The proper preparations for Euro 96 started with a two-match tour of the Far East where things didn't go too smoothly. The players came home to a storm of criticism following poor performances, night club drinking and for Alan, the question: when will he score for England again? It had now been 21 months and 12 games in which Alan had failed to put the ball in the back of the net for his country. In that space of time he had managed over 60 goals for his club. The press were pushing for him to be dropped, but Venables kept faith in Shearer But as the game wore old, it became evident England weren't going to score again. As they were pushed further and further back, Switzerland eventually won a penalty and equalised. The press had some harsh words to say after the opening game, but Alan seemed finally exempt of any criticism. In the quarter finals, Spain were waiting. Two well organized defences came head to head and neither Alan nor Teddy managed to find a breakthrough. Even though England were somewhat outplayed by the Spaniards the game went all the way to a penalty shootout. The first one England had been involved in since that infamous night in Italy back in 1990. Alan stepped up first for his country beeting Zubizarreta with apparent ease. Seaman eventually saved Nadal's strike to send England into the semis. But just like against the Swiss, their early goal seemed to unsettle England more than their opponents and in the 16th minute, Kuntz equalised. Very little seperated the two sides after that all the way to the 90 minute mark. Once it came both teams were still locked one a piece. Extra time. The slightest mistake could now cost one of the sides the game, as the new Goalden Goal rule was applied. Even though England had more of the ball, they just couldn't make it count. The atmosphere was unbearable inside Wembley as the night settled over London. Anderton hit the post and Gazza came to within inches of winning it. Penalties once again. Alan stepped up first this time too, and his spot kick finished the same way his other two of the tournament did, emphaticaly in the back of the net. But for every succesful England penalty, the Germans had an answer of their own. Enventually Southgate missed his, whereas Andy Moller did not. England were out, the dream was over. The men dressed in grey had lost, but had earned the respect of a whole nation, and were now recognised as a dangerous side in international football. Alan Shearer finished Euro 96 top scorer with five goals in five matches; he was now the most feared striker in Europe. Euro 96 was to be a turning point in Alan's career. Putting his name on the international scene as one of the best strikers in the business. The world was now at his feet and there wasn't a club anywhere that didn't want him on their side. But only a few could actually afford him. After a great Euro 96, Alan had become one of the most famous strikers in England and in the world. He finished top scorer in the tournament spearheading England to the semi finals.
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But Shearer got off to a great start with his new team mates who were pleased to see he was willing to give 100% all the time. And once the season got under way, the Rovers fans had a new hero; Alan scored twice on his full debut, a 3-3 at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.
Sure enough, the following summer, Shearer was back in full training. Blackburn went to Ireland for a preseason tour and Kenny Dalglish decided it was right to include him in the squad. Alan was put on the bench and was told not to expect to be playing straight away. But with ten minutes to go in their first game of the tour, Kenny put Alan on, and even though there was only ten minutes left, he managed to score twice.
The summer that followed, Blackburn signed young striker Chris Sutton for £5 million from Norwich City. Shearer continued from where he had left off the previous campaign, and with Sutton formed a deadly partnership that was known as the SAS. From 42 games, Alan scored a phenomenal 34 goals. In the previous season, Blackburn were always chasing behind Man Utd, but this time round they were top of the league from November onwards. They should probably have sealed the Premierleague title with five or six games to go, but as Blackburn hadn't won anything for a long time, the pressure got to the players. And everything came down to the last day of the season.
Brian McClair squeased in an early second half equaliser for Man Utd, and on 64 minutes and equaliser came at Anfield too as John Barnes put the home side level. Nerves started to show on Merseyside and in East London as both title contenders missed golden opportunities to take the lead. As time was running out, the news came in that ManUtd, amidst all their efforts had failed to beat the Hammers. Jamie Redknapp even curled in a late winner for Liverpool, but even though Blackburn had lost this battle, they had won the war. Unbelievable scenes followed on Merseyside as players hugged each other as the game continued and Kenny Dalglish was congratulated by Scousers all around.
8th June 1996, when the day finally came, England kicked off the European Championships at Wembley against Switzerland. Even though the home nation were firm favourites to win the opening fixture, they seemed tense and anxious and couldn't really cut through a compact Swiss side. Then almost out of the blue, Paul Ince played a perfect through ball that Alan latched on to. Surely enought he hit it with great power and accuracy past the Swiss keeper almost as if to prove to the whole nation they shouldn't have doubted him.
A victory in the following game against the old enemy Scotland was now crucial. The first half ended goal-less, but Shearer stood up to be counted for once again after the break when young full back Gary Neville floated a cross over to the far post. Alan stooped low and got onto the end of it slotting the ball into the back of the net. England went on to win 2-0 in a famous victory helped on the way by a crucial penalty save by David Seaman and a classic goal by Paul Gascoigne. Avoiding defeat in the final group game would secure England's place in the second round. The victory against Scotland really put the press and the fans on the team's side. The whole nation started to believe they could go all the way, 30 years after the 1966 World Cup.
The Dutch were up next, a side not to be underestimated. What happened that day in the Wembley sunshine of June 18th 1996 will live long in England fans' memories. Shearer and Sheringham had arguably their greatest game as a partnership, as the home nation turned on the style to thrash the Dutch 4-1. From the start England dominated proceedings and were all over the park. On 23 minutes Ince was brought down by veteran Dutch defender Danny Blind in the penalty area, up stepped Shearer to score his third goal in as many games. Sheringham made it 2-0 after the break and then set up Alan for a classic collective goal. The ball went from McManaman to Gascoigne to Sheringham to Shearer who hit it first time past a helpless Van der Sar, Alan's goal droubt had turned into a flood. Sheringham added another before Kluivert reduced the deficit. The new SAS (Shearer and Sheringham) were brought off by Venables to huge applause and singing of "Football's coming home". England finished top of their group. With four goals in three games, Alan was now attracting attention to himself from all over the globe he was the country's new found hero.
England versus Germany, a game worthy of the final. But only one of the two sides would advance. Played at a frantic pace, it was a top encounter of two footballing nations. The home team were wearing their special grey away kit on the day. Shearer gave England the perfect start when he headed them in front after three minutes from a well worked corner kick.