Alan Shearer isn’t in imminent danger of losing his status as the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer.The legendary English striker netted a remarkable 260 Premier League goals for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.Former Manchester United strikers Wayne Rooney and Andy Cole are second and third on the list with 208 and 187 goals, respectively. The only active strikers who stand a realistic chance of coming close to Shearer’s long-standing record are Tottenham’s Harry Kane (currently on 168 Premier League goals) and Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku (116 goals).Shearer’s record is even more impressive when you consider that he scored 23 goals for Southampton in the old First Division prior to the Premier League’s inaugural season in 1992.The former England international could score all types of goals: penalty box tap-ins, long-range screamers, headers, volleys, lobs… you get the picture.
He was also a magnificent dead-ball specialist. As well as being incredibly reliable from the penalty spot, Shearer could also take a mean free-kick.His favourite type of free-kick was when the ball was rolled to him and he could smash it first time. Few players in Premier League history have possessed a harder shot than Shearer.
Alan Shearer: Master of the indirect free-kick
It’s no surprise, then, that the prolific centre-forward was also a master of the increasingly uncommon indirect free-kick.
Even with all 11 players back on the goal-line, Shearer still managed to find the back of the net with an indirect free-kick against West Brom in the early-2000s.
It appeared to be an almost impossible situation to score from. Shearer was seven or eight yards from goal and had very little space and time to produce the perfect strike.
“Find a way through that, Alan Shearer,” said the commentator on ‘The Premiership’ - the now-defunct highlights programme that ITV broadcast when they briefly had the Premier League rights.
Nolberto Solano teed Shearer up and Newcastle’s iconic No. 9 did the rest, blasting the ball past the wall of bodies and into the back of the net.
Video: Shearer's indirect free-kick goal vs West Brom
Watch Shearer’s brilliant indirect free-kick here:
Video: Shearer's indirect free-kick goal vs Georgia
He scored from a similar indirect free-kick several years earlier while playing for England against Georgia at Wembley in 1997.
When Teddy Sheringham rolled the ball back to his strike partner with a back-heel, Shearer fired the ball into the back of the net with typical power and precision.
A truly great goalscorer and a scorer of truly great goals.
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