July 27 – Shearer Breaks Transfer Fee Record (The First Time)

While Dario Gradi’s academy at Crewe Alexandra is rightly lauded as having been something of a production line for footballing talent over the years, Southampton is another club that have produced their fair share of top players.

In recent years Wayne Bridge, Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott have all been brought through the ranks by the south coast club. These young guns are merely following in a long tradition of Southampton talent – Mick Channon, the Wallace brothers, and of course Matthew Le Tissier also learned their trade at the Dell.

It was on this day in 1992 that Alan Shearer, another graduate of Southampton’s youth set up, was sold to big spending Blackburn Rovers for a then British record fee of £3.6m.

Shearer was another player overlooked by his hometown club – he was famously played in goal on a trial at Newcastle United (boy was that going to cost them). This resulted in his long-distance move to Saints where he flourished under Dave Merrington’s academy tutelage.

On Shearer’s full debut in 1988, he had fans and the media marvelling with a hattrick against Arsenal at the Dell. At the age of 17 years and 240 days, he broke the record for the youngest player to score a hattrick in top-flight football, held for more than thirty years by Jimmy Greaves.

Playing in a forward line with Le Tissier and Rod Wallace, Shearer continued to impress and in 1991 he became a regular in the England under 21 team, and won the Saints fans’ player of the year award.

Shearer also found the net in his full England debut in 1992 and was in the Euro 92 squad, although he only made one appearance at the finals.

Meanwhile, up in Lancashire, millionaire Jack Walker was pumping money into his beloved Blackburn, as well as installing Kenny Dalglish as manager.

The club won the 1992 play-offs to clinch a place in the newly formed Premier League, and Dalglish was able to splash Jack Walker’s cash to ensure success, with Shearer, who turned down an offer from Alex Ferguson to join Manchester United, his flagship signing.

Blackburn went on to sign Chris Sutton from Norwich and the SAS (Shearer and Sutton) partnership delivered the Premiership title on the last day of the 1994/95 season, beating Manchester United to the trophy. That turned out to be the only trophy Shearer won in his 17 seasons as a player.

Shearer would stay at Blackburn until 1996 when he again broke the transfer fee record when Kevin Keegan took him to his hometown club Newcastle United, but that, as they say, is another story.