'very guilty' - alan shearer confession on brutal nufc call that cost pal job

THE MAGPIES LEGEND CAUGHT UP WITH CHRONICLE LIVE ALONGSIDE FORMER MEDICAL GURU PAUL FERRIS TO TALK ABOUT THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF LIFE AT BENTON 16:00, 03 Jun 2025Updated 20:13, 03 Jun 2025

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has admitted he felt "very, very guilty" after effectively cutting the law career of one of his most trusted allies short. The legendary No 9

admits that amid all the pandemonium and hype of his record-breaking £ 15million move from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle, he barely knew anybody other than Rob Lee in the Toon dressing room

back in 1996. It's a void that was filled by former physio and criminal barrister Paul Ferris who says his first meeting with the club's all-time scorer and then England superstar

was to check his testicles ahead of his hush hush medical during that epic transfer deal which is still spoken about to this day! But Ferris knows the back story of Shearer's career and

encapturing the pair's relationship in the brilliant must-read new book Once Upon A Toon, the two friends' relationship is explored further. It says it all that when Ferris, who

broke on to the scene at St James' Park as a raw youngster from Northern Ireland in a career cruelly cut short by injury, sent Shearer the transcript of his third book, the 206 goal

United star said it all read fine, then didn't read it! We're standing in the reception area of the Live Theatre on the Newcastle Quayside on Broad Chare. Just along the big river,

the Tyne Bridge is being painted with new green paint hailed by city council chiefs for its durability. The same could be said for Shearer and Ferris' friendship because it has now

stood the test of time, and as the ex-England skipper confesses there have been moments which have pressurised without causing damage to the relationship. The truth is the duo have stood

through all weathers and remain tight, even if they don't see each other every day now. Shearer, Ferris and Sir Bobby Robson's former assistant John Carver are all stood enjoying

an end of season moment and a well deserved drink together. Shearer has just completed another season as the country's leading pundit on radio and TV, Carver has just kept Lechia Gdańsk

in the Polish top-flight and Ferris has just finished his latest book. Article continues below Things could have been different for everybody in the room but it seems to have worked out

rather well. Back in 2009, Shearer answered a call from Mike Ashley to try to save the Magpies from the drop with just eight games to go and a broken squad, Ferris would join him and quit

his job as a barrister after years of training. Despite relegation, there wasn't a fan who didn't think Shearer was the man to lead Newcastle back to the promised land after a

summer refresh. At that time, Shearer had Ferris standing with him as the club's new medical room supremo as he looked to solve the Magpies' injury crisis. An Evening Chronicle

front page screamed: "Give him the job" as fans voted overwhelmingly to keep Shearer in the post. But only one person seemed to disagree in the shape of managing director Derek

Llambias who told Ashley to not only park the idea of giving Shearer the job but put the club up for sale. Shearer was big enough to rise above the situation and focus on his role as pundit,

but Ashley and co didn't stop there, refusing to accommodate the former striker's statue and also hauling down his name from the supporter's club bar! For Shearer, he moved

on quickly but admits that he felt bad for Ferris. Speaking after appearing on stage with Ferris in front of a select audience, Shearer told Chronicle Live: "When I met Paul in 1996, it

started then. We have always stayed regularly in touch and in 2009 I pulled him out of his law career to get him back to Newcastle. "I pulled him out of his law career after five or

six years, and when we didn't get the job, I felt very, very guilty. I played a small part in him getting the job at Speedflex and he's CEO there now and it makes me feel a bit

better." Ferris never held a grudge and remained pals with Shearer. The journey they had been on - documented in the book - had been over many a rocky road during Shearer's

devastating injury in 1997, Kevin Keegan's departure as boss and the ugly public fall out with Ruud Gullit. Shearer's relationship with the Dutchman who dropped him has been

patched up since then, while his relationship with the club is cordial once again after a period of being unwelcome under Ashley following some honest reviews of the club's performance.

For Ferris, his connection with the club will always be there, but it left a sour taste in the mouth when big plans in 2009 were consigned to the trash can by Ashley. With Ashley gone,

Ferris says: "I am a footnote, really. The club is important to me because I spent 18 years of my life there. "I live here because of that stadium, my granddaughter was born here,

she wouldn't exist without that stadium. The club means everything to me. I don't need to be there every day, it'll always be part of me." The truth is we'll never

know what would have unfolded has Shearer stayed but the reality is that the Magpies would have been promoted anyway in 2010. Shearer would have probably encountered the same petty political

issues that Chris Hughton, Alan Pardew, Carver, Steve McClaren and Rafa Benitez did after it, but the club would have been in good hands. Regardless of what may have been, Ferris was

somebody that was vital to the intended journey. Shearer talks about trust again and said: "There is trust and he was also very, very good at his job. "But the trust thing (when

appointed manager), I needed somebody who could stand alongside me who would have my back. "I knew Ferra would, he's a great lad. Trust is a big thing in football and in life, I

was 25 when I came back to Newcastle and I genuinely didn't know anyone other than Rob Lee from England duties. "Paul was the first guy that I came across other than Kevin Keegan.

I had my medical and instantly thought: 'I like this guy, he's nice'. "And it started then, and we are still great friends, and we have got on well since then. He's

a great human being; that's why we're all here, and we all get on with him. "Paul is as honest as they come, a genuine guy and a great friend, we got on from the outset.

Physios are your support network, especially when you have a long term injury and everybody is going out to train with you stuck with the physios. "You have to strike up a relationship

with him. He has to hear all the good things from you and the bad things, and vice versa. "We struck up a great friendship and got on really well. We take the p*** out of each other and

we can go and have a pint, a laugh and a joke but we trust each other." Ferris reflects on 2009 in a positive manner and when it is put to him that Newcastle's promotion would

have happened anyway a year later, he told me: "Absolutely, it would have." The former physio then said: "I think Chris Hughton did a great job. But Alan would have done an

equally good job given the chance. There's no doubt in my mind that Alan would have gone on to be a brilliant manager. "And I still think that now. "Alan to me is not Alan

Shearer, superstar, he stopped being that to me a very long time ago. "He is Alan, the friend, I haven't seen him for six months, but when I do see him, it's like I saw him

the day before." After Ferris the footballer, the physio, the barrister and of course the Speedflex CEO, it still takes the Lisburn-born 59-year-old to get used to his latest role as an

author. His body of work is reflected across all three of his books. Ferris said: "What I wanted this book to be was incredibly light-hearted, maybe a surprising read for people

reading about the 1980s who weren't there to think: 'That sort of thing really happened?' "The Boy in the Shed is very emotive, the second book (The Magic in the Tin) is

also emotive, so I just wanted this to be a light-hearted look at the football club. "Maybe stories on people that you may have forgotten about, but light-hearted was the aim. I never

expected to write books, but I find myself in a very unique position. Nobody knows who you are really, apart from the diehard fans. "But I was a player there for five years during an

interesting period when Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle were all there. Then I was there when Kevin was there has boss, Kenny Dalglish, Ruud Gullit and Sir Bobby Robson.

"It was an amazing period - and then in the room with Alan Shearer when he came back as manager. It is pretty interesting for me." Shearer agrees and reckons it makes the perfect

gift this Father's Day, he said: "It's a great present for father's day. A donation from the book launch goes to the Alan Shearer Foundation, I didn't ask for that

so it was a nice touch from him." But the final word goes to Ferris and as he signs copies of the new book while chatting he said: "When the Boy in the Shed was released, one

review said: 'You might not have heard of this fella, but he's pushed himself forward with this book.' "I never in any stage of my life considered myself a writer, and I

find it difficult to say I'm an author. But I think I am." Article continues below Like his previous two books, Once Upon A Toon has the ability to make you laugh and cry in places

- a black and white roller-coaster that fans will enjoy. It's just a great read, and if you love Newcastle United and love reading, you'll love this. The book is now available on

Amazon and can be purchased here.