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| Alan Shearer statue unveiled at St James' Park | Alan Shearer statue unveiled at St James' Park |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A statue to "properly recognise" the career of Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has been unveiled outside St James' Park. | A statue to "properly recognise" the career of Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has been unveiled outside St James' Park. |
| Shearer attended the ceremony earlier and said he especially liked the 9ft 6ins (2.89m) tall statue because "it has hair". | Shearer attended the ceremony earlier and said he especially liked the 9ft 6ins (2.89m) tall statue because "it has hair". |
| The £250,000 brass statue, paid for by the family of ex-chairman Freddy Shepherd, was kept under wraps since it was put in place on Friday. | The £250,000 brass statue, paid for by the family of ex-chairman Freddy Shepherd, was kept under wraps since it was put in place on Friday. |
| Newcastle United has not commented. | Newcastle United has not commented. |
| Hundreds turned out to watch Shearer and Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Hazel Stephenson, unveil the statue, which shows his famous one hand in the air goal celebration. | Hundreds turned out to watch Shearer and Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Hazel Stephenson, unveil the statue, which shows his famous one hand in the air goal celebration. |
| Shearer said: "I'm very proud and honoured to be stood here with this statue. | Shearer said: "I'm very proud and honoured to be stood here with this statue. |
| "When I come down this road seeing it will make me immensely proud. It is here because I enjoyed playing football." | "When I come down this road seeing it will make me immensely proud. It is here because I enjoyed playing football." |
| Earlier the ex-player Tweeted to jokingly suggest the statute was for Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah, who had raised his arm "Shearer-style" as he won the Great North Run for the first time on Sunday. | |
| The former England captain, now a BBC pundit, joined the club in 1996 for a then-record breaking £15m and went on to score 206 goals in 10 years, before becoming manager in 2009. | The former England captain, now a BBC pundit, joined the club in 1996 for a then-record breaking £15m and went on to score 206 goals in 10 years, before becoming manager in 2009. |
| Shearer career | |
| Mr Shepherd said the statue would honour the striker's "unique career". | Mr Shepherd said the statue would honour the striker's "unique career". |
| He said: "It is now 10 years since he retired and our family decided that fans shouldn't have to wait any longer for his unique career to be properly recognised." | |
| Former Blackburn Rovers and Southampton star Shearer scored 148 goals in 303 games for Newcastle - although won no silverware with the club. | |
| Northumberland artist Tom Maley spent almost six months casting the structure. |