Shoot! would like to wish former England striker Alan Shearer many happy returns as he celebrates his 47th birthday this evening.

The Newcastle United legend, who also starred for Southampton and Blackburn Rovers beforehand, earned 63 international caps for The Three Lions during his playing career, netting 30 times for his country.

Nowadays, Shearer is a familiar face on the BBC’s Match of the Day, although he did have a brief managerial stint as well after hanging up his boots back in 2006 – more on that later!

Shoot! is paying tribute to the Geordie legend by putting together five of his most defining moments of his Career in Pictures.

Shearer; who was in fact born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, joined The Magpies in July 1996, going onto score 206 goals in 404 appearances in all competitions for the club.

To celebrate Shearer’s latest milestone, here is his Newcastle United Career in Pictures…

World Record Arrival

Despite strong interest from Manchester United, Newcastle United completed a world record £15m deal to sign striker Shearer from Blackburn Rovers back in July 1996.

The rest, they say, is history.

During his debut campaign under manager Kevin Keegan, the forward finished as the Premier League’s top goalscorer for a third successive season with 25 strikes to his name, as well as being crowned PFA Player of the Year.

However, Shearer’s prolific form didn’t stop Manchester United finish seven points clear of runners-up Newcastle to lift the league title.

High Fives

Shearer scored five times during Newcastle United’s 8-0 hammering of rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday at St James’ Park, making it a dream start to Sir Bobby Robson’s reign.

Further strikes from Aaron Hughes, Kieron Dyer and Gary Speed completed the rout.

European Europhia

The 2002-03 campaign saw Newcastle United return to the UEFA Champions League. What will be most remembered is Shearer’s phenomenal hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen, sealing a 3-1 home win, which kept the hosts’ hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive.

The Toon Army lost their first three fixtures in the first group stage, before recovering with three successive victories to progress into the second stage, before the likes of FC Barcelona and Inter Milan proved too strong.

However, Newcastle did improve significantly domestically, finishing third in the Premier League, with Shearer netting 17 times in 35 games.

Record Retirement

Having already reversed his decision to retire from the ‘Beautiful Game’ back in 2005, the following season proved to be his final one, as injury ultimately curtailed his illustrious career.

Shearer scored 13 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions that term, breaking Jackie Milburn’s 49-year-old record of 200 goals for Newcastle United.

However, on April 17, 2005; with just three games remaining of the campaign, Shearer suffered a tear to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the 4-1 victory over arch-rivals Sunderland, in which he scored his final (206th) goal for the club.

The injury brought forward his retirement.

Shearer still remains the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer with 260 strikes overall, including his spells with Southampton and Blackburn.

Relegation Woes

On April 1, 2009, Newcastle United legend Shearer was surprisingly officially announced as the manager of his former club for the remaining games of the 2008-09 Premier League season.

Succeeding fellow temporary boss Chris Hughton, whilst permanent manager Joe Kinnear was recovering from heart surgery, Shearer was in charge of leading The Magpies’ survival bid, with the club two points adrift of safety with just eight matches left.

Shearer over saw one league victory as boss, a 3-1 home win over fellow strugglers Middlesbrough, but five defeats in their final eight games ultimately saw Newcastle head towards the Championship, as their final day 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa saw The Magpies relegated alongside Boro and West Brom.

The forward was not offered the managerial job on a full-time basis, with Hughton stepping back up from his coaching duties the following campaign, leading them to the Championship title at the first attempt.