‘I don’t like nasty people’ - Roy Keane renews Newcastle United rivalry with ‘sneaky’ Alan Shearer dig
Alan Shearer and Roy Keane had one of the Premier League’s most famous spats in September 2001.
Roy Keane has ranked Harry Kane as a better striker than Newcastle United legend Harry Kane.
As long as the current England captain stays at Bayern Munich, Shearer’s all-time Premier League goalscoring record remains safe. However, there has been talk of Kane potentially returning to Tottenham Hotspur next summer.
He will turn 33 and need 48 goals to surpass a record Shearer has held for 98 per cent of the Premier League’s existence. Many believe the Toon icon’s record will stand forever - but Kane returning to England could change that stance.
Jamie Carragher makes Harry Kane case
Speaking on The Overlap, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher cited Kane’s better record for England. He also suggested that, like Shearer, the 32-year-old never played for the “best” team in the league.
“His numbers are far better at international level,” Carragher said. “He’s been a top goalscorer at a World Cup, he’s gone abroad and is playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and is absolutely smashing the records to bits. He’s played for Tottenham, who’ve never been the best team, and his record in the Premier League is as good as Shearer’s.”
‘Shearer was sneaky’ - Roy Keane
Former nemesis Keane - who infamously got sent off at St James’ Park in 2001 after a spat with Shearer - agreed with Carragher. He added: “Shearer was sneaky, sneaky elbows. I didn’t admire people who were nasty, I don’t like nasty people.
“He was nasty, with sneaky elbows in the back of the head. (Eric) Cantona, (Andy) Cole, all these strikers that I played with weren’t sneaky, (they were) good honest pros.”
Alan Shearer reaction to Roy Keane incident
Take a trip through time 24 years ago, when Shearer spoke post-match about Keane’s red card. In words that may seem alien to modern-day, the Newcastle skipper admitted to time-wasting.
"I've got the utmost respect for Roy Keane,” Shearer said. “He epitomises everything about the game, he doesn't like losing - and rightly so - but that's what makes him such a great player.
"Sometimes he loses his temper but if you took that away he wouldn't be the player he is and I admire him for that. I didn't want to get involved, I was just trying to be professional and waste a bit of time, but that's football.”