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Top 20 England players of all time - #14

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 20 English players of all time continues with number 14 - Alan Shearer.

Alan Shearer (63 caps, 30 goals)

Alan Shearer celebrates scoring for England against Holland on June 18, 1996.© Getty Images

The closest England have ever come to replicating the glory of 1966 was 30 years later when, in their next tournament on home soil, they reached the semi-final of Euro '96 before being eliminated in agonising fashion.

Alan Shearer's relentless goalscoring in the early Premier League years had ensured that he was the main man up front for Terry Venables's side, despite England being blessed with incredible strength in depth at the time - the likes of Robbie Fowler, Les Ferdinand, Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole all had to play second fiddle.

The striker more than justified his place too, scoring five goals to win the tournament's Golden Boot as England came within a penalty shootout of booking their first major final since that World Cup triumph.

Shearer had actually failed to score in 12 games and 21 months for his country heading into the tournament, but Euro '96 acted as a springboard for the rest of his international career and he went on to score 30 goals in 63 appearances before retiring aged just 30 and resisting numerous attempts to coax him back to the international scene.

The Newcastle United stalwart continued to go from strength to strength at club level, though, playing on for another six years to establish himself as comfortably the leading goalscorer in Premier League history with 260 to his name.

Silverware was lacking with the Magpies, but Shearer had already lifted the Premier League title with Blackburn in 1995 and, on an individual level, was twice named the PFA Players' Player of the Year, won three Premier League Golden Boots and was third in the voting for the 1996 Ballon d'Or.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


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