Shearer has made real difference

FEARS about the long-term effects of heading footballs on players’ health have been around for some time. Indeed, the case of Jeff Astle, the former West Brom striker who died of dementia at the age of 59 in 2002, was the subject of important reporting and campaigning in this newspaper. But much credit must also go to former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer for his recent documentary, Alan Shearer: Dementia, Football and Me.

It is not long ago that Shearer (left), whose public persona was once one of studied blandness, would have been regarded as an unlikely campaigner for justice and reform and awareness in the game, but this documentary — and his increasingly incisive punditry on Match of the Day — has changed that.

He will be remembered now not just as one of our greatest goalscorers but as somebody who helped to make a difference.