Football news - Former Newcastle strikers Alan Shearer and Michael Owen in furious Twitter spat
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Updated 03/09/2019 at 12:01 GMT
Michael Owen became embroiled in a hilarious social media row with Alan Shearer on Tuesday after segments of his latest autobiography were revealed.
Michael Owen, Alan Shearer
Image credit: Getty Images
Owen, who is serialising his book 'Reboot' in the Daily Mirror this week, revealed details of his decade-long feud with Shearer despite enjoying a successful partnership on the pitch for both club and country.
Shearer was unable to keep Newcastle in the Premier League after he was made manager towards the end of the 2008/09 season, and Owen was critical of him in the latest extracts chronicling his time on Tyneside.
That has led to the pair coming to blows in one of the greatest Twitter wars of 2019, with Owen claiming that Shearer was close to joining Liverpool.
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Happier times: Michael Owen and Alan Shearer celebrate a goal against Blackburn
Image credit: Getty Images
Shearer served first, responding to the morning's explosive extracts with a reminder of how Owen admitted last season on BT Sport that he spent the final seven years of his career 'hating' football - despite earning £120,000 a week.
His attention pricked, Owen returned with a volley that Shearer would have been proud of in his heyday...
Having gone toe-to-toe, Owen took 10 before posting again, asking his followers to make their own mind up *once you've read the book*...
It was all too much for Shearer's Match of the Day colleague and twitterphile Gary Lineker...
Emotionally egged on, Owen makes a blatant attempt to befriend Lineker with the retort:
Lineker responds: "There appears to be a bit of history here? I like you both so don’t want to pick sides."
Michael Owen: Reboot – My Life, My Time, is released on September 5. On the subject of his relationship with Shearer, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker writes:
Sadly, this feud has continued to the present day. The more I think about it, the more I understand why Alan behaves the way he does and continues to spread negativity about me whenever he can.
The pair were friends and lived together in Newcastle for a period of time, but Owen added: "At no time did I get the impression that he saw things any differently.
"To put it simply, there has been a lot of lies, bulls*** and general mis-information surrounding the end of my time at Newcastle.
When drafted in as an emergency replacement for caretaker boss Chris Hughton in April 2009, Shearer became the Magpies' fourth manager of the season following the departures of Kevin Keegan and Joe Kinnear.
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Alan Shearer was unable to keep Newcastle in the Premier League
Image credit: Reuters
But he managed to win just one game, losing five, as Newcastle were relegated to the Championship.
"He was brought in at St James’ Park as the saviour, the local boy," Owen continues in his book.
It could have been a great story. But he failed. Newcastle United were relegated. Perhaps rather than examine his own shortcomings, it felt easier to blame Michael Owen.
Owen was only a second-half substitute on the final day of the season, as Newcastle lost 1-0 away to Aston Villa to seal their fate.
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Owen has revealed the details of his decade-long ongoing feud with Shearer
Image credit: Getty Images
"I told him that I wasn’t fully fit but was prepared to play. As I left his office that day, he made an insinuation that led me to believe he thought I had half an eye on my next contract. I’m not stupid – we both knew I was out of contract in a few weeks.
It wasn’t until three months later, I discovered that Alan Shearer was apparently seething with me. Not only that, it transpired that he was telling anyone who’d listen what he thought of me.
"When you analyse it, it all makes sense. Shearer’s record as manager in the last eight games of that 2008/2009 season was dire: lost 5, drew 2, won 1. These are hardly God-like stats."
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