‘Really good fan base’ - Alan Shearer names club he ‘loves’ that isn’t Newcastle United

Alan Shearer was ecstatic after Southampton secured an instant Premier League return against Leeds United.

Both clubs were relegated last season and met each other in the Championship play-off final - a game worth an estimated £170million. Promotion brings lucrative TV revenue and allows for further investment - as well as helps towards keeping star players.

An even game was settled by Adam Armstrong, the former Newcastle United academy product who bagged his 24th goal of the campaign. Ironically, the Chapel House native did a “backwards Shearer”, playing for Newcastle and Blackburn before ending up on the south coast.

It was Southampton who first took a punt on Shearer as a 15-year-old, giving him his start in professional football. The Newcastle legend admitted he still “loves” the club and rooted for them to win the Wembley showdown.

“A lot of those players had the disappointment of being relegated with Southampton,” he told The Rest Is Football podcast. “So to bounce back in the way they have done (has been fantastic). I watched it all today. I thought they deserved it. They were the best team. Leeds were really poor, they had nothing up front. 

“Southampton had Adam Armstrong (with) 20-odd goals this season. He’s a Geordie boy doing well down south and he was the difference. “He had that one opportunity and stuck it away. Leeds had nothing in return.

“It hasn’t all been plain sailing for them (Southampton), they’ve had a couple of tough spells but, when it mattered, they showed up. I love that football club. It’s where I started. I know it’s very different now, the people inside the club, but it’s still where I went to when I was 15 so I’m delighted. It’s a really, really good fan base.”