10 Biggest Newcastle United Controversies In The Premier League Era

9. Keith Gillespie vs Alan Shearer

Although well documented before the release of his biography Gillespie's detailed blow-by-blow of his notorious brouhaha (if you can even call it that) with Shearer on a team bonding excursion to Dublin in 1997 will knock-you sideways. Pun, very much intended. After a brief but heated exchange in the Cafe En Seine ensued, brought on by Gillespie's juvenile flicking of bottle tops at our vexed number nine, both players thought it best to continue their quarrel outside as the tension between the pair hit breaking point. Stepping onto a busy street streaming with shoppers the winger, lacking in suitable hindsight and sound judgement, clenched his fist.. "I took a swing at Shearer, but I was punch-drunk and inaccurate," Gillespie recalled. "He responded with a blow that sent me flying backwards against a plant pot. I cracked my head and entered the blackout zone. "The next thing I remember is the view from the hospital bed." Honestly, you can't take footballers anywhere! It didn't take long for the press to catch wind of the fracas and just a few hours after later Gillespie was confronted at his hotel room by a journalist. Safe to say Christmas had arrived early for sports editors the length and breadth of England.