It is one of the greatest tragedies of the modern footballing era that Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand weren't given more chance to play alongside one another for Newcastle. In their one, momentous season together, the strikers scored a massive 49 goals between them, before the former QPR man was sold to Spurs for £6m. Unfortunately that amount proved way too enticing for the 30-year-old, and Freddie Shepherd fatally gambled on the fact that Shearer, Tino Asprilla and prospect Jon Dahl Tomasson would be enough to cover the loss of Ferdinand. One pre-season injury to Shearer later, and Shepherd's logic was shown up as the idiocy it was. But in that one season, the on-field bromance flourished: Premier League defences were so concerned by Shearer that they often just left Ferdinand unmolested, which proved predictably stupid.
