Dalglish: "Footballers like to 'show their medals', as they say, but plenty of guys have picked up far more than Alan without being half the player, let alone half the man.
"Recognition and respect are obviously important, but if there's one thing Shearer proves it's that they're not bound up in a medal tally. And no eulogy will speak more elegantly on his behalf than the bald statistics which show he is the Premiership's greatest-ever goalscorer.
"Looking back, you can't help but wonder just how many more goals he would have scored had it not been for injuries. Two of his three years at Blackburn were affected by bad ones, and you can throw in another half a season out at Newcastle.
"It will take a cracker to beat his tally, although I wouldn't bet on anyone ever bettering it now. Surely that is worth any number of medals in anyone's book.
"So what if he doesn't have the medals? He's got all the recognition and the credit he could need. He has been a magnificent footballer, and just as importantly, a wonderful servant to the game. He was never a problem to manage, they'll all tell you that. Despite his success on the pitch, he was never conceited, never arrogant.
"As he said when he returned to the north-east, he's only a sheet-metalworker's son. He's never forgotten that, and was never carried away despite all the adulation.
"He'll have to take a break now anyway to repair his knee, but it will be interesting to see what he does in the future. Everybody expects Shearer to move into management sooner rather than later.
"I can't say I have any knowledge of what he will or won't do, and I doubt he knows much more himself at this stage, but I can't imagine he'll want to be away from it all for long."