The Kings is Retired...Long live the KING!

An emotional Alan Shearer last night admitted that his spine-tingling farewell to Newcastle's adoring supporters will remain with him for the rest of his life. The United skipper bowed out in style as 52,000 fans turned out at St James's Park for his eagerly-anticipated testimonial against Celtic, an occasion which did not disappoint.

St. James' Park was United on Thursday night, providing one more marvellous memory of the Shearer era as the curtain finally came down. The number nine led his side onto the field to be greeted with a wall of noise and a display of cards held aloft by three sides of the stadium, before kicking off the game then departing to yet another ovation. Al then returned to be presented with a number of special awards on a hastily- erected podium, before taking the microphone from Ant and Dec to thank the crowd for their support over the last decade.He then embarked on a final lap of honour round the ground with his family, pausing frequently to collect scarves and shake hands, before disappearing from view for the final time as a firework display began. The support built and built during the game to an absolute crescendo in the minutes before Luque's goal, the sight of tens of thousands of those scarves being whirled around being nothing short of incredible. "I'm going to miss this, you just can't replace something like this, you really can't. What am I going to do now? I will be on the golf course, trying to get my six handicap down." Shearer is expected to return to the club's coaching staff in the not-too-distant future but an ambassadorial role could come first. He added: "Talks are still ongoing, hopefully something will happen sooner rather than later, but we are still talking."

Click the title for more Photos.