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THE FOOTBALL365 CUP FINAL Q&A
ALAN SHEARER

England's Premier striker on boring cup finals, beating Arsenal and why you'd be a mug backing him to score on Saturday! You've played at Wembley so many times, Alan, that it's hard to believe you've never appeared there in an FA Cup Final It is really, but I'm really excited to be going to Wembley. I'm really looking forward to it, although I'm trying not to think too much about it. I would gladly swap all my personal awards for an FA Cup winner's medal because, at the end of the day, it's about the team. It's the team that matters most, all individuals are irrelevant. How happy are you for the Toon Army after the season they've had? I'm very happy. They deserve it, they've stuck by us through thick and thin and always have done over the years. And with a club like Newcastle United, the fans shouldn't have had to wait as long as they've had to for some success. Hopefully the wait will end on Saturday. Do you really believe you're going to do it? I sincerely hope we win it, but I wish it was as easy as that... and it certainly won't be. Arsenal are a hell of a good side and they're very tough to beat. If we win the Cup on Saturday we'll have earned it. People go on about Arsenal's defence and rightly so because it's a solid unit and the backbone of their team. So if we're going to win the game we're going to have to unlock them somehow. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Arsenal have already beaten you twice this season, of course. It's definitely going to be a very hard game for us, but it won't be easy for them either; we're a decent side on our day. It's a great traditional cup final, Arsenal versus Newcastle. Both sides have won the Cup a few times over the years and this one we're really looking forward to. ' Do you think we can expect a classic? I very much doubt it, to be honest. I think it will be two teams determined not to give anything away, so it'll be very tight. Especially when you have to do battle with your England team-mates Tony Adams and Martin Keown? Yeah, it'll be tough and you know what you're going to get straight away, a battle. They don't give anything away for nothing. They haven't done all year, so they're not going to start now. There aren't going to be many chances flying around, so it's important that when we do get one or two, we take them. Should we be backing you to score the first goal, then? Er, if you're a fool, yeah! I don't know, really. If I score a goal, then great. If I don't then so long as we win it I'll be happy. Talking of goals, you were pretty happy with the one you scored to reach the final, weren't you? Yeah, it was a real thrill. You saw what it meant by my reaction when I scored - you don't see me like that very often! I was pleased with the way it went in because it was for the fans back home. We should have won by more though. While it was still 1-0, Sheffield United always had a chance, but we made it hard for ourselves and should have wrapped it up by half-time." You've contributed five FA Cup goals this season. What do you say to people who say Newcastle are only in the final because of you? I'm only doing my job and I've been fortunate enough to come back from injury and play my part. But it wouldn't be right to say our progress in the Cup has all been down to me. I mean, I missed the first game. We played Everton away, which was a hell of a tough game, and Ian Rush got the winning goal. So no one can say that we're in the final just because of me.
	Any explanation as to why you've scored more in the Cup than the league? I really don't know. I'm pleased with the way I've been playing. I feel fit and confident and I feel strong. You're right in saying that the majority of my goals have come in the FA Cup, but I can't say why. As I said I'm pleased with my form and I'll continue to do what I've done in the games since I've been back. I think it's just a coincidence that I've hit more cup goals. Have you thought about how you'll feel if you lose on Saturday? Well you've got to be confident and you've got to believe that you're going to win the game. But you can't be stupid enough to say: 'Well we're definitely going to win it' because that's just not how it works in football. If life and football were as easy as that, then everything would be all right, but it's not. How will you prepare for the game? Will you do anything different? Not really, no. I imagine we'll travel down a couple of days early. But as for preparing myself both physically and mentally, then no, I won't do anything different from normal. You've got to treat it like any other game. After all, that's what it is, a game of football that you prepare the same way for. Did you ever imagine reaching the Cup Final during the months you were out injured? No. I always said there was a huge incentive for me to get fit and that was to play and hopefully be successful with Newcastle, then to represent England in the World Cup. Those were always the carrots dangling in front of me. So we've been successful in reaching the Cup Final, we've got enough points to be safe in the league and now I can look forward to a World Cup too. So why haven't Newcastle recreated their cup form in the league? Because we haven't scored enough goals, that's the simple fact. But, that said, we haven't had the forwards to score those goals because at times we've all been injured - Les Ferdinand was sold, then I got injured the next day. Tino Asprilla got injured, then Peter Beardsley, so at times we went on the pitch without any recognised centre-forwards and, as anyone knows, if you don't score goals, then you're going to struggle. As arguably England's best player, is an FA Cup winner's medal a pre-requisite for being an all-time great? I wouldn't say so, I mean there have been some great, great players who have never played in an FA Cup Final, so we know how fortunate we are to get there. It's a privilege to play in the game and I intend to win, but I don't think a winner's medal has any bearing on being an all-time great. Would you have settled for an FA Cup winner's medal if it had meant relegation? Not at all, no. If I was pushed into a choice then I'd much prefer to be safe in the Premier League. But footballers are greedy and they want both. Has there ever been a point when you saw Newcastle's name on the cup? People say that, but it doesn't work that way. I used to say things like that myself, but I learned to shut up a few years ago because it just doesn't happen. I suppose people will say that they knew our name was on the cup when we got through against Stevenage, but you never know what's going to happen from one game to the next. It would be nice if this FA Cup final turned out to be a great advert for the game, though, wouldn't it? "Oh yeah, without a doubt. It's the biggest domestic cup competition in the world and the one everyone wants to play in. We'll enjoy it whether we win, lose or draw, but we'll enjoy it a hell of a lot more if we win."

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