Alan Shearer season. Speculation of a transfer to Liverpool, who finished the season as FA Cup winners, also came to nothing. During the middle of 1992, Southampton's manager, Ian Branfoot, became "the most popular manager in English football", as he took telephone calls from clubs "trying to bargain with players they don't want plus cash". Although Branfoot accepted that a sale was inevitable, he claimed that "whatever happens, we are in the driving seat". In July 1992, Shearer was sold to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £3.6 million, with David Speedie reluctantly moving to The Dell as part of the deal.
1994 FA Charity Shield the Blackburn side were the previous season's top scorer Alan Shearer (who had a virus from eating seafood) and his new strike partner Chris Sutton, who had just joined them for a national record fee of £5 million. Also absent due to injury were Mike Newell, Kevin Gallacher, Paul Warhurst and David Batty. Stuart Ripley and Ian Pearce made a make-shift front two, with young striker Peter Thorne making his solitary appearance for Blackburn as a substitute. Other debutants for Rovers were experienced defender Tony Gale and Australian winger Robbie Slater. Meanwhile, Manchester United defender David May made his club