Former Middlesbrough striker David Shearer dies aged 63

Former Middlesbrough striker David Shearer has died aged 63. The centre-forward had a five-year spell at Middlesbrough between 1978 and 1983 where he made over 100 appearances for the club.

Shearer was born in Inverness and joined Boro from Scottish Highland League outfit Clachnacuddin. He scored twice against Chelsea on his debut for the club and would score 30 goals in total across 112 appearances.

He played for the club during a spell in the first division under manager Jon Neal who replaced Jack Charlton at the helm of the Ayresome Park outfit. A powerful, whole-hearted centre-forward, he netted 23 of his goals in league games, including four in total against the great Liverpool side of the day. He stayed for one year after the club suffered relegation under Neal's successor Bobby Murdoch but was sold to Grimsby in 1983 as the club's financial crisis deepened.

As well as Grimsby, Shearer, affectionately known as Dave, would also play for Gillingham, Bournemouth, Scunthorpe, Darlington, and Billingham Synthonia. He was the elder brother of fellow professional footballer Duncan Shearer who played for Chelsea, Huddersfield and Blackburn, among others.

Elsewhere, former Middlesbrough scout Karl Newton has died after an accident while walking in the Lake District. The Tyneside-born scout spent six months working part-time as a regional scout in 2019 for the club's academy. A highly-regarded young scout, Karl achieved his dream this summer of earning full-time employment in football when he was appointed technical recruitment analyst at Blackburn Rovers before his untimely passing.

As well as work for Boro, Newton also Stockport County, AFC Fylde, Sheffield Wednesday, South Shields and Leyton Orient. Our thoughts go out to