THE behaviour of football fans never ceases to amaze me. I thought at my age - which doesn't leave much room for future plans, I have to concede - that I was beyond surprise. But no, the Alan Shearer saga proved me wrong.

Let us first deal with the fee. Fifteen million quid. Utter madness. I could buy the whole of East Lancashire for that! And yet directors of football clubs were wheeled out on telly to assure the watching millions that it was 'good business.'

If that is the case, and soccer's hierarchy quite clearly believe it is, football is no longer a sport. It is a business. Big business.

Television, merchandising, corporate hospitality, and the enormous amounts of money they generate have become increasingly important.

Pretty soon, if current trends continue, the ordinary fan's involvement will no longer be a significant part of the equation.

The price of admission will be beyond them, especially in cash-strapped areas like East Lancashire.

Now let's look at the effect that Shearer's going has had on the supporters. In Blackburn, and among pro-Rovers groups in Darwen and Accrington, the shock and sorrow was so evident that a stranger would have been forgiven for thinking some tragedy of national proportions had occurred.

It had, of course, for those fans. It is said that one man does not a team make but Mr Shearer's goal-scoring ability, and inspirational presence, did much to win Blackburn Rovers the coveted Premiership and justify Jack Walker's colossal investment in the club he so clearly loves.

In the end not even Uncle Jack's bottomless wallet and his gentle persuasion could keep Shearer at Ewood. He's a home boy at heart and the return to his native Tyneside proved an irresistible magnet.

Rovers' fans, suffering shock, dismay, grief, anger, sadness, mixed with a sense of betrayal, were stunned. Burnley fans, on the other hand, couldn't hide their delight. Anything which causes angst at Ewood is music to their ears. And these are grown men. Some with IQ's slightly higher (but not much) than a cheeseburger. I give up. I hadn't realised tribal warfare was THAT prevalent in East Lancs.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that Alan Shearer is human - though he commands a superman fee and wages to match. He did a wonderful job for Blackburn Rovers and is merely taking advantage of a system beyond his making.

I once described professional footballers as mercenaries. But then who among us would not be the same, given the chance? It's the world that has gone mad, not Shearer or his contemporaries. THE improvements to Blackburn Boulevard and railway and bus station areas are gathering pace and the site, while still resembling a war zone, is gradually taking shape.

When the work is finished, much of the feeling of civic pride will be restored as initial impressions for visitors to any town or city has much to do with what they see when they alight from buses and trains.

Blackburn has a magnificent cathedral; a splendid soccer stadium (with or without Alan Shearer) and much to recommend it commercially. If we all think positively, the good days will return.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.