Courtesy of NUFC.com, who have a bit about the fan's chat with Al on their site. :-)

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

Answers

Funny how the Sunday People showed photos of him (by their accounts) risking life and limb doing watersports and expressing outrage that he should be risking his career in so doing when they could have shown him sedately making sandcastles with his bairn. Funny old thing, the press.

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

You'll never make a journo, Dougs

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

Youve all missed something important... Al still cant sit down without supporting his knee!!

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

it was the other knee that was knackered .... "Shearer in purple bucket catastrophe"

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

What's even more disquieting is that there is only one leg in the picture - is there something we should be told?

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001

.....it became 'detached' in a recent watersports accident, Jonno.

Al is now to fly home via Denver, where he will spend a couple of hours up the road at the Steadman Clinic having it surgically reattached.

Paul Whinsper will assist Dr Richard "Tricky Dicky" Steadman in what a Toon Official says "once the swelling has settled down, this is a perfectly routine procedure, although disappointingly it now seems unlikely that Alan will participate in the full pre-season programme. However, it could be much worse, and of course Alan has always been a quick healer. He has already set himself a target of being back in contention for the team by the end of August - if selected, of course. Hoh, hoh, hoh!"

Oh well, nowt to worry about!

-- Anonymous, June 11, 2001