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Championship medal, all-round deification, a freeman of Blackburn and now his own corporate identity. Alan Shearer has made it bigtime – the first British footballer to have his own identity created by design company Springett Associates (although most footballers could do with a corporate makeover). The identity, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Roy of the Rovers cartoon character, was conceived to promote the newly signed sponsorship deal the England striker has struck with sportswear company Umbro – reputed to be the biggest single sponsorship deal struck by a footballer. The deal ties Shearer to Umbro until 2003, the identity will tie him to a clean-living image well beyond that. But it does raise the prospect of what sort of corporate identity would be appropriate for, say, Paul Gascoigne, or the snarling Vinnie Jones or even Diego Maradona.