Alan A'Court (30 September 1934 – 14 December 2009) was an English professional footballer who mostly played for Liverpool. He gained five caps for England and represented the nation at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan A'Court[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 September 1934[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Rainhill, England | ||
| Date of death | 14 December 2009 (aged 75)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Nantwich, England | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1952 | Prescot Cables | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1952–1964 | Liverpool | 354 | (61) |
| 1964–1966 | Tranmere Rovers | 50 | (11) |
| 1966–1967 | Norwich City | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 404 | (72) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957–1958 | England | 5 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978 | Stoke City (caretaker) | ||
| 1983–1984 | Nantwich Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editBorn in Rainhill, Lancashire, England, A'Court was a winger who started out at Prescot Cables as an amateur before he was signed by Reds manager Don Welsh. A'Court made his debut in a league match at Ayresome Park on 7 February 1953, a game that saw Liverpool take both the points from a 3–2 win. His first goal came a month later on 14 March, again in a league match, this time at Anfield in a 2–0 victory over Sunderland.
A'Court, who followed Rugby league, signed from Prescot as an 18-year-old in September 1952, spurning the advances of Everton and Bolton Wanderers to become an Anfield apprentice, a decision that paid off as just six months after joining he made his first team debut. The following season A'Court played 16 times, as Liverpool were relegated to the Second Division.
During the Anfield club's first season in the second tier of English football A'Court established himself as a first team regular making 33 league and cup appearances. A'Court remained consistent as Liverpool failed to regain their top flight status. By the age of 24 years and 89 days he had played 200 league games for the Reds becoming the youngest player to do so, a record that still stands.
Although the strong and talented A'Court could have left to play for teams in the First Division, his loyalty to Liverpool was rewarded in 1961–62 when, as an ever-present, he and the Reds celebrated promotion back to the First Division under the guidance of Bill Shankly, finishing a full eight points (in the days of two points for a win) clear of second placed Leyton Orient. A'Court was selected 23 times during Liverpool's first season back amongst football's elite teams; he helped Liverpool to an eighth-place finish in the First Division.
Whilst still in Division 2 A'Court's skill alerted England manager Walter Winterbottom, who was looking for a player to replace an injured Tom Finney; Winterbottom handed the left winger the first of his five caps on 6 November 1957 in a British Championship match against Northern Ireland at Wembley. A'Court's only goal for his country and a goal for Duncan Edwards were not enough to prevent England losing the game 3–2. The highlight of his career was representing England at the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, where he played in England's last three matches against Brazil (0–0), Austria (2–2), and the group stage play-off game against the USSR (0–1). He did this despite playing for a club in the Second Division.
Unfortunately for A'Court, injuries began to take their toll. He missed the whole of the 1963–64 championship winning season, so Shankly signed Peter Thompson from Preston North End. After spending most of his career at Liverpool, playing 382 times and scoring 63 goals, A'Court was allowed to leave. He joined Tranmere Rovers for a fee of £4,500 in October 1964. A'Court's final outing in a Red shirt was in a historic match: Liverpool's first ever European match at Anfield, the game was a European Cup preliminary round 2nd leg match on 14 September 1964. Liverpool had won the first encounter with Icelandic side KR 5–0 but rather than treat the return leg as a mere formality, the Reds finished off the job with a comprehensive 6–1 victory.
Coaching career
editA'Court later became player-coach at Norwich City before taking on various coaching jobs, including posts in Zambia and New Zealand, he also became assistant manager at Stoke City when Tony Waddington called upon his services in 1969. In January 1978 George Eastham was sacked and A'Court was put in caretaker charge. His only match in charge of Stoke came in the FA Cup at home to non-league Blyth Spartans in 1977–78, Stoke lost the match 3–2.[2]
Once new manager Alan Durban was appointed A'Court moved to Crewe Alexandra as an assistant manager. He then went to join the sport staff at North Staffordshire Polytechnic. He managed Nantwich Town from September 1983 to April 1984.
Post retirement
editAfter finally retiring from football, A'Court ran a tobacconist/newsagent shop on the borders of Birkenhead and Bebington. A'Court died of cancer on 14 December 2009.[3]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 1952–53 | First Division | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | |
| 1953–54 | First Division | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 3 | ||
| 1954–55 | Second Division | 30 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 33 | 3 | ||
| 1955–56 | Second Division | 40 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 45 | 6 | ||
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 38 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 39 | 10 | ||
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 39 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 44 | 6 | ||
| 1958–59 | Second Division | 39 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 40 | 7 | ||
| 1959–60 | Second Division | 42 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 44 | 8 | ||
| 1960–61 | Second Division | 33 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 37 | 7 | ||
| 1961–62 | Second Division | 42 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 47 | 9 | ||
| 1962–63 | First Division | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 2 | ||
| 1963–64 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1964–65 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 354 | 61 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 363 | 63 | ||
| Tranmere Rovers | 1964–65 | Fourth Division | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 | 4 | |
| 1965–66 | Fourth Division | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 7 | ||
| Total | 50 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 404 | 72 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 435 | 74 | ||
International
edit| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1957 | 1 | 1 |
| 1958 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list England's goal tally first.
- Score and result list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after A'Court's goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 November 1957 | Wembley Stadium, London |  Northern Ireland |
1–1 | 2–3 | 1958 British Home Championship |
Managerial statistics
edit| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Stoke City[2] | 9 January 1978 | 13 February 1978 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | ||
References
edit- Specific
- ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2015). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2015. G2 Entertainment Ltd. ISBN 9781782811671.
- ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- ^ Former Stoke boss A'Court dies, aged 75, Retrieved on 15 December 2009
- ^ Alan A'Court at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ Alan A'Court at National-Football-Teams.com
- General
- Ponting, Ivan (19 December 2009). "Alan A'Court: Footballer who played a crucial role in Liverpool's rise to join the elite in the early Shankly years". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- Snowdon, Paul (16 December 2009). "Liverpool FC mourn the death of legend Alan A'Court at the age of 75". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
External links
edit- Player profile at LFChistory.net
- Exclusive interview at LFChistory.net
- Alan A'Court at Englandstats.com
- Alan A'Court – FIFA competition record (archived)
