Alan Bloor

Last updated

Alan Bloor
Personal information
Full name Alan Bloor [1]
Date of birth (1943-03-16) 16 March 1943 (age 80) [1]
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England [1]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s) Centre-half
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1960–1978 Stoke City 388 (17)
1967Cleveland Stokers (loan) 11 (1)
1978 Port Vale 6 (1)
Total405(19)
International career
England Youth
Managerial career
1979 Port Vale
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alan Bloor (born 16 March 1943) is an English former professional footballer and manager. He made 394 league appearances in the Football League for both Potteries teams.

Contents

He spent eighteen years as a centre-half at Stoke City between 1960 and 1978, helping them to lift the League Cup in 1972, before spending a brief association with Port Vale as a player and manager between 1978 and 1979. He also briefly played for American club Cleveland Stokers in 1967. He is fifth in Stoke's all-time appearances list, and was nicknamed "Bluto" by the club's supporters. [3]

Playing career

Stoke City

Bloor played centre-half for Stoke-on-Trent schoolboys and won youth caps with England. [3] He started his career with Stoke City in 1960 on his 17th birthday. [4] He made his first-team debut on 19 September 1961, playing alongside Eric Skeels in a 1–0 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Victoria Ground. [3] He played a total of six Second Division games in 1961–62, but did not take to the field in another competitive fixture until the 1964–65 season; he played 15 First Division during the campaign, and scored his first senior goal in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 23 January. He played 36 games in 1965–66 and 32 games in 1966–67. He was loaned out to Stoke's sister club Cleveland Stokers in 1967, and played 11 United Soccer Association games.

Bloor hit four goals in 43 appearances in 1967–68, and helped the "Potters" to finish three points above the relegation zone. He played 35 games in 1968–69, as Stoke again finished three points above the drop zone. He made 43 appearances in the 1969–70 season and 48 appearances in the 1970–71 season. He played 63 games in the 1971–72 season, including 11 League Cup games. He was a member of 1972 League Cup winning side that beat Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley to claim the club's first major trophy; he was part of a four-man defence along with John Marsh, Mike Pejic, and Denis Smith, playing in front of goalkeeper Gordon Banks.

Bloor played 33 games in 1972–73 and 31 games in 1973–74, helping the "Potters" to win the Watney Cup and finish in fifth in the top-flight. He could only play twice in 1974–75, as he picked up a serious back injury. [5] He scored five goals in 37 appearances in 1975–76, including strikes at Anfield and Old Trafford. He scored twice in 40 appearances in 1976–77, as Stoke were relegated in what was Tony Waddington's last season as manager. Bloor started just five Second Division games in 1977–78, as the club changed managers between George Eastham, Alan A'Court, and Alan Durban.

Port Vale

Bloor moved to Port Vale, initially as player and youth team coach, in June 1978. [1] He made six Fourth Division appearances in 1978–79, scoring once in a 5–1 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on 25 August. [1] He settled down to concentrate on his role behind the scenes at Vale Park in September 1978. [1]

Style of play

Bloor was a fearsome defender and a "voracious tackler". [5] He played alongside Denis Smith for much of his Stoke career, and used his intelligence to read the game and clean up any mistakes the more aggressive Smith made. [6]

Managerial career

Bloor was appointed the caretaker manager of Port Vale in August 1979 following the departure of Dennis Butler, and was appointed the position on a full-time basis the following month. [1] He sold Ken Todd to Portsmouth for £20,000, cancelled Ged Stenson's contract, and spent £30,000 on Crewe Alexandra defender Paul Bowles. [1] Losing five of their seven games in October, the "Valiants" drifted to third-from-bottom. [1] Vale went undefeated in the league in November, but Bloor unexpectedly resigned in December 1979, saying he did not 'have what it takes'. [1] Coach Gordon Banks was also dismissed, and he blamed the players for his downfall, claiming they did not like hard work. [1]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [7] [8]
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City 1961–62 Second Division 60001070
1962–63 Second Division00001010
1963–64 First Division 00001010
1964–65 First Division1512040211
1965–66 First Division3121040362
1966–67 First Division3101010330
1967–68 First Division3742040434
1968–69 First Division2904020350
1969–70 First Division3603000390
1970–71 First Division36180206 [lower-alpha 1] 1522
1971–72 First Division350901108 [lower-alpha 2] 0630
1972–73 First Division28210212 [lower-alpha 3] 0333
1973–74 First Division27010003 [lower-alpha 4] 0310
1974–75 First Division2000000020
1975–76 First Division3254010375
1976–77 First Division3721020402
1977–78 Second Division60101080
Total3881738037119148219
Cleveland Stokers (loan) 1967 United Soccer Association 111111
Port Vale 1978–79 Fourth Division 61000061
Career total4051938037119149921
  1. Four appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup and two appearances and goal in Texaco Cup
  2. Four appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup and four in Texaco Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  4. Appearances in Watney Cup

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecord
PWDLWin %
Port Vale 30 August 19791 December 197918549027.8
Total [9] 18549027.8

Honours

Stoke City

Related Research Articles

Denis Smith is an English former professional footballer and manager. He made 531 appearances in all competitions in 15 seasons as a player in the Football League, and as a manager took charge for 1,195 competitive matches.

Anthony William Currie is an English former footballer who had significant spells for Sheffield United, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers as well as representing England.

James Greenhoff is an English former footballer. He was a skilful forward but, although capped five times at under-23 level, he never played for the full side, and is labelled as the finest English player never to play for England. He made nearly 600 appearances in league football. His younger brother Brian was also a professional footballer.

Michael Pejic is a former England international footballer who played in the English Football League for Stoke City, Everton and Aston Villa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ritchie (footballer, born 1941)</span> English footballer

John Henry Ritchie was an English footballer. He is Stoke City's all-time record goalscorer.

Eric Thomas Skeels is an English former footballer. He played 512 games in the Football League, 507 for Stoke City. He is Stoke's record appearance holder having played in 597 matches in all competitions.

Anthony Waddington was an English football player and manager. He managed both Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City.

William Alan Durban is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of Shrewsbury Town. He managed Stoke City, Sunderland and Cardiff City.

Gerard Anthony Francis Conroy is an Irish former professional footballer. A winger and forward, he scored 74 goals in 372 league and cup appearances in a 14-year career in the English Football League from 1967 to 1981. He also scored two goals and won 27 caps for the Republic of Ireland in a seven-year international career from 1969 to 1977.

William John Bentley is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He made a total of 439 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League.

Paul Bernard Maguire is a Scottish former footballer who scored 81 goals in 373 league appearances in the Football League. He played in all four divisions of the Football League, as well as the Conference and the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Terence Lees is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City, Crewe Alexandra, Port Vale, Birmingham City, Newport County and Scunthorpe United, in the North American Soccer League for San Jose Earthquakes, and in the Eredivisie for Sparta Rotterdam, Roda JC Kerkrade and DS'79. He also won the National Football League with South African club Cape Town City.

The 1972–73 season was the 74th completed season of The Football League.

Kenneth Beech is an English former footballer. A midfielder, he played for Port Vale between 1976 and 1981, picking up the club's Player of the Year award in 1980, also playing on loan at American club Cleveland Cobras in 1978. In 1981, he was sold to Walsall, before he moved on to Peterborough United two years later. He dropped into non-League football with Stafford Rangers in 1985, with whom he won the Conference League Cup, before he retired in 1988. He played 314 league games in the Football League, scoring 28 goals.

Russell Bromage is an English former footballer who played as a wing-back. In a fourteen-year career in the Football League he made 400 league appearances, scoring 14 goals.

Neville Patrick Chamberlain is an English former footballer. A forward, he scored 73 goals in 296 league games in a ten-year professional career in the Football League.

Alan Dodd is an English former professional footballer who played in England for Stoke City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Port Vale; he also played in Sweden and the Republic of Ireland.

Neil Griffiths is an English former footballer who played at left-back for Chester, Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Stafford Rangers, Macclesfield Town, and Newcastle Town. He also briefly managed Macclesfield Town.

Thomas Lawrence Hamlett was an English footballer who played at right-back for Congleton Town, Bolton Wanderers, and Port Vale. He scored nine goals in 181 league appearances in the six seasons of the Football League immediately following World War II. He later spent 25 years on the coaching staff at Port Vale, from July 1958 to March 1983.

Kenneth Todd is an English former footballer who scored 11 goals in 52 games in the English Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Port Vale, and Portsmouth in the late 1970s. Despite being bought for £37,000 by Vale and £20,000 by "Pompey", he dropped into the Southern League with Fareham Town and Waterlooville.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 33. ISBN   0-9529152-0-0.
  2. Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 299. ISBN   0362020175 . Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Matthews, Tony (18 December 2008). The Legends of Stoke City. Derby, United Kingdom: Breedon Books. pp. 30–1. ISBN   978-1-85983-653-8.
  4. "Alan Bloor" . Retrieved 16 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. pp. 182–84. ISBN   1-874287554.
  6. Smith, Denis (2008), Just One of Seven, Know The Score Books, p. 78, ISBN   978-1-84818-504-3
  7. Alan Bloor at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  8. "stats". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  9. Alan Bloor management career statistics at Soccerbase
  10. "Some of the stories..." footballsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.