Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alan Stubbs | ||
Date of birth | 6 October 1971 | ||
Place of birth | Kirkby, Merseyside, England | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Playing position | Centre back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1990–1996 | Bolton Wanderers | 202 | (9) |
1996–2001 | Celtic | 93 | (3) |
2001–2005 | Everton | 124 | (3) |
2005–2006 | Sunderland | 10 | (1) |
2006–2008 | Everton | 45 | (3) |
2008 | Derby County | 9 | (1) |
Total | 483 | (19) | |
National team‡ | |||
1994 | England B | 1 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:33, 12 March 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971 in Kirkby, Lancashire, England) is a retired English footballer and current coach. He played as a centre back before he was forced to retire by a troublesome knee injury on 20 August 2008. He played for Bolton Wanderers, Celtic, Everton (two spells), Sunderland and Derby County. Stubbs is now on the coaching staff at Everton.
Contents |
Playing career
Bolton Wanderers
Stubbs started his career at Bolton Wanderers, turning professional in 1990 when they were members of the Football League Third Division. He played 23 league games that season but it was a disappointing first season at Burnden Park for Stubbs as his side missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference and were beaten by Tranmere Rovers in the playoff final. He remained a regular player in 1991–92 but this campaign brought further frustration as Bolton finished 13th in the Third Division and manager Phil Neal was dismissed to make way for Bruce Rioch.
Stubbs remained part of Rioch's plans as Bolton began 1992–93 in the new Division Two (following the creation of the FA Premier League and the renumbering of the three remaining Football League divisions) and scored twice in 42 league appearances as they sealed promotion as runners-up. He became club captain soon afterwards and in 1994–95 led them through their best season in years where they reached Wembley twice. The first visit to Wembley came in March, where they reached the Football League Cup final for the first time in their history, only to lose 2–1 to Liverpool. There was no shame in the result, however, as they lost to the first club to win the competition five times and one who finished fourth in the Premier League that season. The return to Wembley for the Division One playoff final two months later was a happier occasion for Stubbs and his colleagues, though for 75 minutes it looked as though it would be another disappointment as Bolton trailed 2–0 to Reading in the contest for a place in the Premier League. But a remarkable turnaround saw them drawing 2–2 after 90 minutes to force extra time, and they went on to win 4–3 and return to the top flight for the first time since 1980.
Before the start of the season, Bolton manager Bruce Rioch departed to Arsenal and attempted to bring Stubbs with him, but this was unsuccessful.[1]
However, during the summer and into the beginning of the next season he made no secret of his desire to leave the club, which did not go down well with fans who made their feelings clear for the rest of the season.[2] However, he remained with Bolton throughout their 1995–96 campaign, their first in the top flight for 16 years, which was mostly spent in the bottom two places of the table and ended with them being relegated in bottom place.
Celtic
He joined Celtic on 10 July 1996 for £4,000,000, a record signing for Celtic and at the time the second biggest sale for Bolton. The deal became subject of scrutiny from FIFA, who initially fined Celtic £41,000 and Stubbs £28,000 for the use of unlicensed agents during the transfer. These fines were later reduced to £22,000 and £18,000 respectively on appeal.[3]
His first season at Celtic, 1996–97, saw him play regularly but Stubbs did little to justify his expensive transfer fee as Rangers clinched their ninth successive Scottish League championship.
The following season (1997–98 season) saw a new manager, Wim Jansen, in charge at Celtic[4] and a new partner in central defence alongside Stubbs, Danish international Marc Rieper.[5] Both these factors saw an upturn in Stubbs' fortunes at Celtic, and his pairing with Rieper in defence[6] made Celtic a much more formidable obstacle to rivals Rangers. After an initial shaky start to the season, Celtic began to find their form and Stubbs picked up his first winner's medal on 30 November 1997 with Celtic beating Dundee United 3–0 in the Scottish League Cup Final.[7][8]
Stubbs is probably best remembered for his injury time goal 11 days earlier (19 November 1998) in a 1–1 draw with Rangers,[9] which kept Rangers lead in the league at the time over Celtic to a recoverable 4 points. Many believe that this was the most important goal of the season for Celtic;[10] they would later go on to overtake Rangers in the league and win the Scottish Premier Division that season, their first league title since 1988, and prevent Rangers from securing a record breaking 10 league titles in a row.[11]
Stubbs continued to impress at Celtic with his strong presence in defence, good range of passing and occasional goal. However a routine drug test after the Scottish Cup Final defeat to Rangers in May 1999 revealed Stubbs was suffering from testicular cancer.[12] Stubbs recovered and continued to be a mainstay in the Celtic side, picking up another winner's medal in March 2000 when he came on as a second-half substitute for Ľubomír Moravčík during Celtic's 2–0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup Final.[13] Stubbs also played 11 games in their 2000–01 SPL title winning season under new manager Martin O'Neil. However he missed most of that campaign as he discovered early in the season that the cancer had came back.[14] and had again to undergo treatment. Stubbs again recovered from his illness, making his comeback in May 2001 in a league match against Hibernian where he came on as a second half substitute and scored Celtic's fourth goal in a 5–2 win.[15] However, Stubbs wife never truly settled in Scotland[16] and his own battles with Cancer saw the family look to make a return home to England.[17]
Everton
He joined Everton in July 2001 after winning his battle against cancer. On his arrival at Goodison Park, Stubbs stated it had always been his dream to play for the club. Stubbs confirmed at the time part of his motive for moving to Everton was that he wanted to return home to his native Merseyside with his wife Mandy.
Stubbs quickly became a regular member of the team and excelled during his first season, as Everton finished 15th and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Stubbs continued to be a consistent performer in the heart of the Toffees defence during the 2002–03 as he helped them finish seventh in the Premier League (their highest finish since 1996) under new manager David Moyes, and 2003–04, although they dipped to 17th and narrowly avoided relegation in this campaign.
The 2004–05 season was another successful campaign for Stubbs. Although a shoulder injury kept him out in April, he made 36 appearances and even rose from defence to score - in a 2–1 win against Portsmouth. He was set to continue as a vital part of the squad in 2005–06, but refused to sign a new contract as the club were willing to offer him only a one-year deal, and later revelations suggested a "cancer clause" in the contract that Stubbs was unhappy with. It was also a successful season for Everton as a team, as they bounced back from the previous season's dismal finish and the sale of Wayne Rooney and finished fourth to qualify for the UEFA Champions League - finishing ahead of Liverpool for the first time since their most recent title win in 1987.
Sunderland
Stubbs signed for Sunderland on the 2 August 2005, but it was not a successful move. Despite a promising start, his form soon dipped, and he often found himself out of the team. He sparked controversy among the Sunderland fans when he celebrated a last minute goal scored by Tim Cahill as Everton beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in late 2005. In the weeks leading up to the January transfer window, Stubbs was constantly linked with a move back to Everton, and was spotted by the Sky Sports cameras at Goodison Park when Sunderland weren't playing well.
This led to a fierce denial from Stubbs, claiming he was only at Goodison because his daughter was an Everton fan. However, Stubbs' final appearance at the Stadium of Light was to be the 3–0 victory over Northwich Victoria in the FA Cup, and Stubbs returned to Everton shortly after. He scored once for Sunderland, in a 3–1 defeat at Arsenal on 5 November 2005. This was one of the worst seasons in Sunderland's history, as they were relegated with a then record Premier League low of 3 wins and 15 points.[18]
Everton
Stubbs returned to Everton on a free transfer on 20 January 2006 and claimed his time spent at Sunderland was like "being injured for 6 months", and said the cancer clause incident was an "unfortunate mistake." He later went on to say his denial over the transfer was a lie, and that he had cheered when new team-mate Tim Cahill scored a last minute winner for Everton against Sunderland on New Year's Eve - whilst Stubbs was still a Sunderland player. This left him very unpopular with the Sunderland fans, who booed his every touch during the 2–2 draw with Everton on 1 April 2006.
Despite the arrival of Joleon Lescott that summer, Stubbs maintained his place in starting line up and proved to be a pivotal figure behind Everton's push for a UEFA Cup place.
In September 2007 after the murder of Rhys Jones, an 11-year-old Everton fan shot dead in Croxteth, Stubbs delivered a reading at his funeral to a packed Liverpool Cathedral including members of Everton and Liverpool.[19]
Derby County
On 31 January 2008, Stubbs moved to Derby County in a 18 month deal on a free transfer.[20] Derby's relegation from the Premiership with eleven points meant that Stubbs had been involved in the campaigns of the teams with two lowest points totals attained since the league's inception. On 20 August 2008, just after the start of Derby's 2008–09 Football League Championship campaign, it was announced that a recurring knee injury had forced him to retire from playing football.
International career
Stubbs won an England 'B' cap on 10 May 1994 in a match against Northern Ireland 'B' at Hillsborough. England won the match 4–2, with Stubbs coming on during the second half as a substitute for Chris Bart-Williams.[21]
Coaching career
Everton
In September 2008, not long after retiring from playing, Alan found himself back at Everton, in the role of Coach.[22] More specifically, he's currently assisting Reserve Team Coach Andy Holden, as well as assisting with the Under 18 players. In May 2013, Stubbs was interviewed by Bill Kenwright for the vacant manager's role at Everton, but the job would go to Roberto Martínez.[23]
Honours
Player
- Celtic
- Scottish League Championship (2): 1997–98, 2000–01
- Scottish League Cup (2): 1997–98, 1999–2000
References
- ^ Ridley, Ian (13 August 1995). "Club-by-club guide: The prospects, the players to watch, the arrivals and departures". The Independent (London).
- ^ In defence of Alan Stubbs. Manny Road, 25 August 2008.
- ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FIFA+slash+Celtic+fine.-a061049261 FIFA slash Celtic fine
- ^ http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/celtic-running-out-of-time-jansen-starts-search-for-new-players-1.390573
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/celtic-capture-pounds-15m-rieper-1238983.html
- ^ http://hitthebyline.com/2012/03/21/the-men-who-stopped-10-in-a-row-where-are-they-now-marc-rieper/
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/35873.stm
- ^ http://clients.sportinglife.com/football/scottishpremier/celtic/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/97/11/30/SOCCER_Coca-Cola_Lead.html&TEAMHD=celtic&DIV=scotsprem&TEAM=CELTIC&RH=Celtic&PREV_SEASON=1996
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61063790.html "Gers Gazzumped by Last-Gasp Goal" by Stewart Weir, The Mirror, 20 November 1997
- ^ http://www.ntvcelticfanzine.com/farewell%20then/fwlstubbs.htm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/90174.stm
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60416853.html "No-one wants a dope test after losing a final ... Alan will be glad he did now; IBROX STAR IS ROOTING FOR STUBBS" by Colin Donald & David McCarthy, The Daily Record, 29 June 1999
- ^ http://www.sportinglive.info/football/scottishpremier/celtic/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/00/03/19/SOCCER_Cup.html&TEAMHD=celtic&DIV=scotsprem&TEAM=CELTIC&RH=Celtic&PREV_SEASON=1998
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/football/teams/c/celtic/newsid_1026000/1026498.stm Stubbs hit by new cancer worry
- ^ http://www.fitbastats.com/celtic/game.php?gameid=4836
- ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Football%3A+Alan+Stubbs+set+to+join+Sheffield+Wednesday%3B+'His+wife+is...-a060653748
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/everton/3012787/On-the-Spot-Alan-Stubbs.html
- ^ "Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland". BBC. 5 November 2005. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Sturcke, James (6 September 2007). "Mourners pay respects at Rhys funeral". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-04-23.
- ^ Stubbs Brings Steel | Derby County | News | Latest | Latest
- ^ http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-b-intres-det.html
- ^ Alan Stubbs back at Everton. Daily Post, 23 September 2008.
- ^ "Roberto Martínez set for second interview for Everton manager's job". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
External links
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Phil Brown |
Bolton Wanderers Captain 1994–1996 |
Succeeded by Guðni Bergsson |
Preceded by Robbie Savage |
Derby County Captain 2008 |
Succeeded by Paul Connolly |
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