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Keith Alexander: One of English football's finest men
Goal.com pays tribute to a true trailblazer of the game
4 Mar 2010 09:00:00
By Zack Wilson
It is rare that a figure from the lower reaches of the Football League receives as many touching public tributes as were delivered on Wednesday to Keith Alexander, the manager of Macclesfield Town, who died at home, aged 53, on Tuesday evening.
After all, not often do the England national side wear black armbands as a tribute to a player and manager whose career may well appear unremarkable to those outside the English game.
But Alexander was a remarkable man. Being Britain’s first Black manager gave him a higher profile than most perhaps, but what was striking about those tributes paid to him was the sheer affectionate intensity and warmth of feeling in them – this was clearly a man who was so much more than just a symbol.
Alexander was born in Nottingham in 1956, and began his career as a striker for hometown club Notts County in 1974. He then enjoyed a well-travelled playing career as a journeyman striker in non-league football for the likes of, amongst others, Grantham Town and Kettering Town before ending up at Barnet in 1986.
He then moved on to Grimsby Town and eventually to Lincoln City, where he would begin his career in management . He played a few more games for Mansfield Town before heading over to Northern Ireland for a short spell with Cliftonville.
That spell may have been short, but it is testament to the character of the man that many of those warm tributes yesterday came from Ulster, where the Cliftonville club still regard him as one of their own.
But Lincoln was the club with whom Alexander became synonymous. His first spell in charge at Sincil Bank was short, he was sacked in 1994 after a year in charge. But he was to return in 2001 in the dual roles of director of football and assistant manager to Alan Buckley.
That changed in 2002 when Alexander took sole charge of the team and reshaped a squad that subsequently played its way into the Third Division (now League One) play-offs.
They were defeated in the final by Bournemouth, losing 5-2. Alexander then went on to establish the unenviable record of leading his team to the play-offs for four consecutive seasons and being defeated in each, reaching the final twice. He left Lincoln by mutual consent in 2006.
In the midst of all that, Alexander suffered a cerebral aneurysm in November 2003, undergoing life-saving surgery in Sheffield. He was back at work in February 2004.
Those consecutive play-off failures may have given him the reputation of a ‘nearly-man’ in the eyes of chairmen higher up the football pyramid. If so, it was unfair, and many suspected that there were more sinister elements at work hampering his career. Namely, that his African-Caribbean origins meant that he’d never get a job at a club with a higher profile.
If the man himself believed that, then he did not let resentment eat away at him. His friend, Sky Sports pundit Chris Kamara, claims that Alexander always showed admirable, and quite frankly amazing, restraint when discussing the matter.
“Keith was Keith,” said Kamara. “He didn’t bang on, or beat any drums about being Black. He just thought he’d got there on merit. He worked hard to be a manager and he was successful at it.”
But it is for more than his success that Alexander should be remembered. His friends have described him as ‘a gent’ and ‘a fine example’. That is surely how this most modest of men would like to be remembered.
Keith Alexander was Britain’s first Black manager, but he was a fine example to us all.
After all, not often do the England national side wear black armbands as a tribute to a player and manager whose career may well appear unremarkable to those outside the English game.
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But Alexander was a remarkable man. Being Britain’s first Black manager gave him a higher profile than most perhaps, but what was striking about those tributes paid to him was the sheer affectionate intensity and warmth of feeling in them – this was clearly a man who was so much more than just a symbol.
Alexander was born in Nottingham in 1956, and began his career as a striker for hometown club Notts County in 1974. He then enjoyed a well-travelled playing career as a journeyman striker in non-league football for the likes of, amongst others, Grantham Town and Kettering Town before ending up at Barnet in 1986.
He then moved on to Grimsby Town and eventually to Lincoln City, where he would begin his career in management . He played a few more games for Mansfield Town before heading over to Northern Ireland for a short spell with Cliftonville.
That spell may have been short, but it is testament to the character of the man that many of those warm tributes yesterday came from Ulster, where the Cliftonville club still regard him as one of their own.
But Lincoln was the club with whom Alexander became synonymous. His first spell in charge at Sincil Bank was short, he was sacked in 1994 after a year in charge. But he was to return in 2001 in the dual roles of director of football and assistant manager to Alan Buckley.
That changed in 2002 when Alexander took sole charge of the team and reshaped a squad that subsequently played its way into the Third Division (now League One) play-offs.
They were defeated in the final by Bournemouth, losing 5-2. Alexander then went on to establish the unenviable record of leading his team to the play-offs for four consecutive seasons and being defeated in each, reaching the final twice. He left Lincoln by mutual consent in 2006.
In the midst of all that, Alexander suffered a cerebral aneurysm in November 2003, undergoing life-saving surgery in Sheffield. He was back at work in February 2004.
Those consecutive play-off failures may have given him the reputation of a ‘nearly-man’ in the eyes of chairmen higher up the football pyramid. If so, it was unfair, and many suspected that there were more sinister elements at work hampering his career. Namely, that his African-Caribbean origins meant that he’d never get a job at a club with a higher profile.
If the man himself believed that, then he did not let resentment eat away at him. His friend, Sky Sports pundit Chris Kamara, claims that Alexander always showed admirable, and quite frankly amazing, restraint when discussing the matter.
“Keith was Keith,” said Kamara. “He didn’t bang on, or beat any drums about being Black. He just thought he’d got there on merit. He worked hard to be a manager and he was successful at it.”
But it is for more than his success that Alexander should be remembered. His friends have described him as ‘a gent’ and ‘a fine example’. That is surely how this most modest of men would like to be remembered.
Keith Alexander was Britain’s first Black manager, but he was a fine example to us all.
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
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