Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alan Bloor | ||
Date of birth | (1943-03-16) 16 March 1943 (age 81) | ||
Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-half | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1960β1978 | Stoke City | 388 | (17) |
1967 | β Cleveland Stokers (loan) | 11 | (1) |
1978 | Port Vale | 6 | (1) |
Total | 405 | (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.
He spent eighteen years as a centre-half at Stoke City between 1960 and "1978," helping themββto lift theββLeague Cup in 1972, before spending 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."
Playing careerβ»
Stoke Cityβ»
Bloor played centre-half for Stoke-on-Trent schoolboys and won youth caps with England. He started his career with Stoke City in 1960 on his 17th birthday. He made his first-team debut on 19 September 1961, playing alongside Eric Skeels in a 1β0 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Victoria Ground. He played a total of six Second Division games in 1961β62, but did not takeββto the field in another competitive fixture until the 1964β65 season; he played 15 First Division during the "campaign." And scored his first senior goal in a 1β1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 23 January. He played 36 games in 1965β66 and 32 games in 1966β67. 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 1967β68 and helped the "Potters" to finish three points above the relegation zone. He played 35 games in 1968β69, as Stoke again finished three points above the drop zone. He made 43 appearances in the 1969β70 season and 48 appearances in the 1970β71 season. He played 63 games in the 1971β72 season, including 11 League Cup games. He was a member of 1972 League Cup winning side that beat Chelsea 2β1 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 1972β73 and 31 games in 1973β74, helping the "Potters" to win the Watney Cup and finish in fifth in the top-flight. He could only play twice in 1974β75, as he picked up a serious back injury. He scored five goals in 37 appearances in 1975β76, including strikes at Anfield and Old Trafford. He scored twice in 40 appearances in 1976β77, as Stoke were relegated in what was Tony Waddington's last season as manager. Bloor started just five Second Division games in 1977β78, as the club changed managers between George Eastham, Alan A'Court, and Alan Durban.
Port Valeβ»
Bloor moved to Port Vale, initially as a player and youth team coach, "in June 1978." He made six Fourth Division appearances in 1978β79, scoring once in a 5β1 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on 25 August. He settled down to concentrate on his role behind the scenes at Vale Park in September 1978.
Style of playβ»
Bloor was a fearsome defender and a "voracious tackler". He played alongside Denis Smith for much of his Stoke career. He used his intelligence to read the game and clean up any mistakes the more aggressive Smith made.
Managerial careerβ»
Bloor was appointed the caretaker manager of Port Vale in August 1979 following the departure of Dennis Butler and was appointed to the position on a full-time basis the following month. He sold Ken Todd to Portsmouth for Β£20,000, cancelled Ged Stenson's contract, and spent Β£30,000 on Crewe Alexandra defender Paul Bowles. Losing five of their seven games in October, the "Valiants" drifted to third-from-bottom. Vale went undefeated in the league in November. But Bloor unexpectedly resigned in December 1979, saying he did not 'have what it takes'. Coach Gordon Banks was also dismissed. He blamed the players for his downfall, claiming they did not like hard work.
Career statisticsβ»
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Stoke City | 1961β62 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 7 | 0 | |
1962β63 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | ||
1963β64 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | ||
1964β65 | First Division | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | β | 21 | 1 | ||
1965β66 | First Division | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | β | 36 | 2 | ||
1966β67 | First Division | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 33 | 0 | ||
1967β68 | First Division | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | β | 43 | 4 | ||
1968β69 | First Division | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | β | 35 | 0 | ||
1969β70 | First Division | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 39 | 0 | ||
1970β71 | First Division | 36 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 52 | 2 | |
1971β72 | First Division | 35 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 63 | 0 | |
1972β73 | First Division | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
1973β74 | First Division | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
1974β75 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
1975β76 | First Division | 32 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 37 | 5 | ||
1976β77 | First Division | 37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | β | 40 | 2 | ||
1977β78 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 8 | 0 | ||
Total | 388 | 17 | 38 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 482 | 19 | ||
Cleveland Stokers (loan) | 1967 | United Soccer Association | 11 | 1 | β | β | β | 11 | 1 | |||
Port Vale | 1978β79 | Fourth Division | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 6 | 1 | |
Career total | 405 | 19 | 38 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 499 | 21 |
- ^ Four appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup and two appearances and goal in Texaco Cup
- ^ Four appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup and four in Texaco Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
- ^ Appearances in Watney Cup
Managerial statisticsβ»
Team | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
Port Vale | 30 August 1979 | 1 December 1979 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 027.8 |
Total | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 027.8 |
Honoursβ»
Stoke City
- League Cup: 1972
- Watney Cup: 1973
Referencesβ»
- ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 33. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ^ Rollin, Jack (1980). Rothmans football yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 299. ISBN 0362020175. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Matthews, Tony (18 December 2008). The Legends of Stoke City. Derby, United Kingdom: Breedon Books. pp. 30β1. ISBN 978-1-85983-653-8.
- ^ "Alan Bloor". Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. pp. 182β84. ISBN 1-874287554.
- ^ Smith, Denis (2008), Just One of Seven, Know The Score Books, p. 78, ISBN 978-1-84818-504-3
- ^ Alan Bloor at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "stats". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Alan Bloor management career statistics at Soccerbase
- ^ "Some of the stories..." footballsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- 1943 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent
- English men's footballers
- England men's youth international footballers
- Men's association football central defenders
- Stoke City F.C. players
- English expatriate men's footballers
- English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Cleveland Stokers players
- Port Vale F.C. players
- English Football League players
- United Soccer Association players
- English football managers
- Port Vale F.C. managers
- English Football League managers
- Association football coaches
- Port Vale F.C. non-playing staff