Player Database: Alan Neilson

By: Paul Holmes
Date: 27/07/2003

In the dark days of Lennie Lawrence’s reign, regular right-back John McDermott found himself on the sidelines with a lengthy calf injury. One time replacement Danny Butterfield was occupied in midfield and generally regarded as not strong for the No 2 shirt anymore. David Beharall had varying levels of success in the role but never got a real chance.

Lawrence promised us a top class replacement. We got Alan Neilson. Arriving at BP in his late 20’s with less than a hundred first team games under his belt, the alarm bells were ringing.

He’s versatile in defence and midfield we was told by Lawrence. Anyone can be versatile, don’t mean they are any good. Neilson really struggled and only really looked at ease during the 3-1 win over Birmingham, even then he got injured 30 minutes in.

The change to 5-3-2 seemed to suit him more but he still looked off the pace. The memory of Neilson's performance during the 1-0 defeat to York in the FA Cup still must haunt him, it does me. The return of Macca was well never more welcome. Neilson had his contract paid up soon after and headed to Luton, where he still is. No doubt excited about the prospect of an F1 track around any new stadium.

Next Player: Bradley Allen

Add To Facebook

This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!

Related Stories

• Player Database: Bradley Allen
• Player Database
• Slipped Through the Net
• More Stories