Alex Watson (footballer)

Alexander Francis Watson (born 5 April 1968) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing for Liverpool, Derby County, A.F.C. Bournemouth, Gillingham, Torquay United and Exeter City.[3][4] He is the younger brother of the former Everton player Dave Watson,[5] and like his brother, played as a central defender.

Alex Watson
Personal information
Full name Alexander Francis Watson[1]
Date of birth (1968-04-05) 5 April 1968[1]
Place of birth Liverpool,[1] England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1991 Liverpool 4 (0)
1990 → Derby County (loan) 5 (0)
1991–1995 A.F.C. Bournemouth 151 (5)
1995 → Gillingham (loan) 10 (1)
1995–2001 Torquay United 202 (8)
2001–2003 Exeter City 46 (1)
2003–2004 Taunton Town
2004–2005 Clevedon Town 23 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Watson was born in Liverpool, and began his career as an apprentice with Liverpool F.C. He turned professional in 1985, and made his debut against Queens Park Rangers in March 1988. He made nine appearances in total for the club, of which four were in the league, and he was in the starting line-up for the 1988 Charity Shield.[5]

In August 1990 he joined Derby County for a brief loan spell, and the following January he made a permanent move to A.F.C. Bournemouth for a fee of £150,000. He spent almost five years there, making 182 appearances and scoring 6 league goals, moving to Gillingham on loan in September 1995 before joining Torquay United in November 1995 for a fee of £50,000.[3]

He quickly became a crowd favourite at Torquay, becoming club captain in 1997 and assistant manager in 1999 under Wes Saunders. In July 2001 he made the short journey to join Exeter City on a free transfer.[6] In his first season there he was a first-team regular, but a change of management saw him play only three games in the 2002–03 season.[3] He was released in the summer of 2003 and signed for non-league club Taunton Town.[6] He played 20 games without scoring in the first part of the 2004–05 season,[7] before joining Clevedon Town in November 2004,[8] playing 23 times without scoring in the remainder of the season.[9]

He was an England youth international[8] and is a FA qualified coach.[10][11]

References
  1. "Alex Watson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. "Games played by Alex Watson in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  4. "Alex Watson". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
  5. "Profile: Alex Watson". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
  6. "Taunton Sign Experienced Duo". NonLeague Daily. 15 July 2003. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  7. "Taunton Town Players Appearances 2004/05". Taunton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  8. "Hodges Re-Signs Watson". NonLeague Daily. 11 November 2004. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  9. "Clevedon Town FC – 2004/05 Appearances & Goalscorers". Clevedon Town F.C. Archived from the original (Word document) on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  10. http://grecianarchive.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/606
  11. http://www.middevonadvertiser.co.uk/article.cfm?id=101267&headline=Footballer%20Alex%20Watson%20visits%20Newton%20Abbot%20College&sectionIs=sport&searchyear=2015
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