Alan Buckley

Football manager infobox
playername = Alan Buckley


fullname = Alan Peter Buckley
nickname =
height =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1951|4|20|df=y
cityofbirth = Mansfield
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
currentclub = none
position = Forward
years = 1967–1973
1973–1978
1978–1979
1979–1984
clubs = Nottingham Forest
Walsall
Birmingham City
Walsall
Stourbridge
Tamworth
caps(goals) = 018 00(1)
241 (125)
028 00(8)
178 0(49)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 1978
1979–1981
1981–1982
1982–1986
1986–1988
1988–1994
1994–1997
1997–2000
2001–2002
2003
2006–2008
managerclubs = Walsall (caretaker)
Walsall
Walsall (joint with Neil Martin)
Walsall
Kettering Town
Grimsby Town
West Bromwich Albion
Grimsby Town
Lincoln City
Rochdale
Grimsby Town

Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951 in Mansfield, England) is an English football manager. He was manager of League Two side Grimsby Town until his dismissal on Monday 15th September 2008. Buckley was formerly a professional footballer, most notably as a striker for Walsall F.C.

Buckley is one of only 14 managers to have reached 1,000 matches in charge of a league club, however the only one of the 14 never to have managed a team in the Premiership or its predecessor, the First Division.

He is the older brother of former Borrowash Victoria, Burton Albion, Luton Town and Derby County full-back, Steve Buckley, and the father of former Grimsby Town and Lincoln City midfielder Adam Buckley . His other son Simon also had a brief stint with Grimsby.

Football career

Buckley began his career with Nottingham Forest, but was transferred to Walsall in 1973 having never managed to win a regular place in the first team. He became a prolific striker at Fellows Park, before he was transferred briefly to Birmingham City in October 1978. He returned to Walsall as their record signing (£175,000) in June 1979. He began his managerial career with 'The Saddlers', initially as player/manager and briefly as co-manager with Neil Martin. This was an era that became a hallmark for some of the most attractive football seen in Walsall. Buckley also gained something of a reputation as a giant killer during his time in the Black Country, scoring against Manchester United as a player during an FA Cup upset in January 1975, and leading his Walsall side as a manager to victories against the likes of Arsenal, and a draw at Anfield during a League Cup run which took them to the semi-finals, just '90 Minutes From Europe'. He was sacked in August 1986, as enigmatic millionaire Terry Ramsden bought the club, installing his own managerial team.

Later as a manager, after a spell with non-league Kettering Town, he guided Grimsby Town to promotion from the Fourth Division in 1990 and they reached the Second Division a year later - where they spent all but one of the next 12 seasons. Buckley remained at Blundell Park until the autumn of 1994 when he joined Grimsby's Division One rivals West Bromwich Albion. His spell at the Hawthorns lasted two-and-a-half years before he was sacked for failing to get Albion anywhere near a promotion challenge.

A few months after being sacked by Albion, Buckley returned to Grimsby in summer 1997 for his second spell as manager. Town had just been relegated to Division Two, but he took them back to Division One at the first time of asking with two Wembley visits in 1998. Buckley remained in charge for two full seasons after that, but was dismissed after just two games of 2000–01. A couple of brief, short-lived spells in Division Three followed - first with Lincoln City, arriving at Sincil Bank in January 2001. [cite news
title=Lincoln look to Buckley
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/lincoln_city/1195093.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2001-02-28
accessdate=2007-11-02] Buckley left the Imps in April 2002, with the club stating that financial reasons were behind his departure. [cite news
title=Buckley leaves Lincoln
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/lincoln_city/1950957.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2002-04-25
accessdate=2007-11-02] He then took charge of Rochdale in June 2003, [cite news
title=Rochdale get Buckley
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rochdale/2954154.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2003-06-01
accessdate=2007-11-02] but left by mutual consent in December of the same year after failing to revive the club's fortunes. [cite news
title=Buckley leaves Rochdale
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rochdale/3357283.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2003-12-30
accessdate=2007-11-02] On 9 November 2006 Buckley was appointed manager of Grimsby for a third time. [cite news
title=Grimsby unveil Buckley as manager
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/g/grimsby_town/6130182.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2006-11-09
accessdate=2007-11-02]

In his first season back with Grimsby, a mid-table finish was considered a creditable achievement after relegation from the Football League had looked a distinct possibility. In 2007–08, Grimsby made a slow start but soon picked up. A good run in the Football League Trophy saw The Mariners travel to the new Wembley 10 years after their first visit. However this time Grimsby lost 2-0 to MK Dons. League form suffered terribly afterwards, the season ending with eight straight defeats.

After gaining just two points from the opening six games of the 2008–09 season, Buckley was again dismissed as manager.

Honours as a player

=Walsall=

*All time scoring record: 202 goals in all major competitions
*Most expensive signing: £175,000 from Birmingham City in June 1979

Honours as a manager

=Kettering Town=

*GMAC Cup winner: 1987

=Grimsby Town=

*Division Four runners up, Promoted: 1990
*Division Three 3rd place, Promoted: 1991
*Auto Windscreens Shield winner: 1998
*Division Two Play-off winner: 1998

Managerial stats

"As of 24 May 2007."

Trivia

* In his three stints as Grimsby Town manager (spanning, in total, over 10 years), the club was never relegated.

References

External links

*soccerbase (manager)|name=Alan Buckley|id=18
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/football-heroes/displayhero_club.asp?HeroID=280 sporting-heroes.net] - Alan Buckley, Birmingham City FC, 1978-1979
* [http://www.saddlers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Pastplayerdetail/0,,10428~70184,00.html Saddlers World] - Player profile
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/football_focus/4254809.stm BBC Sport] - Walsall Cult heroes