Preston North End defender and all-round legend, Graham Alexander, was recognised for his services to football last week and presented with the PFA Merit award – a gong which was previously picked up by greats of the game such as Pele and Eusebio. The award is testament to a true professional of the game who, at 40-years old, has belied his age and continued to play with the right attitude, spirit and at a superb technical level too. All of this spanning over 1,000 domestic games, a feat for a British outfield player bettered only by Tony Ford, with whom Alexander played at Scunthorpe United.
The man affectionately known as ‘Grezza’ received the award from chairman of the PFA and former team-mate Clarke Carlisle, a man who he used to room with at Burnley and who spoke fondly of seeing a fellow pro donning Y-fronts and doing press-ups in the hotel room late night before a game. In receiving the award, Alexander stated: “I’ve been a 10-year old for 30 years, going out and playing football with my mates.” Such phrases muttered by the defender-cum-midfielder are symptomatic of the type of man – and pro – Grezza is; someone extremely hard-working, energetic and always 100% committed to the cause. Lest we forget, for a footballer who spent the majority of his career at right-back, he also racked up an impressive goal tally too – 129 plundered over a 22-year career and four different clubs.
Alexander started his career as a trainee for Scunthorpe United in the late 1980s, making his professional debut in April 1991. He spent four years at the Lincolnshire club until departing for Luton Town in 1995, with whom he stayed until 1999. He was then poached by a certain David Moyes, then manager of Preston North End. It was at North End where Alexander spent the formative years of his career – in an eight-year spell at the club he was part of the side which gained promotion to the Championship in 2000 and then came within a whisker of reaching the Premier League in 2001 and 2005.
Renowned for his penalty taking prowess (that straight run-up he adopts is truly unique) and calmness on the ball, Grezza’s time at the club was to fall short in 2007 over a contract dispute and he managed to see his day in the sun – making the switch to Burnley and enjoying a season of Premier League following the club’s promotion in 2009. He saw out four fruitful campaigns at Turf Moor before rejoining Preston at the start of the current season.
Sadly though, we will no longer see Alexander donning the white of Preston North End as he has recently decided to hang up his boots at the end of the current campaign. He hasn’t actually kicked a ball in anger since tearing his hamstring towards the end of last year but has remained focal to the club’s coaching staff, providing support to players who haven’t featured in Preston manager Graham Westley’s plans. Incidentally, he briefly took charge of Preston in December while the club was between managers and saw out an impressive victory at MK Dons. His discussions are currently ongoing with club chairman Peter Ridsdale and he will hope to be involved in an official coaching role at North End come next year.
Your writer has had the absolute pleasure of once encountering Graham Alexander at a Preston pre-season friendly and he was nothing short of a true gentleman; a trait which is mirrored in how he conducts his activity out on the football pitch. This PFA Merit award is long overdue for a player and professional such as Grezza, someone who doesn’t know and never knew the meaning of ‘having a rest’. Over a 24-year career and 1,000+ games, it’s safe to say that his fitness levels, application and dedication to the sport are amongst some of the best seen in this country. The award is befitting of an absolute cast-iron legend of the game and a man who is an example to all.
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