| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan A'Court[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1934-09-30)30 September 1934[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Rainhill, England | ||
| Date of death | 14 December 2009(2009-12-14) (aged 75)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Nantwich, England | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1952 | Prescot Cables | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1952–1964 | Liverpool | 354 | (61) |
| 1964–1966 | Tranmere Rovers | 50 | (11) |
| 1966–1967 | Norwich City | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 404 | (72) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957–1958 | England | 5 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978 | Stoke City (caretaker) | ||
| 1983–1984 | Nantwich Town | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alan A'Court (30 September 1934 – 14 December 2009) was an English professionalfootballer who mostly played forLiverpool. He gained five caps for England and represented the nation at the1958 FIFA World Cup.
Born inRainhill,Lancashire, England, A'Court was awinger who started out atPrescot Cables as an amateur before he was signed by Reds managerDon Welsh. A'Court made his debut in a league match atAyresome Park on 7 February 1953, a game that saw Liverpool take both the points from a 3–2 win. His first goal came a month later on 14 March, again in a league match, this time atAnfield in a 2–0 victory overSunderland.
A'Court, who followedRugby league, signed from Prescot as an 18-year-old in September 1952, spurning the advances ofEverton andBolton Wanderers to become an Anfield apprentice, a decision that paid off as just six months after joining he made his first team debut. The following season A'Court played 16 times, as Liverpool were relegated to theSecond Division.
During the Anfield club's first season in the second tier of English football A'Court established himself as a first team regular making 33 league and cup appearances. A'Court remained consistent as Liverpool failed to regain their top flight status. By the age of 24 years and 89 days he had played 200 league games for the Reds becoming the youngest player to do so, a record that still stands.
Although the strong and talented A'Court could have left to play for teams in theFirst Division, his loyalty to Liverpool was rewarded in1961–62 when, as an ever-present, he and the Reds celebrated promotion back to the First Division under the guidance ofBill Shankly, finishing a full eight points (in the days of two points for a win) clear of second placedLeyton Orient. A'Court was selected 23 times during Liverpool's first season back amongst football's elite teams; he helped Liverpool to an eighth-place finish in the First Division.
Whilst still in Division 2 A'Court's skill alertedEngland managerWalter Winterbottom, who was looking for a player to replace an injuredTom Finney; Winterbottom handed the left winger the first of his fivecaps on 6 November 1957 in aBritish Championship match againstNorthern Ireland atWembley. A'Court's only goal for his country and a goal forDuncan Edwards were not enough to prevent England losing the game 3–2. The highlight of his career was representing England at the1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, where he played in England's last three matches againstBrazil (0–0),Austria (2–2), and the group stage play-off game against theUSSR (0–1). He did this despite playing for a club in the Second Division.
Unfortunately for A'Court, injuries began to take their toll. He missed the whole of the1963–64 championship winning season, so Shankly signedPeter Thompson fromPreston North End. After spending most of his career at Liverpool, playing 382 times and scoring 63 goals, A'Court was allowed to leave. He joinedTranmere Rovers for a fee of£4,500 in October 1964. A'Court's final outing in a Red shirt was in a historic match: Liverpool's first ever European match atAnfield, the game was aEuropean Cup preliminary round 2nd leg match on 14 September 1964. Liverpool had won the first encounter withIcelandic sideKR 5–0 but rather than treat the return leg as a mere formality, the Reds finished off the job with a comprehensive 6–1 victory.
A'Court later became player-coach atNorwich City before taking on various coaching jobs, including posts in Zambia and New Zealand, he also became assistant manager atStoke City whenTony Waddington called upon his services in 1969. In January 1978George Eastham was sacked and A'Court was put in caretaker charge. His only match in charge of Stoke came in theFA Cup at home to non-leagueBlyth Spartans in1977–78, Stoke lost the match 3–2.[2]
Once new managerAlan Durban was appointed A'Court moved toCrewe Alexandra as an assistant manager. He then went to join the sport staff atNorth Staffordshire Polytechnic. He managedNantwich Town from September 1983 to April 1984.
After finally retiring from football, A'Court ran a tobacconist/newsagent shop on the borders ofBirkenhead andBebington. A'Court died of cancer on 14 December 2009.[3]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 1952–53 | First Division | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | |
| 1953–54 | First Division | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 3 | ||
| 1954–55 | Second Division | 30 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 33 | 3 | ||
| 1955–56 | Second Division | 40 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 45 | 6 | ||
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 38 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 39 | 10 | ||
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 39 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 44 | 6 | ||
| 1958–59 | Second Division | 39 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 40 | 7 | ||
| 1959–60 | Second Division | 42 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 44 | 8 | ||
| 1960–61 | Second Division | 33 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 37 | 7 | ||
| 1961–62 | Second Division | 42 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 47 | 9 | ||
| 1962–63 | First Division | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 2 | ||
| 1963–64 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1964–65 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 354 | 61 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 363 | 63 | ||
| Tranmere Rovers | 1964–65 | Fourth Division | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 | 4 | |
| 1965–66 | Fourth Division | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 7 | ||
| Total | 50 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 404 | 72 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 435 | 74 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1957 | 1 | 1 |
| 1958 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 5 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 November 1957 | Wembley Stadium, London |  Northern Ireland | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1958 British Home Championship |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Stoke City[2] | 9 January 1978 | 13 February 1978 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.0 | ||
