Alex Nicholls (footballer)

Alex Nicholls
Nicholls with the Scottish Challenge Cup trophy
Personal information
Full name Alex Nicholls[1]
Date of birth (1987-12-09) 9 December 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Stourbridge, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Striker / Winger
Youth career
–2005 Walsall
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2012 Walsall 191 (24)
2007 → Burton Albion (loan) 14 (0)
2012–2015 Northampton Town 21 (8)
2014 → Exeter City (loan) 6 (1)
2014–2015 → Exeter City (loan) 7 (0)
2015–2016 Exeter City 54 (9)
2016–2018 Barnet 42 (9)
2017 → Dundee United (loan) 9 (0)
2018–2019 Crewe Alexandra 21 (2)
2019 Solihull Moors 5 (1)
2019–2020 Stourbridge 6 (1)
Total 376 (55)
Managerial career
2020 Stourbridge (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:10, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

Alex Nicholls (born 9 December 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as both a midfielder and a striker. He has previously played for Walsall, Burton Albion, Northampton Town, Exeter City, Barnet, Dundee United, Crewe Alexandra and Solihull Moors.

Playing career

Walsall

After impressing in reserve and youth team games, Nicholls broke into Walsall's first team in the 2005–06 season, making his debut in December 2005 in a FA Cup clash with Yeovil Town. In that same season Nicholls went on to make 13 appearances which included a Football League Trophy clash with Swansea City, it was in this game that he scored his first professional goal for the club. However, his season ended prematurely as he broke his leg while playing in a youth cup tie with Hednesford Town.

In 2007, Nicholls went on loan to Burton Albion.[2] He made 14 appearances for the Brewers before returning to Walsall at the end of April. During the 2007–08 season, Nicholls played as both a right winger and a striker, making 24 appearances and scoring three goals, which included an FA Cup goal in an away replay with Millwall.

Nicholls was offered a new two-year contract by the club on 10 May 2010[3] which he accepted. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against Brentford in a 2–1 victory, by scoring a well placed lob. In his final season for the club he was joint top goal scorer with 8 goals. Nicholls went on to make a total of 219 appearances for the club before leaving on a free transfer in 2012.

Northampton Town

In June 2012, Nicholls joined League Two side Northampton Town on a free transfer after his contract expired.[4]

Nicholls soon became a fans favourite at the club with his all energy displays and some vital goals, he scored 8 goals in 16 games before his season was ended prematurely when on 27 October he broke his leg after a late challenge from Port Vale defender John McCombe.[5]

Exeter City

On 1 September 2014, Nicholls joined Exeter City, on a one-month loan deal where he Helped them move clear of the relegation zone. Nicholls completed his permanent move to Exeter City on 5 January 2015.[6] Nicholls played a total of 73 games for Exeter before moving to Barnet

Barnet

Nicholls joined Barnet on 1 July 2016.[7] He scored on his debut against Cambridge United on 6 August.[8]

Nicholls was loaned to Scottish Championship club Dundee United in January 2017.[9] On 25 March 2017, Nicholls picked up a Scottish Challenge Cup winners medal when Dundee United beat St Mirren F.C. to lift the trophy at Fir Park.

Crewe Alexandra

On 6 July 2018, Nicholls joined Crewe Alexandra on a one-year contract,[10] and, on his first team debut on 4 August 2018, scored twice during a 6–0 win over Morecambe.[11] At the end of the 2018–19 season, Nicholls was released and was set to leave the club.[12]

Solihull Moors

On 23 August 2019, Nicholls joined Solihull Moors on a one-month contract.[13]

Stourbridge

Following the expiry of his short-term contract with Solihull, Nicholls joined Stourbridge.[14] He was caretaker manager in February 2020 in between the departure of Ian Long and the appointment of Mark Yates.[15][16]

After football

After retiring from football, Nicholls trained to become a firefighter, following his father's career. He began working in the role in August 2021, stationed at Haden Cross Fire Station in Halesowen, West Midlands.[17]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 January 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Walsall 2005–06[18] League One 8 0 3 0 0 0 2 1 13 1
2006–07[19] League Two 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007–08[20] League One 19 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 25 3
2008–09[21] 45 6 1 0 1 0 2 0 49 6
2009–10[22] 37 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 40 5
2010–11[23] 37 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 40 5
2011–12[24] 45 7 4 1 1 0 2 0 52 8
Total 191 24 15 2 5 1 8 1 219 28
Burton Albion (loan) 2006–07[19] Conference 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Northampton Town 2012–13[25] League Two 15 7 0 0 2 1 2 0 19 8
2013–14[26] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15[27] 6 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 10 1
Total 21 8 1 0 3 1 4 0 29 9
Exeter City (loan) 2014–15[27] League Two 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
Exeter City (loan) 2014–15[27] League Two 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Exeter City 2014–15[27] League Two 19 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 4
2015–16[28] 35 5 4 1 1 1 2 1 42 8
Total 54 9 4 1 1 1 2 1 61 12
Barnet 2016–17[29] League Two 17 2 0 0 1 0 2 1 20 3
2017–18 25 7 1 0 0 0 1 1 27 8
Total 42 9 1 0 1 0 3 2 47 11
Dundee United (loan) 2016–17[29] Scottish Championship 9 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 13 0
Crewe Alexandra 2018–19 League Two 21 2 1 0 1 0 3 2 26 4
Solihull Moors 2019–20 National League 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 1
Stourbridge 2019–20[30] SFL Premier Division Central 6 1 4 1 0 0 5 0 15 2
Career total 376 55 26 4 11 3 30 6 443 68
  1. ^ Includes Football League Trophy, Scottish Challenge Cup, Scottish Premiership play-off matches, Birmingham Senior Cup and FA Trophy.

Honours

Dundee United

References

  1. ^ "The Football League Limited Club list of registered players" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Saddlers striker joins Burton". Sky Sports. 22 February 2007.
  3. ^ "Walsall release seven including Dwayne Mattis". BBC Sport. 10 May 2010.
  4. ^ "COBBLERS AGREE NICHOLLS CAPTURE". NTFC. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Northampton 2 – 0 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  6. ^ "ALEX NICHOLLS SIGNS 18-MONTH DEAL WITH EXETER CITY". Express and Echo. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Alex Nicholls joins the Bees!". Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  8. ^ Cambridge United 1–1 Barnet
  9. ^ "Dundee Utd, Falkirk, St Mirren, Raith Rovers and Ayr Utd make signings". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Alex Nicholls: Crewe sign former Barnet striker on one-year deal". BBC Sport. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 6–0 Morecambe". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  12. ^ Morse, Peter (7 May 2019). "Crewe Alex: Ben Garratt released and George Ray to exit as retained list announced". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  13. ^ Solihull Moors Twitter, 23 August 2019
  14. ^ Glassboys strengthen with the signing of Alex Nicholls
  15. ^ Stourbridge FC: Alex Nicholls takes interim charge of Glassboys after Ian Long exit
  16. ^ MARK YATES APPOINTED AS NEW STOURBRIDGE FC MANAGER
  17. ^ Mashiter, Nick (7 October 2021). "From football to firefighting – how Alex Nicholls started a new career". The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  21. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  22. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  23. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  24. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  25. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  26. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  27. ^ a b c d "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  28. ^ "Games played by Alex Nicholls in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  29. ^ a b Alex Nicholls – Soccerway
  30. ^ "StackPath".
  31. ^ Young, Chick (25 March 2017). "Dundee United 2–1 St Mirren". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 March 2021.