Alan Buckley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan Peter Buckley | ||
| Date of birth | 20 April 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Mansfield, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1967–1973 | Nottingham Forest | 18 | (1) |
| 1973–1978 | Walsall | 241 | (125) |
| 1978–1979 | Birmingham City | 28 | (8) |
| 1979–1984 | Walsall | 178 | (49) |
| 1984–1986 | Stourbridge | ||
| 1986–1987 | Tamworth | 3 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1978 | Walsall (caretaker) | ||
| 1979–1981 | Walsall | ||
| 1981–1982 | Walsall (joint with Neil Martin) | ||
| 1982–1986 | Walsall | ||
| 1986–1988 | Kettering Town | ||
| 1988–1994 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 1994–1997 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| 1997–2000 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 2001–2002 | Lincoln City | ||
| 2003 | Rochdale | ||
| 2006–2008 | Grimsby Town | ||
| 2012–2013 | Grimsby Town (U17s) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer turned football manager.
As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, Walsall, Birmingham City, Stourbridge and Tamworth. He moved into management and has been in charge of Walsall, Kettering Town, West Bromwich Albion, Lincoln City and Rochdale. He gained renown for his three stints as manager of Grimsby Town between 1988 and 2008, where his accolades have made him the club's most successful manager. Buckley is one of only 14 managers to have reached 1,000 matches in charge of a league club, but the only one of the 14 never to have managed a team in the Premiership or its predecessor, the First Division.
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 and the side gradually established itself as promotion contenders.
Buckley gained a favourable reputation 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, when Terry Ramsden bought the club, installing his own managerial team within 90 minutes of the takeover deal being completed.
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