Biography
The signing of Gary Alexander in June 2001 was an early sign of the growing ambition that chairman Adam Pearson was showing in advance of the club’s move to the new stadium at West Park. Alexander had spent the previous season at cash-strapped Swindon but prior to then he had been a hot prospect at West Ham and had spent a season on loan at Exeter that was full of goals. He was immediately unleashed on the Division 3 defences and found goals in plentiful supply. He opened his account with a brace against Kidderminster, then scored thirteen goals in 14 games during late September, October and early November. The goals continued to flow and Alexander ended the season with 23 strikes in all competitions and was named player of the season.
His second season began in more subdued form and as rumours spread of behind-the-scenes discord involving Alexander, so his form dropped – although a notable exception was a hattrick at home to Carlisle. By November 2002 Peter Taylor had taken over from Jan Molby, the whole side was struggling for goals and Taylor decided to make a change. In January 2003 Alexander transferred to Leyton Orient, freeing squad space for City to sign Jamie Forrester to lead the attack.
Alexander was born in Lambeth but headed east for his football as a teenager, coming through the youth system at West Ham United. While he never played a senior game for the Hammers, he did spend a season on loan at Exeter City in 1999/00 that yielded 19 goals and attracted the attention of numerous lower league clubs. Swindon Town won the race for Alexander’s services, signing him for £300,000 in July 2000. After only one season at the County Ground Alexander switched to the Tigers, with Swindon recouped only half the fee they had paid 12 months earlier.
Gary spent four and a half seasons at Leyton Orient following his departure from Hull City, delivering a double figures goal haul in all four full seasons. In 2007 he transferred to Millwall, a step up the league pyramid, and his form continued to be good for two more seasons – in May 2009 he scored twice in the League One Play-Off final that Millwall lost 2-3 to Scunthorpe United. His third season at Millwall saw him out of the side for long periods and in August 2010 he moved to Brentford. After a season and a half Gary’s career wound down with spells at Crawley Town, AFC Wimbledon and Burton Albion. At Crawley, Alexander was briefly caretaker manager in December 2013.
In July 2014 commenced a second playing career in the non-leagues with Greenwich Borough, where he became player-manager in December 2015. In 2018 Gary left Greenwich and had a short spell at Chatham Town before joining Ashford United as assistant manager, becoming manager in the 2018 close season. He left Ashford in November 2018 and in September 2019 became the manager of Southern Counties East League side Glebe, based in Chislehurst, South East London. Garyt left Glebe in September 2021 and returned to playing at the age of 42, signing for Combined Counties League side Beckenham Town. In December 2021 he was appointed interim assistant manager at Isthmian League side Cray Wanderers, leaving the role in March 2022.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 15 August 1979, Lambeth
Hull City First Game: 11 August 2001, Exeter City A (League Division 3), 21 years, 361 days old
Hull City Final Game: 18 January 2003, Leyton Orient A (League Division 3), 23 years, 156 days old
Clubs
West Ham United (1995-2000), Exeter City (1999-2000, loan), Swindon Town (2000-2001), Hull City (2001-2003), Leyton Orient (2003-2007), Millwall (2007-2010), Brentford (2010-2012), Crawley Town (2012, loan), Crawley Town (2012-2014), AFC Wimbledon (2013, loan), Burton Albion (2014), Greenwich Borough (2014-2018), Chatham Town (2018), Ashford United (2018), Beckenham Town (2021-current)
Hull City Record
Career: 78 apps, 30 goals
Gary AlexanderSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001/02 | 43 (0) | 17 | 2 (0) | 2 | 2 (0) | 1 | - | - | 3 (0) | 3 |
2002/03 | 21 (4) | 6 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 1 | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 |