| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander James Cropley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 January 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Aldershot, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1968–1974 | Hibernian | 118 | (27) |
| 1974–1976 | Arsenal | 30 | (5) |
| 1976–1980 | Aston Villa | 67 | (7) |
| 1979–1980 | → Newcastle United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1981 | Toronto Blizzard | 15 | (2) |
| 1981–1982 | Portsmouth | 10 | (2) |
| Total | 228 | (41) | |
| National team | |||
| 1971 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Alex Cropley (born 16 January 1951 in Aldershot, Hampshire) is a retired footballer who won two caps for Scotland.
Cropley began his career with Hibernian, where he featured in the Hibs side of the early 1970s known as "Turnbull's Tornadoes". While with Hibs he played in a Scottish Cup Final and won the Scottish League Cup. Despite being born in the south of England, Cropley was eligible for Scotland and he was selected for the matches against Belgium and Portugal in 1971.
Late in 1974, Cropley was transferred to Arsenal, where he struggled to make an impact, largely due to injuries. He had made his debut against Carlisle United on 7 December 1974, but broke his leg in a match away to Middlesbrough in January 1975 and broke it again soon after his comeback. He returned to make 22 appearances in 1975–76 but could not cement his place in the Arsenal first team. He was transferred to Aston Villa in September 1976, having played 34 times, scoring five goals, for Arsenal.
At Villa, he featured in a memorable win against the great Liverpool side of the period,[2] but he suffered serious injury, a broken leg, yet again on 10 December 1977, a few months after appearing in the club's League Cup Final victory against Everton.[3] Cropley finished his career with spells at Newcastle (on loan), Toronto Blizzard and Portsmouth. He retired from professional football in 1982 at the relatively young age of 31. His son Jordan (also a midfielder) played for Hibs' youth teams,[4] but was released in 2009.[5]