| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Russell Elder | ||
| Date of birth | 25 April 1941 | ||
| Place of birth | Lisburn, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | june 25 , 1938 | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1956–1959 | Glentoran | 11 | (0) |
| 1959–1967 | Burnley | 271 | (15) |
| 1967–1973 | Stoke City | 80 | (1) |
| 1973–1975 | Leek Town | ||
| Total | 362 | (16) | |
| National team | |||
| 1960–1969 | Northern Ireland | 40 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Alexander "Alex" Russell Elder (born April 25, 1941) is a retired Northern Irish football left back, who played for Burnley.
He was said to plays a very mature game for someone with so little experience of top-class football. Although not quick on the turn, he timed his tackles well and invariably made good use of the ball.[1]
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Elder was the very last piece in Harry Potts Championship jigsaw, signing aged 17 in January 1959 for £5,000 from Irish League club Glentoran.[2]
He spent the remainder of the 1958/59 season in the Burnley reserves, remaining there when the 1959/60 season began.
By the eighth game of that season he made his first team debut against Preston and the great Tom Finney. Despite a 1-0 defeat Elder played well enough to retain his place and played in all but one of the remaining games that season.[2] The 1959-60 season brought Burnley its second, and to date last, league championship. After a tense run-in with Wolves and Spurs, the other main title contenders, Burnley clinched the championship at Maine Road with a 2-1 victory on May 2, 1960.
Elder admitted that he was fortunate as a young player to come into a side that included so many great players - including Jimmy Adamson and Jimmy McIlroy.[3]
Elder played in Burnley's European Cup campaign the following season and then in the FA Cup Final Wembley side of 1962.
He forged a formidable full back partnership with John Angus[2] and the two were only separated when Elder broke an ankle in pre-season training in 1963.
In July 1965, Elder succeeded Brian Miller as club captain.[2]
Elder was just 26 when in August 1967 Burnley accepted £50,000 from Stoke City. While he was reluctant to leave, he admitted that his face did not fit in with the new coach, former teammate Jimmy Adamson.[3]
He was injured in pre season training at Stoke and persistent knee problems dogged his time in the Potteries.[2] However, he did make 83 league appearances for Stoke.[4]
After leaving Stoke he joined Leek Town.[4]
In April 1960 Elder made his international debut for Northern Ireland in a Home International Championship game in Wrexham against Wales.
He won 34 caps while at Burnley and a further six after he transferred to Stoke. He also represented Northern Ireland at B, Under 23 and Schooboy level.[5]