| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carl Alford | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Denton, Manchester, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker (Retired) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988 | Rochdale | 4 | (0) |
| Burnley | |||
| Stockport County | |||
| → Morecambe (loan) | |||
| Witton Albion | |||
| 1993–1994 | Macclesfield Town | ||
| 1994–1996 | Kettering Town | 94 | (54) |
| 1996–1998 | Rushden & Diamonds | 52 | (22) |
| 1998 | → Dover Athletic (loan) | (7) | |
| 1998–2000 | Stevenage Borough | 39 | (42) |
| 2000–2001 | Doncaster Rovers | 17 | (1) |
| 2001 | → Kettering Town (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Yeovil Town | 52 | (10) |
| 2003 | → Nuneaton Borough (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| 2003–2004 | Gainsborough Trinity | ||
| 2004 | Leigh RMI | 1 | (20) |
| Woodley Sports | |||
| Nuneaton Borough | |||
| New Mills | |||
| National team | |||
| England National Game XI | 2 | (2) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Carl Alford is a former English professional footballer who played for Burnley, Stockport County, Morecambe, Rochdale, and Macclesfield Town and Kettering. His move from Kettering Town to Rushden & Diamonds for £85,000 was a record transfer fee between non-League clubs.
While hugely disappointing at Rushden he moved on to Dover Athletic, Stevenage Borough, Doncaster Rovers, Kettering Town and Yeovil Town where he won the FA Trophy in 2002. After being released he journeyed to many clubs including Nuneaton Borough, Gainsborough Trinity, Leigh RMI, Woodley Sports and ending his career at New Mills in 2007.
In 1988 at the age of 16, Carl made his debut as a substitute for Rochdale but failed to impress and was later released. After periods at both Burnley and Stockport County, plus a loan period at Morecambe, he made the decision to drop down to non-league football, joining Witton Albion where his knack for goal-scoring flourished. In the summer of 1993, he joined Macclesfield Town of the Conference for a fee of £1,700,the goals that he scored for Witton and Macclesfield are not shown in his Conference goals total.He then joined Kettering Town for £25,000 the following summer.
After scoring 54 goals for Kettering Town in 18 months, Rushden & Diamondsoffer of £85,000, a non-league record, was enough to persuade the Poppies to sell their prize asset and he arrived at Nene Park at the end of March 1996. He made his debut in against promotion rivals Halesowen Town on 30 March 1996, scoring Diamonds goal in the 1-2 defeat.
He was dropped after just five games at the start of the 1997/98 season and was loaned to Dover Athletic in February 1998. He was recalled and sold to Stevenage Borough on a free transfer in April. Carl scored more than a goal a game at Stevenage, and was snapped up by Doncaster Rovers in May 2000 for £50,000. After a period on loan back at Kettering Town in January 2001, he joined Yeovil Town in the summer helping them to lift the FA Trophy in 2002. The following season, he was on loan at Nuneaton Borough and was released by the Glovers in May 2003. He went on to play for Gainsborough Trinity, Woodley Sports, Leigh RMI and Nuneaton Borough (again) and was last noted playing for North West Counties League side New Mills AFC in the 2006/07 season.
His son, Rhys Alford, is a talented left footed striker. He plays for Corby Diamonds as a CF and is a regular goal scorer.
{{Persondata | NAME = Alford, Carl | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 11 February 1972 | PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Gorton, Greater Manchester], Manchester, England | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }}