Alan Nelmes
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan Victor Nelmes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 October 1948 | ||
| Place of birth | Hackney, England | ||
| Playing position | Defender, wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1965–1967 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1967–1976 | Brentford | 316 | (2) |
| 1976–1977 | Hillingdon Borough | ||
| 1977–1978 | Hayes | ||
| Southall | |||
| Total | 316 | (2) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Alan Victor Nelmes (born 20 October 1948 in Hackney, London) is a retired English professional football defender who made over 300 appearances in the Football League for Brentford.
Career
Chelsea
Nelmes was born in Hackney, but moved to south London and attended Ingram High School, near Selhurst Park.[2] Nelmes began his career at Division One side Chelsea, signing his first professional contract in October 1965.[1] He failed to make an appearance for the first team and was released in the summer of 1967.[1]
Brentford
Nelmes turned down offers from Aldershot and Colchester United to sign for Division Four side Brentford in the summer of 1967.[3] Operating initially as a right back, he went on to be a vital cog in a threadbare Brentford side, missing only three games between 1968 and 1972 and is one of a few Bees players to make 100 consecutive appearances.[1] Manager Jimmy Sirrel assembled a small squad of versatile players and Nelmes was picked to play up front versus Notts County on 2 March 1968,[2] scoring one of his only two goals for the club.[4] He played in five different positions during the 1967–68 season.[3]
Adept anywhere across the back four and as a sweeper,[3] Nelmes' performances garnered him the Brentford Players' Player of the Year award for the 1970–71 season.[5] Known as 'Spider',[6] he helped Brentford achieve promotion to Division Three in the 1971–72 season, though the club were relegated straight back to Division Four the following year.[4] After a succession of injuries took a toll on his body,[3] Nelmes was released at the end of the 1975–76 season,[7] having made 350 appearances for the club.[1] Despite being what he described as "quite a physical player", Nelmes was never sent off during his career.[2] He was given a testimonial versus former side Chelsea in 1978, which finished 8–2 to the Stamford Bridge club.[8] Nelmes earned a then-club record £7,000 from the match.[9] In recognition of his performances for the club, Nelmes was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014.[10]
Non-league football
After his release from Brentford, Nelmes saw out his career with spells at Southern League side Hillingdon Borough and Isthmian League sides Hayes (managed by former Brentford teammate Bobby Ross) and Southall, before retiring due to a cartilage injury.[1][2][6]
Personal life
Nelmes is married to Norma and has two sons, Martin and Stuart. Martin played tennis and football to county level and is a LTA-qualified tennis coach. Stuart has played cricket for Sussex County League side Middleton since 2005.[11] During the 1970s, Nelmes lived in Isleworth and worked at the Watneys brewery in Mortlake.[6] He spent time running a business in Bognor Regis in the 1970s and in the 1990s and 2000s,[3] he was worked in security at Gatwick Airport.[2] As of 2015, Nelmes was living in Middleton-on-Sea.[12]
Honours
As a player
- Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion: 1971–72[4]
As an individual
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1967–68[4] | Fourth Division | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 1968–69[4] | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 1 | ||
| 1969–70[4] | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71[4] | 46 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72[4] | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0 | ||
| 1972–73[4] | Third Division | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 1973–74[4] | Fourth Division | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| 1974–75[4] | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 1975–76[4] | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 316 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 350 | 2 | ||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 16. ISBN 0955294916.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Lane, David (2002). Cult Bees & Legends: Volume One. Hampton Wick: Woodpecker Multimedia. pp. 50–69. ASIN B00NGFXBBG. ISBN 0-9543682-0-7.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brentford F.C. Griffin Gazette versus Cambridge United 28/01/95. Quay Design of Poole. 1995. p. 29.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 389–393. ISBN 0951526200.
- ↑ TW8 Matchday versus Oldham Athletic 25/08/03. London: The Yellow Printing Company Limited. p. 33.
- 1 2 3 "Hayes & Yeading United FC: The Official Website". Hyufc.com. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- ↑ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 978-1906796709.
- ↑ "Don’t Look Back In Anger – Chelsea". Beesotted. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- ↑ Griffin Gazette: Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Crewe Alexandra 06/04/96. Quay Design of Poole. 1996. p. 20.
- 1 2 Wickham, Chris. "Bob Booker, Peter Gelson, Keith Millen, Alan Nelmes and Danis Salman honoured at Brentford FC 125 Year Anniversary Dinner". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ↑ "Sussex Cricket League – Site". Sussexcl.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- ↑ "Legend Nelmes honoured by Brentford and Hodgson". bognor.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.