Adrian Alston

Adrian Alston (born 6 February 1949) is a former professional soccer player. Born in England, he began his career as a youth player with Preston North End and briefly at non-league Fleetwood before moving to Australia. In Australia, he played for South Coast United, then St George before returning to South Coast United (known as Safeway United before folding in 1974) and was called up to the Australia national soccer team after two years in the country.

Nicknamed "Noddy" for his heading ability, he made his international debut in 1969 and was instrumental in helping the side qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the first time the nation had ever reached the finals tournament, where he featured in all three group matches. His performances attracted attention from around Europe and he eventually signed for English First Division side Luton Town after turning down several offers from clubs in Germany. After one season, he joined Cardiff City where he spent two seasons and helped the club win the Welsh Cup in 1976. He later received a lucrative offer to play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) to join the newly formed Tampa Bay Rowdies, where he spent two seasons before retiring after suffering a serious knee ligament injury.

He returned to Australia to work as a manager, taking charge of the Wollongong Wolves in 1983 but left the club after a single season. He spent five years with Corrimal Rangers before being appointed manager of Port Kembla where he enjoyed considerable success, leading the club to 26 trophies between 1991 and 2004. He later returned to Wollongong for a second spell before managing Bulli between 2006 and 2007. His brother Alex was also a professional footballer.

Career Early career Born in Preston, Alston was playing as an apprentice at his hometown club Preston North End where his older brother Alec Alston had made over 100 appearances before leaving in 1962. He was spotted playing a youth team match by Jimmy Kelly, who was the manager of Fleetwood and who took Alston to Fleetwood during the 1967–68. His brother Alec was already playing at Fleetwood that season. Kelly had previously spent four seasons playing in Australia and planned to return in 1968. Despite not yet turning professional, Kelly offered Alston a deal which quadrupled the wages he had been receiving at Preston to move to Australia and join South Coast United on an initial six-month loan deal. Alston was due to be married at the time but convinced his fiancée Doreen to make the move with him. He later moved to St George where he won a league title and was offered a contract in Japan, along with teammate Attila Abonyi, after impressing in an Asian tournament that St George won but turned down the deal. It was during this time that Abonyi who started using Alston's nickname "Noddy" in regards to his heading ability. He returned to his former club South Coast United, then known as Safeway United following a takeover by a motor company, in 1973 for a fee of $5,000. The club had achieved promotion to the First Division, the highest tier in English football, the previous season and Alston decided to join the Hatters in order to help his wife settle and the lack of a language barrier. He also held talks with his former club Preston. In his first season, the club won the Welsh Cup, qualifying for the European Cup Winners' Cup the following season. In the first round of the competition, Alston became the first Australian player to score in a European competition when he scored in a 1–0 victory over Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi on 15 September 1976.

After helping the club win promotion to Division Two, scoring the goal that confirmed promotion in a 1–0 victory over Bury, he struggled to reproduce his form the following year and left Cardiff to play in the NASL for Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Later career Alston joined the Rowdies after being spotted by the team's manager Eddie Firmani. On his debut for the Rowdies in the NASL, Alston was unveiled to the club's fans by arriving in a helicopter. He helped the club to a third-placed finish in his debut season, eventually being eliminated in the post season play-offs by the New York Cosmos. He was initially told that he had suffered strained knee ligaments but after fourteen weeks with little progress he became concerned and hired a doctor in Harley Street in London. The doctor immediately informed Alston that the injury was considerably more serious as he had actually torn the ligament away from the bone. He remained out for the remainder of the season his contract was eventually paid off after his green card expired. Alston later commented that as soon as he began playing for Australia, he was "no longer English".

He was named to the squad for the tournament in West Germany by manager Rale Rasic. In the opening match against East Germany, Alston performed a move to beat defender Konrad Weise that was used later in the tournament by Dutch international Johan Cruyff and became known as the "Cruyff Turn".

Prior to the Australia side meeting West Germany in the group stage, during a press conference, German manager Helmut Schoen stated:

Alston started all three of Australia's matches at the tournament as they suffered defeats to East Germany and West Germany and drew 0–0 with Chile. He lost his place in the side soon after to John Kosmina but did return to play in the qualifying stages of the 1978 World Cup as Australia failed to qualify after a series of disappointing results and he was never called up for the side again. Alston represented New South Wales in 1974 as a player and led the selection of the Illawarra region as coach in 2004.

Coaching career After suffering the knee injury that ended his career, Alston's son Adrian Jr was diagnosed with Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease, a hip disorder. National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals

+ List of international goals scored by Adrian Alston Goal !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition