Alan Starling

Alan William Starling (born 2 April 1951) was a professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Luton Town, Torquay United, Northampton Town & Huddersfield Town.

Alan Starling

Personal information
Full name	Alan William Starling[1]
Date of birth	(1951-04-02) 2 April 1951 (age 73)
Place of birth	Dagenham,[1] England
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Luton Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1969–1971	Luton Town	7	(0)
1970–1971	→ Torquay United (loan)	1	(0)
1971–1976	Northampton Town	238	(1)
1976–1980	Huddersfield Town	112	(0)
1983	Bradley Rangers F.C.	?	(?)
1983	Bradford City	0	(0)
1984	Halifax Town	0	(0)
Total		358	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:26, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Playing career

Starling began his career as an apprentice with Luton Town, turning professional in April 1969 and making his league debut the following season. He joined Torquay United on loan in February 1971, playing just once, in a 4–0 defeat at home to Reading in place of regular keeper Andy Donnelly,^[2] before returning to Luton.

He moved to Northampton Town in June 1971 and went on to make over 200 appearances for the Cobblers. In April 1976 he scored a penalty in the penultimate game of the season, against Hartlepool United, ensuring that every regular player for Northampton that season has scored at least once.^[3] He also holds the record of the most minutes without conceding a goal for Northampton Town when he went 595 minutes unbeaten between 25 October and 29 November 1975.^[4] In March 1977 he joined Huddersfield Town.

References

1. Barry J. Hugman (1998). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946-1998. Queen Anne Press. p. 516. ISBN 1-85291-585-4.
2. Leigh Edwards. The definitive Torquay United F.C. The Association of Football Statisticians. p. 73. ISBN 1-899468-09-9.
3. "The History of Northampton Town Football Club". Northampton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
4. Clean Sheets; The Definitive Record Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine ntfc.co.uk. 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2010-01-26.