Players - Alan A'Court

Alan A'Court
Birthdate: 30 September 1934
Birthplace: Rainhill, England
Date of death: 14 December 2009
Other clubs: Prescot Cables, Tranmere Rovers (1964-66)
Signed from: Prescot Cables
Signed for LFC: 24.09.1952 (Professional)
International debut: 06.11.1957 vs. Northern Ireland
International caps: 5/1 - 26.11.1958
Liverpool debut: 07.02.1953
Last appearance: 14.09.1964
Debut goal: 14.03.1953
Last goal: 01.12.1962
Contract expiry: 30.10.1964
Win ratio: 47.24% W:180 D:81 L:120
Games/goals ratio: 6.05
Honours: Second Division 1961/62
League games / goals: 354 / 61
Total games / goals: 381 / 63

Player Profile

Rainhill-born A'Court gave Liverpool outstanding service from the day he made his debut against Middlesbrough as an 18-year-old on 7 February 1953 until his last appearance on 14 September 1964. When he played amateur football at Prescot Cables ten miles from Liverpool scouts from the Reds, Bolton, Wolves and Everton were watching with interest but he accepted Don Welsh's offer of a £10 signing-on fee to become a professional at Liverpool. A'Court got an early opportunity in the first team but unfortunately, when he was establishing himself at Anfield the club was relegated in 1954. He was held in such high regard that the great Billy Liddell was moved to centre-forward to make room for A'Court on the left flank as the club's first 2nd division campaign for 49 years got underway. A'Court was a regular in the side for seven years and a crucial part of the Liverpool side that finally made its way out of the Second Division in the 1961/62 season, being the only player beside Ronnie Moran who had been relegated with the side eight years earlier. A'Court was strong and direct with awesome power in his boots and impressed sufficiently for the England selectors to include him in their World Cup squad in Sweden 1958 while he was a second division player. No mean feat! LFChistory.net was lucky to interview Alan in 2004 and ask him about the incredible loyalty he showed by sticking with the club in the Second Division despite being an England international at the peak of his powers: "I played just under 400 games for the club and I was happy at Liverpool. Arsenal were interested and offered £12,000. I didn’t want to move house, I was happy at home and I had good mates in Liverpool."

A'Court missed half of his debut season in the First Division due to niggles and strains and the papers speculated that he would soon be replaced by Peter Thompson, who had scored Preston North End's winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup in the previous season. As predicted Thompson was brought in to fill the left-wing role that A'Court had made his own for so long. After not having featured in the first team for 16 months he made his farewell appearance for Liverpool in the club's first-ever European tie at Anfield, against KR Reykjavik in September 1964. A'Court had passed his thirtieth birthday by a few days when he moved to Tranmere and he was perhaps unlucky to just miss out on the glory days which were around the corner, having to settle for a Second Division Championship medal as his only major honour at Liverpool. He later became a coach at Norwich, Crewe and Stoke.


It is a dirty job but somebody has to do it.
Here with Billy Bingham and Liverpool teammate Willie Stevenson as a judge in the Miss Ireland competition 1963.

According to Bill Shankly A'Court wasn't only important on the field but an inspiration off the field as well: "Jovial Alan A’Court is a wit and worth his weight in gold in the dressing room with his practical jokes." Alan A'Court had fantastic memories of his time at Anfield. "The crowd had helped me enormously in settling into the side but then they backed every member of the team that gave everything to the cause. Those fans on the Kop gave me extra support that was even more valuable than just lifting my confidence. They were in the habit in those days of catching me on those occasions when I crashed over the line after a run down the wing. My best asset was my pace but Anfield is a very confined playing space and, if you were racing for the corner, it was impossible to pull up if you really wanted to reach the ball in time. I lost count of the number of times I went flying off the pitch, ending up in the arms of the spectators, before being pushed on again. They weren't nearly so helpful to visiting wingers, who were allowed to crash in the concrete surrounds, often with painful consequences."
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 354 24 2 1 0 381
1952-1953 12 0 0 0 0 12
1953-1954 16 0 0 0 0 16
1954-1955 30 3 0 0 0 33
1955-1956 40 5 0 0 0 45
1956-1957 38 1 0 0 0 39
1957-1958 39 5 0 0 0 44
1958-1959 39 1 0 0 0 40
1959-1960 42 2 0 0 0 44
1960-1961 33 2 2 0 0 37
1961-1962 42 5 0 0 0 47
1962-1963 23 0 0 0 0 23
1963-1964 0 0 0 0 0 0
1964-1965 0 0 0 1 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
16 1440 Rotherham United
15 1350 Middlesbrough
15 1350 Swansea City
15 1350 Leyton Orient
14 1260 Huddersfield Town
14 1260 Stoke City
13 1200 Lincoln City
13 1170 Bristol Rovers
12 1080 Sheffield United
11 990 Sunderland
11 990 Fulham
10 900 Ipswich Town
10 900 Bristol City
10 900 Derby
10 900 Charlton Athletic
10 900 Blackburn Rovers
9 840 Scunthorpe United
8 720 Plymouth Argyle
8 720 Brighton & Hove Albion
8 720 Cardiff City
8 720 West Ham United
7 630 Nottingham Forest
7 630 Bury
7 630 Barnsley
7 630 Notts County
6 570 Preston North End
6 540 Luton Town
6 540 Leeds United
6 540 Hull City
6 540 Port Vale
6 540 Doncaster Rovers
6 540 Sheffield Wednesday
5 450 Leicester City
5 450 Grimsby Town
5 450 Portsmouth
5 450 Southampton
4 360 Aston Villa
4 360 Wolves
4 360 Manchester City
3 270 WBA
3 270 Southend
3 270 Birmingham City
3 270 Norwich City
3 270 Newcastle United
3 270 Blackpool
2 180 Chelsea
2 180 Everton
2 180 Walsall
2 180 Manchester United
2 180 Bolton Wanderers
2 180 Arsenal
2 180 Tottenham
1 90 Burnley
1 90 KR Reykjavík
1 90 Northampton Town
1 90 Worcester City
1 90 Accrington Stanley
1 90 Coventry City
1 90 Oldham Athletic
Total Started/substitutions
381 Started
0 On the bench
0 Substitute
0 Substituted
Total Venue
193 Away
187 Home
1 Neutral
Total Competition
354 League
24 FA Cup
2 League Cup
1 European Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
140 69 30 41 49.3% Phil Taylor
131 69 30 32 52.7% Bill Shankly
106 39 21 46 36.8% Don Welsh
4 3 0 1 75% Caretaker Manager
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 61 2 0 0 0 63
1952-1953 2 0 0 0 0 2
1953-1954 3 0 0 0 0 3
1954-1955 2 1 0 0 0 3
1955-1956 6 0 0 0 0 6
1956-1957 10 0 0 0 0 10
1957-1958 6 0 0 0 0 6
1958-1959 7 0 0 0 0 7
1959-1960 8 0 0 0 0 8
1960-1961 7 0 0 0 0 7
1961-1962 8 1 0 0 0 9
1962-1963 2 0 0 0 0 2
1963-1964 0 0 0 0 0 0
1964-1965 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 07.02.1953 Middlesbrough Ayresome Park League
50 19.02.1955 Huddersfield Town Anfield FA Cup
100 31.03.1956 Bristol City Anfield League
150 07.09.1957 Fulham Craven Cottage League
200 04.10.1958 Huddersfield Town Leeds Road League
250 12.12.1959 Bristol Rovers Eastville St. League
300 28.01.1961 Sunderland Anfield FA Cup
350 31.03.1962 Luton Town Kenilworth Road League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 39 14.03.1953 Sunderland Anfield League
50 21 31.12.1960 Middlesbrough Anfield League
Related Articles
Footballer who played a crucial role in Liverpool's rise to join the elite

By Ivan Ponting on 19 December 2009.

Alan A'Court - 2nd Division International

In 2004 LFChistory.net interviewed Alan A'Court who is in Liverpool FC's Hall of Fame.

Obituary by Brian Glanville

Brian Glanville's obituary of Alan A'Court, who passed away on 14th December 2009. Published in the Guardian.

Ronnie Moran leads tributes to Liverpool FC legend Alan A'Court

After Alan A'Court's passing on 14th December 2009.

Kop roars Liverpool to victory

Liverpool Daily Post report on Liverpool - Hull City on 29.08.1959.

Seconds out as Liverpool equalise

The Daily Herald report on Liverpool - Brighton and Hove Albion on 10.10.1959.

Unique Programmes: FA Youth Cup

Once the programme collecting bug has well and truly bitten, many collectors move on from just focusing on first team related issues to obtaining programmes from any fixture featuring all levels of their chosen side.

The first European night at Anfield

Forty years ago Liverpool played their first European game at Anfield Road.

Related Quotes

"He was a little bit like Harry Kewell; he could go past people and was a great crosser of the ball from any angle. I think our strikers of that day Roger Hunt and Ian St John fed a lot from him."

Ron Yeats on Alan A'Court

Scrapbook
1962
1962
A'Court - Liverpool's left-flying winger - January 1958
A'Court - Liverpool's left-flying winger - January 1958
A'Court not done despite Thompson on his way to Anfield - August 1963
A'Court not done despite Thompson on his way to Anfield - August 1963
A'Court on the cover of the Liverpool Echo on 14 October 1961
A'Court on the cover of the Liverpool Echo on 14 October 1961
A'Court remembers the 9-1 defeat to Birmingham in 1954
A'Court remembers the 9-1 defeat to Birmingham in 1954
A'Court, Liddell and Wheeler on the cover of the Evening Express on 27 April 1957
A'Court, Liddell and Wheeler on the cover of the Evening Express on 27 April 1957
Anfield Personalities - 1962
Anfield Personalities - 1962
How would you like a trip to America with all expenses paid? - August 1956
How would you like a trip to America with all expenses paid? - August 1956
January 1962
January 1962
LFC Official Matchday Magazine interview 2000/01
LFC Official Matchday Magazine interview 2000/01
May 1961
May 1961
Patriot games - LFC Official Matchday Magazine
Patriot games - LFC Official Matchday Magazine
Stoke coach A'Court
Stoke coach A'Court
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Prescot Cables Lancashire Combination 2 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Tranmere Rovers 1964-1965 England Fourth Division 24 4 26 4
Tranmere Rovers 1965-1966 England Fourth Division 26 7 28 7
Total 50 11 54 11