Graham Alexander
| Born | 10 October 1971, Coventry |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Weight | 78 kg |
| Height | 1.78 m |
| Position | Defender/Midfielder |
Graham began his career at Scunthorpe United where he signed professional forms in March 1990.
He developed into a skilful right sided midfielder, with good speed and has an excellent shot with both feet.
He left after after 149 league matches to join Luton Town in July 1995 for a £100,000 fee.
He was a virtual automatic first choice, filling in several positions when the team was depleted by injury.
He played at the start of the 1998-99 season but suffered a hamstring injury that ruled him out, he was snapped up by Preston North End in March for only £50,000.
He made his debut against Northampton Town at right back .
He was ever present in 1999-2000 as Preston won the Second Division title, and Graham won a place in the PFA Second Division Team of the Season.
An injury at Bolton Wanderers in August 2000 saw Graham miss his first league game since signing for Preston, but he went on to feature regularly for the club in the 2000-01 season, his only other absences coming with a brief suspension and when he suffered a broken rib on Boxing Day that led to a punctured lung and two-months on the sidelines.
He missed a spot kick in the Play-Offs against Birmingham City but regained his nerve to slot one away in the penalty shoot-out that followed.
He continued to be an automatic first choice at full back as Preston just missed the play-offs in 2001-02.
Graham's contract at Preston was extended to June 2006 in March 2004.
He joined Burnley in August 2007 with a two-year contract that was extended to June 2010 in April 2009 and to June 2012 in May 2010.
When he came on as a late substitute in Burnley's Championship game against Swansea City on 16 April 2011, Graham became only the second outfield player to make 1,000 senior appearances for clubs and country in British senior football.
He followed his former Scunthorpe United team mate Tony Ford, who went on to make a total of 1,074 appearances (not including games played for Barrow in 1986) before retiring at the age of 42 in November 2001.
Graham's 1,000 total included 41 appearances for Scotland (40 full and one 'B'):
Scunthorpe United - 202
Luton Town - 183
Preston North End - 400
Burnley - 174
Scotland - 41
He re-joined Preston North End in August 2011 with a one-year contract.
Career stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | Luton Town | Coca-Cola League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1998-99 | Luton Town | Worthington Cup | 2 |
1
|
|||
| 1999-00 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1999-00 | Preston North End | Worthington Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 34 | 5 |
4
|
1
|
|
| 2000-01 | Preston North End | League Division 1 Play-Offs | 3 |
1
|
|||
| 2000-01 | Preston North End | Worthington Cup | 4 | 2 |
|||
| 2001-02 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2001-02 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 45 | 6 |
6
|
||
| 2001-02 | Preston North End | Worthington Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2001-02 | Scotland | International | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2001-02 | Scotland | Reunification Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2002-03 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2002-03 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 45 | 10 |
6
|
||
| 2002-03 | Preston North End | Worthington Cup | 4 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Scotland | European Championship | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Scotland | International | 3 | 2 |
1
|
||
| 2002-03 | Scotland | Semi-Pro | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Preston North End | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 3 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 45 | 9 |
7
|
1
|
|
| 2003-04 | Scotland | European Championship | 1 |
||||
| 2003-04 | Scotland | International | 1 | ||||
| 2004-05 | Preston North End | Carling Cup | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2004-05 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2004-05 | Preston North End | League Championship | 41 | 1 |
7 |
5
|
|
| 2004-05 | Preston North End | League Championship Play-Offs | 1 |
||||
| 2004-05 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Preston North End | Carling Cup | 1 |
1 |
|||
| 2005-06 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2005-06 | Preston North End | League Championship | 39 | 1 |
3 |
3
|
|
| 2005-06 | Preston North End | League Championship Play-Offs | 2 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 4 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Scotland | International | 3 | ||||
| 2006-07 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 3 | ||||
| 2006-07 | Preston North End | League Championship | 42 | 6 |
7
|
1
|
|
| 2006-07 | Scotland | European Championship | 5 | 1 |
|||
| 2006-07 | Scotland | International | 1 | ||||
| 2007-08 | Burnley | Carling Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2007-08 | Burnley | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2007-08 | Burnley | League Championship | 43 | 1 |
9
|
||
| 2007-08 | Preston North End | League Championship | 3 | ||||
| 2007-08 | Scotland | European Championship | 2 | ||||
| 2007-08 | Scotland | International | 1 |
||||
| 2008-09 | Burnley | Carling Cup | 7 | ||||
| 2008-09 | Burnley | FA Cup | 5 | 1 |
|||
| 2008-09 | Burnley | League Championship | 46 | 9 |
1
|
||
| 2008-09 | Burnley | League Championship Play-Offs | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2008-09 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2008-09 | Scotland | International | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2009-10 | Burnley | FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2009-10 | Burnley | Premier League | 33 | 7 |
3
|
||
| 2009-10 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2010-11 | Burnley | Carling Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2010-11 | Burnley | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
1 |
||
| 2010-11 | Burnley | League Championship | 15 | 17 |
3 |
2
|
|
| 2011-12 | Preston North End | Carling Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2011-12 | Preston North End | Johnstones Paint Trophy | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2011-12 | Preston North End | League One | 17 | 1 |
2 |
4
|
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Match history
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 1997 | Luton Town v West Bromwich Albion | D | 1-1 | Coca-Cola League Cup | 2nd round 1st leg |
| 27 Oct 1998 | Luton Town v Coventry City | W | 2-0 | Worthington Cup | 3rd round |
| 01 Dec 1998 | Sunderland v Luton Town | L | 3-0 | Worthington Cup | Quarter-final |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scunthorpe United | 20 Mar 1990 | 08 Jul 1995 | |
| Luton Town | 08 Jul 1995 | 25 Mar 1999 | |
| Preston North End | 25 Mar 1999 | 30 Aug 2007 | |
| Burnley | 30 Aug 2007 | 04 Jul 2011 | |
| Preston North End | 03 Aug 2011 | 30 Jun 2012 |