Graham Alexander
| Date of birth | 10 October 1971 |
| Place of birth | Coventry |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Weight | 78 kg |
| Height | 1.78 m |
| Position | Defender |
Alexander 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 Alexander won a place in the PFA Second Division Team of the Season.
An injury at Bolton Wanderers in August 2000 saw Alexander 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.
Alexander'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, Alexander 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.
Alexander'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. .
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 |
Club stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | Luton Town | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1998-99 | Luton Town | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1998-99 | Luton Town | League Cup | 2 |
1
|
|||
| 1999-00 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 1999-00 | Preston North End | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2000-01 | Preston North End | League Cup | 4 | 2 |
|||
| 2000-01 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 34 | 5 |
4
|
1
|
|
| 2000-01 | Preston North End | League Division 1 Play-Offs | 3 |
1
|
|||
| 2001-02 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 3 | 1 |
|||
| 2001-02 | Preston North End | League Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2001-02 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 45 | 6 |
6
|
||
| 2002-03 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2002-03 | Preston North End | League Cup | 4 | 1 |
|||
| 2002-03 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 45 | 10 |
6
|
||
| 2003-04 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 3 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Preston North End | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Preston North End | League Division 1 | 45 | 9 |
7
|
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 | Preston North End | League Cup | 3 | 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 | Preston North End | League Cup | 1 |
1 |
|||
| 2006-07 | Preston North End | FA Cup | 3 | ||||
| 2006-07 | Preston North End | League Championship | 42 | 6 |
7
|
1
|
|
| 2007-08 | Burnley | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2007-08 | Burnley | League Championship | 43 | 1 |
9
|
||
| 2007-08 | Burnley | League Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2007-08 | Preston North End | League Championship | 3 | ||||
| 2008-09 | Burnley | FA Cup | 5 | 1 |
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| 2008-09 | Burnley | League Championship | 46 | 9 |
1
|
||
| 2008-09 | Burnley | League Championship Play-Offs | 3 | 1 |
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| 2008-09 | Burnley | League Cup | 7 | ||||
| 2009-10 | Burnley | FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2009-10 | Burnley | Premier League | 33 | 7 |
3
|
||
| 2010-11 | Burnley | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
1 |
||
| 2010-11 | Burnley | League Championship | 15 | 17 |
3 |
2
|
|
| 2010-11 | Burnley | League Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2011-12 | Preston North End | Johnstones Paint Trophy | 1 | 1 |
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| 2011-12 | Preston North End | League Cup | 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.
Club matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 1997 | Luton Town v West Bromwich Albion | D | 1-1 | League Cup | 2nd round 1st leg |
| 27 Oct 1998 | Luton Town v Coventry City | W | 2-0 | League Cup | 3rd round |
| 01 Dec 1998 | Sunderland v Luton Town | L | 3-0 | League Cup | Quarter-final |
| 05 Dec 1998 | Luton Town v Hull City | L | 1-2 | FA Cup | 2nd round |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | Scotland | International Friendly | 1 | 1 |
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| 2001-02 | Scotland | Reunification Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2002-03 | Scotland | International Friendly | 3 | 2 |
1
|
||
| 2002-03 | Scotland | Semi-Pro | 1 | ||||
| 2002-03 | Scotland | UEFA European Championship | 2 | 1 |
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| 2003-04 | Scotland | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 2003-04 | Scotland | UEFA European Championship | 1 |
||||
| 2004-05 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 2 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 4 | ||||
| 2005-06 | Scotland | International Friendly | 3 | ||||
| 2006-07 | Scotland | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 2006-07 | Scotland | UEFA European Championship | 5 | 1 |
|||
| 2007-08 | Scotland | International Friendly | 1 |
||||
| 2007-08 | Scotland | UEFA European Championship | 2 | ||||
| 2008-09 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2008-09 | Scotland | International Friendly | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2009-10 | Scotland | FIFA World Cup | 2 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Apr 2002 | Scotland v Nigeria | L | 1-2 | International Friendly | |
| 16 May 2002 | Korea Republic v Scotland | L | 4-1 | International Friendly | |
| 23 May 2002 | Hong Kong v Scotland | W | 0-4 | REUNIFICATION CUP | |
| 21 Aug 2002 | Scotland v Denmark | L | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 07 Sep 2002 | Faroe Islands v Scotland | D | 2-2 | UEFA European Championship | Group 5 |
| 15 Oct 2002 | Scotland v Canada | W | 3-1 | International Friendly | |
| 20 Nov 2002 | Portugal v Scotland | L | 2-0 | International Friendly | |
| 12 Feb 2003 | Scotland v Republic of Ireland | L | 0-2 | International Friendly | |
| 29 Mar 2003 | Scotland v Iceland | W | 2-1 | UEFA European Championship | Group 5 |
| 02 Apr 2003 | Lithuania v Scotland | L | 1-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group 5 |
| 20 May 2003 | Scotland v Northern Ireland | W | 2-1 | SEMI PRO | |
| 27 May 2003 | Scotland v New Zealand | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 11 Oct 2003 | Scotland v Lithuania | W | 1-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group 5 |
| 31 Mar 2004 | Scotland v Romania | L | 1-2 | International Friendly | |
| 04 Jun 2005 | Scotland v Moldova | W | 2-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 5 |
| 08 Jun 2005 | Belarus v Scotland | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 5 |
| 17 Aug 2005 | Austria v Scotland | D | 2-2 | International Friendly | |
| 03 Sep 2005 | Scotland v Italy | D | 1-1 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 5 |
| 07 Sep 2005 | Norway v Scotland | W | 1-2 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 5 |
| 08 Oct 2005 | Scotland v Belarus | L | 0-1 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 5 |
| 12 Oct 2005 | Slovenia v Scotland | W | 0-3 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 5 |
| 12 Nov 2005 | Scotland v USA | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 01 Mar 2006 | Scotland v Switzerland | L | 1-3 | International Friendly | |
| 06 Sep 2006 | Lithuania v Scotland | W | 1-2 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 07 Oct 2006 | Scotland v France | W | 1-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 11 Oct 2006 | Ukraine v Scotland | L | 2-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 24 Mar 2007 | Scotland v Georgia | W | 2-1 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 28 Mar 2007 | Italy v Scotland | L | 2-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 30 May 2007 | Austria v Scotland | W | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 06 Jun 2007 | Faroe Islands v Scotland | W | 0-2 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 12 Sep 2007 | France v Scotland | W | 0-1 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 17 Oct 2007 | Georgia v Scotland | L | 2-0 | UEFA European Championship | Group B |
| 26 Mar 2008 | Scotland v Croatia | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 20 Aug 2008 | Scotland v Northern Ireland | D | 0-0 | International Friendly | |
| 06 Sep 2008 | North Macedonia v Scotland | L | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 9 |
| 10 Sep 2008 | Iceland v Scotland | W | 1-2 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 9 |
| 19 Nov 2008 | Scotland v Argentina | L | 0-1 | International Friendly | |
| 28 Mar 2009 | Netherlands v Scotland | L | 3-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 9 |
| 12 Aug 2009 | Norway v Scotland | L | 4-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 9 |
| 05 Sep 2009 | Scotland v North Macedonia | W | 2-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 9 |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.