Alan John Bassham (3 October 1933 – 1982) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played in the Football League for Brentford as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Brentford

Bassham began his career in the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future i ...

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club Brentford as an

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outside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and was developed into a

right half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He turned professional in October 1951 and was further developed into a full back, but he had to wait nearly two years to make his senior debut, which came in a 1–1 draw with Stoke City on 19 August 1953. After Brentford's relegation to the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

for the 1954–55 season, Bassham made a minor breakthrough into the team and made 17 appearances. He gradually lost his place and played mostly for the reserves during his final years with the club. Bassham made 45 appearances during his time with Brentford and was given a free transfer in May 1959.

Non-League football

After his release, Bassham joined Kent League club Folkestone Town.

International career

Bassham won two caps for England Schoolboys at international level.

Career statistics

References

1933 births Footballers from Kensington English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Folkestone F.C. players Association football fullbacks 1982 deaths Kent Football League (1894–1959) players {{England-footy-defender-1930s-stub