Alexander David Revell (born 7 July 1983) is an English
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
and former
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 ...
. He is currently serving as a first team coach for
Stevenage in
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
. He was the manager at Stevenage from February 16, 2020 till November 14, 2021.
During his playing career he made at least 50 appearances for five different clubs;
Cambridge Town,
Braintree Town,
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
,
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
and Stevenage.
Career
Cambridge United
Revell is a graduate of the
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
youth set-up, where he struggled to establish himself during his stint at the
Abbey Stadium
Abbey Stadium is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional College F.C., Cambridge United's feeder cl ...
.
Kettering Town (loan)
Discovering his first team opportunities at Cambridge were limited, Revell spent a loan spell at then
Conference National club
Kettering Town.
Braintree Town
Soon afterwards, Revell left Cambridge in 2004 where he made the decision to drop out of
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
by joining
Braintree Town.
During his time at Braintree, Revell managed to find the net 35 times for the club, where he managed to help them gain promotion to the
Conference South during the
2005–06 season.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Revell was signed by
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in June 2006, with manager
Mark McGhee saying he wouldn't be "a major signing in the supporters' eyes, but he could turn out to be the best signing".
On 1 January 2008, Revell scored his first professional
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
as Brighton defeated
AFC Bournemouth 3–2 at the
Withdean
Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex.
Overview
The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s ...
.
Southend
On 30 January 2008, Revell made his move from Brighton to Southend on a two-and-a-half-year contract for £150,000.
Steve Tilson
Stephen Brian Tilson (born 27 July 1966) is an English football manager and former player, he is currently the manager of Heybridge Swifts.
Tilson is best known for his time in charge of Southend United, where he was in charge for seven year ...
had been a long admirer of Revell and tried to sign him in August 2007 transfer window.
On 16 August 2008, Revell scored his first league goal for Southend in a 1–1 draw with Millwall at The New Den. Revell scored his first home league goal for the Shrimpers in a 2–1 win over Swindon Town at Roots Hall on 18 October 2008. After several excellent hard working performances without reward, Revell scored his third goal for Southend after 10 minutes in the 2–2 draw away at Tranmere on 15 November 2008, getting ahead of Craig Duncan to meet Kevin Betsy's cross.
Revell suffered a broken leg against
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
on 20 January 2009 after landing awkwardly, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Revell made his comeback appearance from the injury on 10 July 2009 against
Great Wakering
Great Wakering is a village in the Rochford District in Essex, England. It is
approximately four miles east of Southend. The village is well served with several historic public houses, a primary school, a Co-operative supermarket, post office, ...
in a pre season friendly.
He made five appearances for Southend at the start of the 2009–2010 season, the last of which came against
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
as Southend went down to a 2–1 defeat.
Revell returned to Southend at the end of his loan spell having made 12 appearances and scoring two goals. On 12 January 2010, Southend and Revell parted company by mutual consent.
Swindon Town (loan)
On 1 September 2009, just three days after playing against them, he signed for
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
on loan from
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
until 3 January 2010, with the club having the option of making the move permanent if his spell was successful.
Revell made his debut for The Robins in a 1–1 draw against his parent clubs rivals
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
. His first goals for Swindon came on 3 October 2009 against
Brentford as he bagged a brace in a 3–2 victory.
Revell fell down the pecking order at Swindon and with the fine form of
Billy Paynter and
Charlie Austin up front, Revell found his chances limited and was often an unused substitute. Swindon opted not to make the move permanent and Revell returned to Essex.
Wycombe Wanderers (loan)
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...
thought they had signed Revell on 12 January 2010 on a free transfer but that deal fell through, on the rule that prevents players representing three clubs in one season. Revell was a Southend United player at the start of the season and played five times before going on a standard loan to
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
, meaning that he had officially represented two clubs and subsequently could not sign for Wycombe.
If Revell had gone on an emergency loan to Swindon Town he would have been able to sign for Wycombe Wanderers without any problems.
On 22 January 2010, Revell was given permission to sign for Wycombe Wanderers on a three-month emergency loan. Revell remained a Southend United player as the club still held his registration. He remained on loan at Adams Park until late April 2010 before becoming a free agent. His first goal for Wycombe came on his debut, against
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
from the penalty spot. After failing to score again for the next two months, Revell scored five goals in three games against
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
,
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
and
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
to help keep Wycombe in contention to avoid relegation.
After the final game of his loan deal, he signed a contract at Wycombe, starting on 3 May until the end of June. However, this did not allow him to play in the final game of the season because the rule that prevents players representing three clubs in one season would only allow him to play while his emergency loan was valid.
Leyton Orient
Revell was offered an extended contract by Wycombe but turned it down, instead choosing to join
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
on a two-year contract starting on 1 July 2010. He scored on his league debut for Orient on 7 August, and followed it up three days later with the winning goal in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
victory over his former club
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. On 13 November, Revell scored twice to help Orient register their first away win of the season with a 3–0 victory over
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
.
Rotherham United
Revell signed for
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
on the final day of the summer 2011 transfer window for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 3 September, and scored twice in a 3–2 defeat against eventual league winners
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. His next goal came on 4 October in the
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
, scoring in a 2–1 loss to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
. On 25 October he helped Rotherham complete a sensational comeback against
Morecambe, with Rotherham 3–0 down at half time, Revell scored the final goal as Rotherham managed to draw the game 3–3. After scoring in wins against
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
...
and
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
, Revell scored his first goal of 2012 in another defeat to Swindon, this time a 2–1 loss at the
Don Valley Stadium
Don Valley Stadium was a sports stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The venue, which was completed in September 1990, hosted the 1991 World Student Games. It was designed by Sheffield City Council's Design & Building Services and nam ...
on 14 January. He scored in successive games against
Dagenham and
Southend
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
in January and February. On 21 March he scored in a 4–2 win against
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
. He scored his tenth league goal for Rotherham on the final day of the season, in a 1–1 draw against
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
on 5 May, which was also Rotherham's final ever goal and game at the
Don Valley Stadium
Don Valley Stadium was a sports stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The venue, which was completed in September 1990, hosted the 1991 World Student Games. It was designed by Sheffield City Council's Design & Building Services and nam ...
. He scored his first goal of the following season on 15 September 2012, in a 1–0 win against
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
. He scored again the following game, in a 3–2 defeat at home to
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
. In the next game against
Barnet, he was sent off for what seemed to be a reckless challenge in a 0–0 draw at
Underhill.
Revell scored Rotherham's first goal in their
2014 play-off semi-final first leg against
Preston North End, and in
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, against
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
, he contributed two goals, the second "an angled, dipping half volley from 40 yards out" to tie the scores and take the match into a penalty shootout which Rotherham won. He scored a goal against ex-club Brighton in the 2014–15 Championship season, leveling the match in an eventual 1–1 draw at Falmer Stadium.
Cardiff City
On 9 January 2015 Revell left Rotherham United and joined his former manager Russell Slade at
Cardiff City, with the transfer fee believed to be in the region of £175,000. He made his debut in a 1–0 win over
Fulham the following day and went on to score his first goal against
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, the next game. He went on to finish the season with 2 goals in 17 games for his new club and 6 in total for the season.
Revell had started in the starting eleven, the following season partnering
Joe Mason, however was dropped after 3 games after a slow start to the season.
Wigan Athletic (loan)
On 11 November 2015, Revell joined
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
, making his debut at
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
and then finding the winner against
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
the following week.
Upon returning to Cardiff, former club
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
manager,
Neil Redfearn
Neil David Redfearn (born 20 June 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, who was most recently head coach of Sheffield United Women.
Redfearn played 790 matches in the Football League, the sixth highest ...
had confirmed that the club had opened talked over Revell making a return to
New York Stadium
The New York Stadium (known as the AESSEAL New York Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Opened in July 2012, it is the home ground of Rotherham United. Its name was inspired by the co ...
. Despite talks going on, Revell started the following game against
Shrewsbury in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
.
Milton Keynes Dons
On 1 February 2016, Revell signed on a free transfer to fellow
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
side
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
.
On 23 February 2016 Revell scored his first goal for the club with a header in the 1–1 home draw versus
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
.
On 16 April 2016 away to
Preston North End, with no substitutions remaining and the score level at 1–1, Revell replaced goalkeeper
Cody Cropper
Cody Cropper (born February 16, 1993) is a retired American professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
Youth soccer
Born in Atlanta, Cropper moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota when he was 10. He played with the Minnesota Thunder ...
in goal in the 81st minute after Cropper was sent off for a foul inside the penalty area against Preston's
Eoin Doyle, resulting in a penalty being awarded. Revell saved the resulting penalty taken by
Joe Garner
Joseph Alan Garner (born 12 April 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Fleetwood Town of EFL League One.
Garner started his career with Blackburn Rovers before joining Carlisle United. Garner had a three- ...
. The game finished 1–1. The incident was widely reported in the press with Revell receiving high praise for his performance.
Northampton Town
Revell signed for Northampton Town on 14 June 2016 with contract commencing 1 July 2016 for 2 years. He scored his first goal for Northampton in a 1–1 draw against
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
on 13 August 2016.
Stevenage
Revell joined
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Stevenage on a free transfer on 30 January 2018, signing an 18-month contract with the
Hertfordshire club.
He made his Stevenage debut in the club's 3–2 away defeat at
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
on 3 February 2018, playing the whole match.
In only his third appearance,
Revell received a straight red card for a challenge on
Isaiah Osbourne
Isaiah George Osbourne (born 5 November 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nuneaton Borough. He is a former England under-16 international who started his career with Aston Villa. Osbourne had loan spells with Notti ...
in an eventual 3–1 away loss to
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
.
Consequently, he was suspended for the club's next three matches, returning to the first-team over a month after his dismissal.
Revell scored his first goals for Stevenage in the club's comprehensive 4–1 win over rivals
Barnet at
Broadhall Way
Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, an ...
on 2 April 2018, netting twice in the second-half.
This was to serve as the catalyst for a strong end to the season for Revell; scoring Stevenage's solitary goal in a 3–1 away loss at
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
,
before scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over
Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
on 28 April 2018.
It was Revell's first hat-trick in over ten years.
Revell announced his retirement on 4 July 2019. He than later accepted a coaching role with Stevenage as the club's under-18s manager in September 2019 following the sacking of
Dino Maamria
Noureddine "Dino" Maamria (born 18 February 1974) is a Tunisian football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the manager of League One club Burton Albion.
Maamria started his playing career with AS Marsa of Tunisia. He lef ...
. On 4 January 2020 Stevenage announced that Revell would retain his coaching duties but was coming out of retirement to aid the first team squad in their relegation battle.
Managerial career
On 16 February 2020, Revell was appointed first team manager of
Stevenage until the end of the 2019–20 season following the resignation of
Graham Westley
Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer and manager who was most recently manager of League Two club Stevenage.
Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curt ...
, with Stevenage seven points adrift at the bottom of League Two. He managed two games, losing both, before the season was terminated prematurely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom; with bottom club Stevenage initially relegated, but reprieved due to points deductions for
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...
. Stevenage's struggles continued into the
2020-21 season as the team were in last place with only two wins in their first 18 matches. However, from
Boxing Day on the club won 10 matches, drew nine times and only lost five games, finishing in 14th place in the league table. Revell was sacked as Stevenage manager on November 14, 2021, following a poor run of results which saw them gain only 7 points from 12 games, leaving them only two points above the relegation zone.
Revell re-joined Stevenage in early January 2022 as a coach for the youth academy. In the off-season he was promoted to first team coach by manager
Steve Evans, whom he played for at
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
.
Career statistics
Managerial statistics
Honours
Rotherham United
*
Football League One play-offs
The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise ...
:
2013–14
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revell, Alex
1983 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Cambridge
English footballers
Cambridge United F.C. players
Kettering Town F.C. players
Braintree Town F.C. players
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players
Cardiff City F.C. players
Leyton Orient F.C. players
Rotherham United F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Wigan Athletic F.C. players
Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players
Northampton Town F.C. players
Stevenage F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Association football forwards
Outfield association footballers who played in goal
English football managers
English Football League managers
Stevenage F.C. managers
Association football player-managers