Allan Charles Cockram (born 8 October 1963) is an English retired professional footballer who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Tottenham Hotspur, Bristol Rovers,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Reading as a midfielder or winger. He later player-managed St Albans City and

Chertsey Town Chertsey Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chertsey, Surrey, England. The club currently competes in the Isthmian League South Central Division. The home of Football The club was established as Chertsey Football ...

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

. Cockram is currently manager of Cambridge University.

Playing career

A winger, Cockram joined Tottenham Hotspur as a schoolboy in 1975 and went on to make two first team appearances for the ''Lilywhites'' towards the end of the 1983–84 season. He was released at the end of the 1984–85 season and a two-year period followed as a football nomad, which included short periods playing for Bristol Rovers and Farnborough Town and two spells in the United States. A move to

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division club St Albans City during the latter part of the 1986–87 season, in a bid to return to fitness following an achilles injury, proved to be the turning point in Cockram's career. He was voted the ''Saints''' Player of the Year at the end of the 1987–88 season. After a successful period training full-time with

during the 1987–88 season, Cockram signed a contract with the club in March 1988. He made 118 appearances and scored 17 goals for the club before his release at the end of the 1990–91 season. After a spell back in

with

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, Cockram made a return to the Football League with Reading in October 1991 and rejoined St Albans City prior to the beginning of the

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...

season. He remained at Clarence Park until the end of 1995–96 season and scored 73 goals in 211 appearances across his six seasons with the club. Cockram finished his career with spells at non-League clubs

and Leatherhead.

Managerial and coaching career

Cockram player-managed non-League clubs St Albans City and Chertsey Town. He was later a technical specialist at

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

and coached at University College London. In 2017, Cockram established Brentford Penguins, a Down Syndrome football club. In 2019, he became manager of Cambridge University.

International career

Cockram represented England Youth.

Personal life

Cockram worked as a

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

in west London and later became a businessman.

Career statistics

Honours

St Albans City *

Herts Charity Cup The Herts Charity Cup, officially titled the Hertfordshire Football Association Charity Cup, was begun in the 1900-01 season as a fund raising competition for the chosen charities of the Hertfordshire County Football Association. It is second ...

: 1986–87 Individual * St Albans City Player of the Year: 1987–88

References

External links

Cocker's Chronicles – SKD AND THE LOST BOYS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockram, Allan 1963 births Living people Footballers from Kensington English footballers English Football League players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Woking F.C. players Reading F.C. players St Albans City F.C. managers Isthmian League players English expatriates in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Chertsey Town F.C. players Leatherhead F.C. players English football managers Isthmian League managers England youth international footballers Farnborough F.C. players Philadelphia Union non-playing staff Association football midfielders Association football wingers