Alex Nicholls (born 9 December 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as both a midfielder and a
striker
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Barnet
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Solihull Moors
Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...
.
Playing career
Walsall
After impressing in reserve and youth team games, Nicholls broke into Walsall's first team in the 2005–06 season, making his debut in December 2005 in a FA Cup clash with Yeovil Town. In that same season Nicholls went on to make 13 appearances which included a Football League Trophy clash with
Swansea City
Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
, it was in this game that he scored his first professional goal for the club. However, his season ended prematurely as he broke his leg while playing in a youth cup tie with Hednesford Town.
In 2007, Nicholls went on loan to Burton Albion. He made 14 appearances for ''the Brewers'' before returning to Walsall at the end of April. During the 2007–08 season, Nicholls played as both a right winger and a striker, making 24 appearances and scoring three goals, which included an FA Cup goal in an away replay with Millwall.
Nicholls was offered a new two-year contract by the club on 10 May 2010 which he accepted. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against
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 ...
in a 2–1 victory, by scoring a well placed lob. In his final season for the club he was joint top goal scorer with 8 goals. Nicholls went on to make a total of 219 appearances for the club before leaving on a free transfer in 2012.
Northampton Town
In June 2012, Nicholls joined League Two side Northampton Town on a free transfer after his contract expired.
Nicholls soon became a fans favourite at the club with his all energy displays and some vital goals, he scored 8 goals in 16 games before his season was ended prematurely when on 27 October he broke his leg after a late challenge from Port Vale defender
John McCombe
John Paul McCombe (born 7 May 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He made 473 league and cup appearances in a 19 year professional and semi-professional career, scoring 29 goals. His brother, Jamie, al ...
.
Exeter City
On 1 September 2014, Nicholls joined Exeter City, on a one-month loan deal where he Helped them move clear of the relegation zone. Nicholls completed his permanent move to Exeter City on 5 January 2015. Nicholls played a total of 73 games for Exeter before moving to
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
Barnet
Nicholls joined
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,St Mirren F.C. to lift the trophy at Fir Park.
Crewe Alexandra
On 6 July 2018, Nicholls joined Crewe Alexandra on a one-year contract, and, on his first team debut on 4 August 2018, scored twice during a 6–0 win over
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Nicholls was released and was set to leave the club.
Solihull Moors
On 23 August 2019, Nicholls joined
Solihull Moors
Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...
on a one-month contract.
Stourbridge
Following the expiry of his short-term contract with Solihull, Nicholls joined Stourbridge. He was caretaker manager in February 2020 in between the departure of Ian Long and the appointment of Mark Yates.
After football
After retiring from football, Nicholls trained to become a firefighter, following his father's career. He began working in the role in August 2021, stationed at Haden Cross Fire Station in Halesowen, West Midlands.