Julian Mark Alsop (born 28 May 1973) is an English former 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 le ...

Career

A tall, strong striker, Alsop first came to prominence with

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 c ...

before joining

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 ...

in 1998 for £30,000 immediately following a loan deal. He signed for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

from Swansea and was less than prolific in his first season, but his second year with the club proved to be a revelation. His partnership with Tony Naylor led to Alsop scoring 26 goals, including the second goal as Cheltenham beat Rushden and Diamonds 3–1 in the Division Three play-off final. His third and final season with the club was beset by injuries and he left Cheltenham for

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

at the end of 2002–4 , Oxford United, Alsop signed for Northampton Town F.C., Northampton Town during the 2004–2005 season. When the season was over he signed for

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

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 ...

. After a brief spell at fellow Conference team Tamworth he returned to Forest Green Rovers. He signed for

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

team Newport County in July 2006 after being released from his contract at Forest Green. During his time at Newport they twice narrowly missed out on the promotion play-offs and twice appeared in the

FAW Premier Cup The FAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in English leagues (including six Welsh c ...

final, winning the 2008 final. Alsop was released by Newport at the end of the 2007–08 season. Other clubs include

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...

and Northampton Town F.C., Northampton Town. Alsop signed for Cirencester Town after being released from Newport County on a free transfer but left the side after several months to sign for

Bishops Cleeve Bishop's Cleeve is a large village and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham. The village lies at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds. Bishop's Cle ...

. On 20 July 2009, Alsop made a surprise return to the Football League and signed a non-contract, month-by month agreement with Cheltenham Town, after playing in the first three pre-season friendlies for the club. He came off the bench on 18 August away 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 ...

to score a 90th minute winning goal in a 1–0 victory for Cheltenham Town. He was released by the club along with seven other players in May 2010. In July 2010, he returned to Bishop's Cleeve. Alsop announced that he was set to retire from football on 25 April 2011. He had made 34 league appearances during his second spell at Bishop's Cleeve, scoring eight goals. In January 2012 he came out of retirement to play for Welsh club

Carmarthen Town Carmarthen Town Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Caerfyrddin) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Carmarthen. The team play their home games at Richmond Park. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit ...

. He made his début for Carmarthen Town as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 win over

Aberystwyth Town Aberystwyth Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-Droed Tref Aberystwyth) is a Welsh semi-professional Association football, football team, currently playing in the Cymru Premier, the top tier of football in Wales. They are the only top flight men ...

on 2 January, and remained with the club until December 2012, making twelve league appearances in total. In January 2014, Alsop joined Welsh League outfit Monmouth Town.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alsop, Julian 1973 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Nuneaton Men's association football forwards Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Rugby Town F.C. players Racing Club Warwick F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Cirencester Town F.C. players Bishop's Cleeve F.C. players Carmarthen Town A.F.C. players Monmouth Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Cymru Premier players