Alex Whittle (born 15 March 1993) is 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 plays as a

left-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 ...

for

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. He has played for

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesh ...

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

, York City,

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 ...

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

, Gloucester City and Chesterfield.

Club career

Whittle was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Merseyside and attended Maricourt Catholic School in

Maghull Maghull ( ) is a town and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside (historically a part of Lancashire). The town is north of Liverpool and west of Kirkby. The area also contains Ashworth Hospital. Maghull had a population of 20,444 at the 2011 Cens ...

, Merseyside. He started his career at

where he joined as a six-year-old, and spent 11 years at the club before being released in early 2011. He then joined the

Glenn Hoddle Academy The Glenn Hoddle Academy (GHA) was established in 2008, by former England international footballer Glenn Hoddle. Hoddle set the academy up in the memory of his brother, Carl, a former Tottenham Hotspur player who died aged 40. The academy coach ...

in Spain in February 2011 and the

Nike Academy The Nike Football Academy was an English football academy funded and administered by Nike, Inc. The academy had a revolving squad of unsigned under-20 players and was run with the intention of helping them find a professional club. The academy was ...

for the 2011–12 season, where he went on

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

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 ...

, Heart of Midlothian and

. He joined Dunfermline Athletic on a pre-contract in April 2012 ahead of signing a three-year contract. He made his debut on 28 July in a Scottish Challenge Cup match against Forfar Athletic and his Scottish Football League debut on 11 August in a 4–0 victory against

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

. Whittle was signed as a winger and made sporadic appearances, often as a substitute, but got his break in the first team at

following the redundancy of Stephen Jordan amid Dunfermline's

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

. He scored his first goal for Dunfermline against

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

on 28 September 2013. After being released by Dunfermline at the end of 2014–15, Whittle appeared as a trialist for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...

in a friendly match against

Spennymoor Town Spennymoor Town Football Club is a football club based in Spennymoor, County Durham, in the North East of England. They currently compete in and currently play their home matches at The Brewery Field. The club began playing in the Northern ...

. Hartlepool manager

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He played for many different clubs in a care ...

commented that he was "pleased" with Whittle's performance, adding that he had asked Whittle to stay with the club for an extra week in order to assess him. In September 2015, Whittle signed for

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

club

, making his debut as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with Tamworth. On 23 March 2016, Whittle signed for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club

, debuting three days later as a 33rd-minute substitute in a 2–0 home win over

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in th ...

. He made seven appearances for Southport over the remainder of 2015–16. On 23 May 2016, Whittle signed for newly relegated National League club

on a one-year contract, with the option of a further year. On 29 December 2017, Whittle agreed to sign for

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 ...

club

on a free transfer on 1 January 2018. He joined National League North club Southport on 15 March 2018 on a one-month

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

, having struggled with a hamstring injury after joining Forest Green. He was released by Forest Green at the end of 2017–18. Whittle signed for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Warrington Town in September 2018 and made his debut in a 3–0 home win over South Shields on 29 September in the league. Although they would go on to win the play-offs, they were denied promotion after losing to Southern League Central playoff champions King's Lynn Town. In June 2019, Whittle joined

. Whittle joined Gloucester City in August 2020. On 8 January 2021, he departed from Gloucester, joining Chesterfield later that day, following the path of former manager at Gloucester James Rowe and former teammates Akwasi Asante and George Carline. Whittle was released by Chesterfield at the end of the 2021–22 season. On 2 July 2022, Whittle returned to newly promoted National League club York City.

International career

Whittle was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

by the England schools team over 2008–09.

Career statistics

References

External links

Alex Whittle profile
at the Forest Green Rovers F.C. website--> * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittle, Alex 1993 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English footballers England schools international footballers Association football defenders Liverpool F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players AFC Fylde players Southport F.C. players York City F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Warrington Town F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Northern Premier League players