Alexander John Russell (born 17 March 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 lea ...

who played as a central

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. His father, Alex Russell played professionally for

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

and

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

. In January 2008 Russell joined League One side

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on a one-month loan. On 31 January, Russell's loan was extended to the end of the season. He signed permanently for

on 17 June 2008 after he was released by

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. Joined League Two side

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

on loan in February 2009 until the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal. He signed a permanent one-year deal with

in July 2009. On 14 May 2010, it was announced that he had been released by Exeter, along with eight other players. On 4 January 2011, it was announced that a move to League One Yeovil Town had been finalised. He was informed by the club at the end of the 2010/11 season that he was one of seven players who would be re-signed, Russell later rejected this offer and returned to Bath City. But he left when Bath was relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season from the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

, Russell signed with Southern League South & West Division side Clevedon Town in the summer of 2012. On 10 March 2013, he announced on Twitter, "Officially retiring from playing! 24 yr career,not a bad effort! #greattimes". After spells coaching at Bristol City, Tranmere Rovers, Oldham Athletic and Southport, Russell came out of retirement and played for Shepton Mallet and Bristol Manor Farm before emigrating to Australia and started coaching at Jamie Gosling's football academy in Cairns while also turning out for Stratford Dolphins at the age of 46. In 2020, he moved to another FNQ Football league side Leichhardt Lions in a dual player/assistant coach role, and won the FNQ Football Men's Premier Player of the Year award in 2021 – aged 48.

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2002–03 Third Division, 2003–04 Third Division

References

External links

Alex Russell profile
at ctfc.com

at bcfc.co.uk

at ntfc.co.uk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Alex 1973 births Living people Footballers from Crosby, Merseyside English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Burscough F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Glenavon F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Bath City F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Clevedon Town F.C. players Southport F.C. players Bristol Manor Farm F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players NIFL Premiership players