Alex Cropley
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander James Cropley[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 January 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Aldershot, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1968–1974 | Hibernian | 118 | (27) |
| 1974–1976 | Arsenal | 30 | (5) |
| 1976–1980 | Aston Villa | 67 | (7) |
| 1979–1980 | → Newcastle United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1981 | Toronto Blizzard | 15 | (2) |
| 1981–1982 | Portsmouth | 10 | (2) |
| Total | 228 | (41) | |
| National team | |||
| 1971 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Alex Cropley (born 16 January 1951) is a retired footballer who won two caps for Scotland.
Cropley was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. His father is Jack Cropley,[2] who was playing for Aldershot at the time. Cropley junior began his career with Hibernian, where he featured in the side of the early 1970s known as "Turnbull's Tornadoes". While with Hibs he won the 1972 Scottish League Cup Final. Despite being born in the south of England, Cropley was eligible for Scotland and he was selected for the matches against Belgium and Portugal in 1971.
Late in 1974, Cropley was transferred to Arsenal for £150,000.[2] He struggled to make an impact at Arsenal, largely due to injuries.[2] He made his debut against Carlisle United on 7 December 1974, but broke his leg in a match away to Middlesbrough in January 1975 and broke it again soon after his comeback. He returned to make 22 appearances in 1975–76, but could not secure a regular place in the Arsenal first team. He was transferred to Aston Villa in September 1976, having played in 30 league games and scored five goals for Arsenal.[2]
At Villa, he featured in a memorable win against the great Liverpool side of the period,[3] but he suffered serious injury, a broken leg, yet again on 10 December 1977, a few months after appearing in the 1977 Football League Cup Final victory against Everton.[4] Cropley finished his career with spells at Newcastle (on loan), Toronto Blizzard and Portsmouth. He retired from professional football in 1982 at the relatively young age of 31. His son Jordan (also a midfielder) played for Hibs' youth teams, but was released in 2009.[5][6] He has subsequently played for Berwick Rangers, Arniston Rangers and Haddington Athletic.[6][7]
References
- ↑ Alex Cropley, London Hearts.
- 1 2 3 4 "Profile". www.arsenal.com. Arsenal FC. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ↑ Jawad, Hyder (17 December 2006). "Villa's 45-minute blitz of the champions". Birmingham Post (Trinity Mirror Midlands). Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ↑ Adams, Tim (6 January 2008). "Crack!". The Observer (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ↑ "Campbell and Cropley exit Hibs". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- 1 2 "Profile: Jordan Cropley". www.haddingtonathletic.co.uk. Haddington Athletic FC. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ↑ "BERWICK RANGERS : 1955/56 - 2011/12". www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- Sources
- Jeffrey, Jim (2005). The Men Who Made Hibernian F.C. since 1946. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-3091-2.