Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alan Esplin Woan [1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 8 February 1931||
Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
Date of death | 13 February 2021 | (aged 90)||
Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
Youth career | |||
?–? | Bootle | ||
?–1953 | New Brighton | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
1953–1956 | Norwich City | 21 | (7) |
1956–1959 | Northampton Town | 119 | (68) |
1959–1961 | Crystal Palace | 41 | (21) |
1961–1964 | Aldershot | 108 | (44) |
1964–? | Chertsey Town | ? | (?) |
Total | 289 + | (140 +) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Alan Woan (8 February 1931 – 13 February 2021) [2] [3] was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He made a total of 289 Football League appearances for Norwich City, Northampton Town, Crystal Palace and Aldershot scoring 140 goals. He also played non-league football for New Brighton and Chertsey Town. He was the father of Ian Woan who also played professional football, most notably for Nottingham Forest [4] [5] and Alan Junior, who played for Stalybridge Celtic. [5] [6]
Woan began his career in non-league football, playing for Anfield Road School, Bootle and later New Brighton. [7] In 1953, Woan signed for Norwich City. [1] He scored three minutes into his debut appearance for Norwich City against Northampton Town. [7] Over the next three seasons, Woan made 21 League appearances (seven goals) for Norwich, and 43 times in 77 matches for Norwich City Reserves. [7] In 1956, he moved on to Northampton Town. [1] In his time at Northampton, he scored 68 goals in 118 appearances. However, in October 1959, [1] he was signed by Crystal Palace in exchange for Mike Deakin. [8] He made his Palace debut on 31 October in an away 2–0 win against Gateshead, [9] and between then and February 1961, [1] made 46 appearances, in all competitions, scoring 23 goals. [3] He then moved again, to Aldershot where he made 108 appearances over the next three years, scoring 44 goals, before moving into non-league football with Chertsey Town. [3]
After retirement, Woan worked with youth players at Tranmere Rovers and subsequently in local government on the Wirral. [5]
Woan was born in Liverpool, England. [1] [7] His brother Don and his son Ian were both professional footballers.
Woan died from COVID-19 in 2021. [10]