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foxes1 · Joined: 30 Nov 2008 Posts: 1224 Location: Leicester

I am sure all football fans were saddened to hear of the death today of Macclesfield Town manager Keith Alexander at the age of 53. Although not one of the more outspoken managers, he always came across as one of the quiet men of the game and I think he will be missed particularly by the clubs he has worked with down the years, most of them being in the lower reaches of the league.

gfcpaul · Joined: 24 Nov 2008 Posts: 597 Location: Wainscott,Kent

At a time when we read about greedy overpaid immature little boys pretending to be footballers,its very sad to read about the death of a real man who appreciated life and its value's,he will be sadly missed.

Posh1959 · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 1227

KA was a genuine guy who loved the game . He always had time to stop and chat, never looking down on anybody. A sad loss.

lincolnredman · Joined: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 454 Location: lincoln

he will be greatly missed he did a great job for lincoln city taking them in to the play offs in division 4 (or what ever it is now) season after season.i remember when he was a lincoln city player in the 80's he even used to turn out for a local sunday league side when he wasn't in lincoln side just to keep fit.what a man Sad

Auchinleckian · Forum Moderator Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 4352

I met Keith on a number of occasions when he graced Blundell Park with his own inimitable style of football. He was a true gent in all senses of the word - always happy to speak with fans, sign autographs, and all done with a cheery demeanour.
Also have a lovely photo of him in the club shop when he came in with two other Town players of that era, Steve Stout and Richard kelly, just to have his photo taken with us for a free bit of publicity for us.
My favourite footballing memories of Keith are (1) him scoring a header at Plough Lane when we were cheered on by nearly 8,000 fans at Plough Lane when we were still in the 4th division and they were top half of the old first division. Cue an absolutely mental Harry the inflatable Haddock celebration (Jimmy Hill had one on MOTD that night) and (2) he had an uncanny knack of trapping the long high balls in his groin region, turning a totally bemused defender, before volleying his shot at goal. I actually remember him running backwards 5 or 6 steps with the ball seemingly glued to his gonads. Never seen anything of it's like before or since.
A truly one off, and very sadly missed.....

Superajm · Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 373

Auchinleckian wrote:

I met Keith on a number of occasions when he graced Blundell Park with his own inimitable style of football. He was a true gent in all senses of the word - always happy to speak with fans, sign autographs, and all done with a cheery demeanour

Completely agree with the above. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times whilst he was manager of Posh and a very honest down to earth guy. I didn't agree with his style of football but he was always willing to chat about it.

Every ex-player (and one current) I have seen/spoke to had huge respect for him and many have said he is one of the best to work for, a real man-manager

When he was sacked from Posh he didn't go running to the papers like other previous managers have and was dignified whenever he spoke about it

RIP a true gent

pastpirate · Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:12 am Post subject:

His passing is a huge loss for football.

A very sad day indeed.
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aye aye rhubarb pie · Joined: 23 Feb 2010 Posts: 81 Location: bradford/pudsey

very sorry to hear of his passing away, have been watching sky sports news most of the day and the tributes from everyone brought a lump to my throat, obviously a special guy.

Geddon · Joined: 20 Nov 2008 Posts: 1044 Location: Bristol

He always seemed like a decent guy whenever we played against his sides, and I've read so many people saying how enthusiastic he was, how down to earth he was, and how he'd go beyond what was asked of him for his clubs/players.

RIP Keith.

ToffeeDan · Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 2148 Location: Wirral

Paul Elliott paid a glowing tribute to him in today's Guardian.

Didn't realise he even became a referee - the first black man to achieve this in England.

He never stopped trying to break down the racist barriers and many owe him a great debt for the work he did to change the perception and opportunities for black and ethnic minority (footballers / other sports people).

RIP

Piebald · Joined: 14 Dec 2009 Posts: 69 Location: South Yorkshire

I was at the Notts v. Macclesfield match sitting a few rows behind the managers.Although it was quite a hard game with quite a lot of banter between the home supporters and the visiting bench,he took it in a good spirit and replied in good part and seemed perfectly well.Difficult to believe whats happened so soon afterwards.A great tragedy..