Alan Moore

Last updated : 14 May 2013 By Tony Scholes

Date and Place of Birth

25th November 1974 - DUBLIN

 

Transfers to and from Burnley

from MIDDLESBROUGH - 7th August 2001

to SHELBOURNE - 1st July 2004

 

First and Last Burnley Games

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (h) - 12th August 2001

sub: replaced Paul Weller

 

MK FRANCHISE (h) - 20th March 2004

sub: replaced Paul Weller

 

Other Clubs

MIDDLESBROUGH, BARNSLEY (loan)

----------------------------------------

SHELBOURNE, DERRY CITY, SLIGO ROVERS

 

 

Burnley Career Stats

 

Season League FA Cup League Cup Others Total
                     
  apps gls apps gls apps gls apps gls apps gls
2001/02 23(6) 3 2 1 1 1 - - 26(6) 5
2002/03 14(13) 1 5(1) 2 1(2) - - - 20(16) 3
2003/04 5(8) - 1(2) - 1 - - - 7(10) -
                     
Total 42(27) 4 8(3) 3 3(2) 1 - - 53(32) 8

 

Profile by Tony Scholes

 

In July 2001, with the Clarets having been back in pre-season training for just over a week, Stan Ternent confirmed that four trialists would be joining us for the trip to the Isle of Man.

One of the four was Tony Ellis who had been released by Rochdale, the other two were former Chelsea midfielder Paul Hughes who had left Southampton and Belgian Dimitri de Condé, a midfielder who had just left Charleroi.

The first to be rejected was de Condé and he was followed by Hughes. Ellis got a one year deal with the Clarets but the fourth, Republic of Ireland winger Alan Moore, impressed enough to win a three month deal at Turf Moor.

Dubliner Moore had progressed through the youth system at Middlesbrough and was still in his teens when he made his first team debut against Manchester United. Given the title 'The Ryan Giggs of the North East' he eventually established himself in the first team at the Riverside and went on to play over 140 games, many in the Premier League, although he did have a short loan with Barnsley in 1998.

There were a number of clubs reported in being interesting in him when he was released by Middlesbrough at the end of the 2000/01 season. He had trials with both Grimsby and Preston, two of our divisional rivals at the time, before winning the short term deal at Burnley.

He was on the bench for the opening day win at  Sheffield Wednesday, coming on as a substitute for Paul Weller, but soon won his place in the team and was a revelation on the left wing with him and Glen Little (on the right) helping to take Burnley to the top of the league with seven wins in the first eight games.

Such was his form that the Clarets moved quickly to ensure he didn't move on. With other clubs looking to sign him we offered him a three year deal which he signed in September, just a couple of days after a 3-2 win at Birmingham had sent us five points clear at the top of the table.

Unfortunately, the day after he signed the deal he was injured at Norwich, as was Little, and our form suffered over the next couple of months. Little came back before Moore, who required surgery. He didn't start another game until December , coming back in up front alongside Ian Moore Gareth Taylor unavailable.

He had some good game on his return, and was majorly involved in the 3-2 win at Preston in his second game back. Unfortunately he never really regained the form of earlier in the season as our performances worsened and we ended the season just missing out on the play offs.

It had proved to be Moore's best season for us. His remaining two years were blighted by injury and loss of form and he didn't play anything like enough games. There were highs though, and undoubtedly lows, with his contribution in two FA Cup 5th round ties highlighting that.

Against Fulham in 2003 he scored the early goal as we held the Premier League side to a 1-1 draw at QPR's Loftus Road before winning the replay 3-0. A year later, at the same stage of the competition, he missed a last minute sitter at Millwall that would have won us a home replay.

By this time he was not the most popular player amongst Burnley fans. There were too few good performances and too few appearances and it was no surprise when he was released at the end of his contract in 2004, indeed he left the club before the end of the season and returned to his native Ireland.

Once the transfer window opened for international transfers at the beginning of July he signed for Shelbourne where he went on to play and score in the Champions League. He was a goalscorer in games against both KR Reykjavik and Hadjuk Split.

In three years with Shelbourne he twice won league titles before moving to Derry City in 2007 and Sligo Rovers a year later. It was at Sligo where he ended his playing career playing for his former Turf Moor team mate Paul Cook.

At the end of his playing days he was appointed assistant manager at Shamrock Rovers but in July 2010 he returned to the North West of England to become the Centre of Excellence manager at Bury.

He held that job for a year before winning promotion in the summer of 2011 to become the club's Head of Youth, a role he continues to hold.

It's wrong to say we didn't see the best of Alan Moore; we did, but all too rarely. Those early games gave us a glimpse of what might have been but injuries had an effect and he struggled to come to terms with playing in front of the Turf Moor crowd with his better performances always coming in away games.

How you view him will be based on whether it's a high or a low that will be recalled, and for many Burnley fans it is that missed sitter at Millwall.

 

Links

Moore quits Sligo (03/07/08)