Alan Nelmes

Alan Victor Nelmes (born 20 October 1948 in Hackney, London) is an English retired professional football defender who made over 300 appearances in the Football League for Brentford. He was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame in November 2014.

Alan Nelmes
Personal information
Full name Alan Victor Nelmes[1]
Date of birth (1948-10-20) 20 October 1948
Place of birth Hackney, England
Playing position(s) Defender, wing half
Youth career
1965–1967 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1976 Brentford 316 (2)
1976–1977 Hillingdon Borough
1977–1978 Hayes
Southall
Total 316 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Chelsea

Nelmes was born in Hackney, but moved to south London and attended Ingram High School, near Selhurst Park.[2] Nelmes began his career at First Division club Chelsea and signed his first professional contract in October 1965.[3] He failed to make an appearance for the first team and was released at the end of the 1966-67 season.[3]

Brentford

Nelmes turned down offers from Aldershot and Colchester United to sign for Fourth Division club Brentford in July 1967.[1][4] Operating initially as a right back, he went on to be a vital cog in a threadbare Brentford team, missing only three games between 1968 and 1972 and is one of a few Bees players to make 100 consecutive appearances.[3] Manager Jimmy Sirrel assembled a small squad of versatile players and Nelmes was picked to play up front versus Notts County on 2 March 1968,[2] scoring one of his only two goals for the club.[5] He played in five different positions during the 1967–68 season.[4]

Adept anywhere across the back four and as a sweeper,[4] Nelmes' performances garnered him the Brentford Players' Player of the Year award for the 1970–71 season.[6] Known as 'Spider',[7] he helped Brentford achieve promotion to the Third Division in the 1971–72 season, though the club were relegated straight back to the Fourth Division the following year.[5] After a succession of injuries took a toll on his body,[4] Nelmes was released at the end of the 1975–76 season,[8] having made 350 appearances for the club.[3] Despite being what he described as "quite a physical player", Nelmes was never sent off during his career.[2] He was given a testimonial versus former club Chelsea in 1978, which finished 8–2 to the Stamford Bridge club.[9] Nelmes earned a then-club record £7,000 from the match.[10] In recognition of his performances for the club, Nelmes was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014.[11]

Non-league football

After his release from Brentford, Nelmes saw out his career with spells at Southern League club Hillingdon Borough and Isthmian League clubs Hayes (managed by former Brentford teammate Bobby Ross) and Southall, before retiring due to a cartilage injury.[3][2][7]

Personal life

Nelmes is married to Norma and has two sons, Martin and Stuart. Martin played tennis and football to county level and is a LTA-qualified tennis coach. Stuart has played cricket for Sussex County League club Middleton since 2005.[12] During the 1970s, Nelmes lived in Isleworth and worked at the Watneys brewery in Mortlake.[7] He spent time running a business in Bognor Regis in the 1970s and in the 1990s and 2000s,[4] he was worked in security at Gatwick Airport.[2] As of 2015, Nelmes was living in Middleton-on-Sea.[13]

Honours

Brentford

Individual

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 1967–68[5] Fourth Division 24 1 2 0 1 0 27 1
1968–69[5] 44 1 2 0 3 0 49 1
1969–70[5] 45 0 2 0 3 0 50 0
1970–71[5] 46 0 5 0 1 0 52 0
1971–72[5] 46 0 2 0 1 0 49 0
1972–73[5] Third Division 36 0 1 0 2 0 39 0
1973–74[5] Fourth Division 33 0 1 0 1 0 35 0
1974–75[5] 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
1975–76[5] 29 0 4 0 3 0 36 0
Career total 3162190 15 03502
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References
  1. "Alan Nelmes". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  2. Lane, David (2002). Cult Bees & Legends: Volume One. Hampton Wick: Woodpecker Multimedia. pp. 50–69. ASIN B00NGFXBBG. ISBN 0-9543682-0-7.
  3. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 16. ISBN 0955294916.
  4. Brentford F.C. Griffin Gazette versus Cambridge United 28/01/95. Quay Design of Poole. 1995. p. 29.
  5. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 389–393. ISBN 0951526200.
  6. TW8 Matchday versus Oldham Athletic 25/08/03. London: The Yellow Printing Company Limited. p. 33.
  7. "Hayes & Yeading United FC: The Official Website". Hyufc.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 978-1906796709.
  9. "Don't Look Back In Anger – Chelsea". Beesotted. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  10. Griffin Gazette: Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Crewe Alexandra 06/04/96. Quay Design of Poole. 1996. p. 20.
  11. Wickham, Chris. "Bob Booker, Peter Gelson, Keith Millen, Alan Nelmes and Danis Salman honoured at Brentford FC 125 Year Anniversary Dinner". Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  12. "Sussex Cricket League – Site". Sussexcl.play-cricket.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  13. "Legend Nelmes honoured by Brentford and Hodgson". bognor.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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