Alan Ainscow is an English former professional footballer.

Playing career

Bolton

Bolton

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

-born Ainscow began his career with Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 as an apprentice, making his debut when then-Seasiders manager, Bob Stokoe

Bob Stokoe

Robert "Bob" Stokoe was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east rivalry between the region's footballing giants, Newcastle United and Sunderland....

, picked him to play in the 1971 Anglo-Italian Cup. Ainscow played in the competition's final, on 12 June 1971 against Bologna

Bologna F.C. 1909

Bologna Football Club 1909, known simply as Bologna, is an Italian Football League club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, formed in 1993. The club are nicknamed the rossoblù because of the red and blue striped shirts they wear. Red and Blue are the official colours of the town.During its history...

 at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara

Stadio Renato Dall'Ara

Stadio Renato Dall'Ara is a multi-purpose stadium in Bologna, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and the home of Bologna F.C. 1909. The stadium was built in 1927 and holds 38,279...

, which Blackpool won 2–1 after extra time. Still without a league appearance, Ainscow played the whole game before being substituted prior to the end of extra time due to exhaustion. The following month he signed his first professional contract with the club.

His league debut came at the start of the 1971–72 season  when he scored in a Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 match against Swindon Town

Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

 at Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road

Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

.

Ainscow played again in the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1972. He scored one goal in Blackpool's 10–0 victory over Lanerossi Vicenza

Vicenza Calcio

Vicenza Calcio is an Italian football club based in Vicenza, Veneto. The club was formed in 1902 and currently plays in Italy's Serie B, having spent the entire 1960s and a large part of the 1990s in Serie A...

 on 10 June 1971 at Bloomfield Road, as Blackpool again reached the final, this time losing out 3–1 to A.S. Roma

A.S. Roma

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 at the Stadio Olimpico

Stadio Olimpico

The Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex on the north of the city. An asset of the Italian National Olympic Committee, the structure is intended primarily for football...

 in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in front of a crowd of 75,000.

It took a while for him to become a regular in the Blackpool first team; though after the departure of Tommy Hutchison

Tommy Hutchison

Thomas "Tommy" Hutchison is a Scottish former footballer.-Club career:Beginning his professional career with Alloa Athletic in the Scottish Second Division, being spotted by Archie McPherson...

, he became almost an ever-present in the line-up.

Ainscow could play on either flank, although he later found himself lying deeper. In the 1972–73 season, he was the club's joint top scorer with Alan Suddick

Alan Suddick

Alan Suddick was an English professional footballer who played at inside-right. He was known for his "banana" free-kicks.-Newcastle United:...

. Also that same season he scored his only hat-trick, when Blackpool beat local rivals

West Lancashire derby

The West Lancashire derby is a local derby in English football, between Lancashire neighbours Blackpool F.C. and Preston North End F.C. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of the Football League, but not yet in the Premier League...

 Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

 3–0 at Deepdale

Deepdale

Deepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...

 on 19 December 1972.

In July 1978, after 192 league appearances for Blackpool and 28 goals, he was transferred to First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 club Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 for £40,000. He made his debut on 19 August 1978 in a 1–0 defeat to Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 at Old Trafford

Old Trafford

Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 and helped the club to promotion in the 1979–80 season.

Three years later, in August 1981, he joined Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 for a fee of £250,000. After a brief loan spell at Barnsley

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

, he moved to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 in 1983 to play for Eastern AA

Eastern AA

Eastern Athletic Association is a football club and now plays in Hong Kong Third Division "A" League. It was a very successful team especially in the 1990s and was given the name 'Eastern Dynasty'. Eastern had originally competed in Second Division League during 2006/07 season and demoted to Third...

. He returned to England in 1984 to play for Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

, before moving to Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

 in 1986, where the following year he was part of the team that won the Full Members Cup

Full Members Cup

The Full Members Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992....

 after a 1–0 victory over Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 at Wembley.

In 1989 he moved to Rochdale

Rochdale A.F.C.

Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...

, and in 1990 he moved into non-League football

Non-league football

Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 with Horwich RMI

Leigh RMI F.C.

Leigh Genesis Football Club, formerly known as Horwich Railway Mechanics Institute F.C. and Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute F.C. , was an English semi-professional association football team that folded after relegation from the Northern Premier League in 2011...

.

Coaching career

After a long spell out of the game, Ainscow was appointed as joint coach to the Under-17 team of Burscough

Burscough F.C.

Burscough F.C. is an English football club based in Burscough, Lancashire. The club are members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division and groundshare with Skelmersdale United...

 in August 2005.

Club

Blackpool

• Anglo-Italian Cup
  Anglo-Italian Cup
  The Anglo-Italian Cup is a defunct European football competition that was played intermittently between 1970 and 1996 between clubs from England and Italy. Founded by Gigi Peronace in 1970, following the success of the Anglo-Italian League Cup, it was played as a professional tournament until 1973...
  
   winner: 1971

Blackburn Rovers

• Full Members Cup
  Full Members Cup
  The Full Members Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992....
  
   winner: 1987

External links

• Independent site profile