'IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT THAT FEELING OF WINNING!"
The Football League Paper|September 10, 2023
GRAHAM Alexplayed ander in over a thougames sand and has managed another 450 since hanging up his boots at the age of 40
Chris Dunlavy
'IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT THAT FEELING OF WINNING!"

So it's hardly surprising that the ten months he spent out of work af ter leaving Motherwell last July felt more like ten years.

Nor that his first game at the helm of MK Dons, a chaotic 5-3 victory over Wrexham on the opening day of the season, proved so cathartic.

"I remember turning to Chris Lucketti, my assistant, and saying 'Christ, we've been waiting over a year for that feeling"," recounts the 51-year-old, whose previous match was a Europa Conference League exit the at hands of Sligo.

"It's a like drug. The high is unbelievable.

That feeling you get straight after a win, there's nothing else I've ever found that comes close. That's what brings you back, no matter how many times kicks you in the teeth." Alexander football or Grezza, as he is more widely known hasn't taken too much punishment at the hands of a game he still adores.

As a player, he enjoyed remarkable 24-year a career that began at Scunthorpe in 1988, featured a Premier League debut for Burnley at 37 and ended, implausibly, with Alexander scoring an injury-time equaliser for Preston direct from a free-kick with his final kick in professional football.

By then, he had become only the second outfield player in the history of English football to surpass 1,000 appearances.

“I remember getting a lot of coverage when I was 37 because I’d just made my debut in the Premier League,” he laughs.

“People kept asking me how I was able to keep going. I was mystified. I’d say ‘What, how do I keep doing the job I absolutely love? Very easily’.

Denne historien er fra September 10, 2023-utgaven av The Football League Paper.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 10, 2023-utgaven av The Football League Paper.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE PAPERSe alt
END OF CUP ROAD FOR EFL BATTLERS
The Football League Paper

END OF CUP ROAD FOR EFL BATTLERS

EFL interest in this season’s Carabao Cup came to an end in midweek, but it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying.

time-read
1 min  |
November 03, 2024
GOALS GALORE IN THE TROPHY
The Football League Paper

GOALS GALORE IN THE TROPHY

THE goals flew in from all angles as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy revved into action again in midweek.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
KEEPER GAFFE SINKS TOWN
The Football League Paper

KEEPER GAFFE SINKS TOWN

HUDDERSFIELD boss Michael Duff questioned his players’ mentality after goalkeeper Chris Maxwell’s bloomer handed NonLeague Tamworth a shock win.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
ACE SLEW & WILLIAMS SEE OFF REBELS...
The Football League Paper

ACE SLEW & WILLIAMS SEE OFF REBELS...

DECISIVE goals at either end of the game from Jordan Slew and Rhys Williams helped League Two Morecambe avoid a potential banana skin against National League South outfit Worthing.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
MATT'S MEN JUST HAVE ENOUGH GAS
The Football League Paper

MATT'S MEN JUST HAVE ENOUGH GAS

HONEST Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor has acknowledged his side were pushed all the way in their tie against Weston-super-Mare.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
'WHITES' ARRAY OF FIREPOWER WILL  GIVE THEM THE EDGE OVER RIVALS'
The Football League Paper

'WHITES' ARRAY OF FIREPOWER WILL GIVE THEM THE EDGE OVER RIVALS'

GARY Rowett says Leeds’ glittering arsenal of attacking stars will bring the Championship title to Elland Road.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 03, 2024
POMPEY'S GAME OF TWO HALVES
The Football League Paper

POMPEY'S GAME OF TWO HALVES

Murphy's in to deny the Tigers

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
SET-PLAY PREP PAYING OFF FOR PELACH
The Football League Paper

SET-PLAY PREP PAYING OFF FOR PELACH

NARCIS Pelach admitted Stoke have been working tirelessly on set-pieces since his arrival – and he was pleased the hard work paid dividends with the winner against Derby.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
Robins lays marker to his Sky Blues
The Football League Paper

Robins lays marker to his Sky Blues

MARK Robins has challenged his Coventry City players to go on a Championship charge after the Sky Blues ended their wait for success on their travels with resounding victory against ten-man Boro.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024
JUST FAB FOUR BAYO IS UNSTOPPABLE
The Football League Paper

JUST FAB FOUR BAYO IS UNSTOPPABLE

FOUR second-half goals in an incredible display from Vakoun Bayo powered Watford to a resounding victory at Hillsborough.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 03, 2024