Alex Reid- A Comprehensive Biography by Ian Watts

                                               All Photos in this report were taken by hedgegrower.

ALEX REID

Alex was born just two days after earlier signing Mark Kitchin, in his case in Birmingham. There was a County game on the day he came into the world, with 454 people at Edgeley Park to see a Central League win for the Hatters Reserves over Scunthorpe United, with current and long time kit man Richard Landon opening the scoring. The next first team game after his birth was a Saturday trip to Blackpool three days later, where a 40^th minute goal from current Darlington manager Alun Armstrong sent the County fans home happy with a win.

2006–2013

Academy and youth

The Forward who went to school in Sutton Coldfield began with the Aston Villa Academy staying with them from age 6 Until at 16 becoming a trainee at Walsall for the 12-13 season. He made occasional reserve team appearances over his two years with the Saddlers but was mainly involved in the youth team games.

Walsall did not offer him a professional contract and Alex's next stop, along with some other young English footballers, was Sweden courtesy of the League Football Education's Player Placement Programme. Alex joined Ånge IF, who were to finish the season in 5^th place of 14 in the Norrland section of Sweden's fourth tier.

BACK IN THE UK

Alex returned home presumably at the end of the Swedish season, and the next club he is reported to have been with is Solihull Moors, but I have not been able to find any details of this spell, so he may have not been playing in the first team.

What is certain is that he then signed for former Hatter Richard Sneekes at Rushall Olympic in February 2015 and had quite a debut. Coming off the bench after Olympic suffered a first half injury at Ramsbottom United on the 17^th of that month, he scored twice in the second half to help them to a 3-2 win. Match reports for the rest of that season generally said he was used as a substitute but that did not stop him adding at least one more goal as the Pics finished 9^th in the top flight of the Northern Premier League.

His first full season with Rushall saw Alex establish his reputation as a striker who needed to be watched. He started with at least four goals in pre-season including one each against Leamington and Worcester City. Although the club were to finish just above half way in 10^th place Alex hit the back of the net 26 times.

In mid September He scored a hat-trick in 18 minutes against Shepshed Dynamo in an FA Cup replay, and followed that up the next weekend to get one of the goals in a 3-1 win at Salford City as Olympic continued a decent start to the season. The cup run took them to the last qualifying round with a giant killing, as it had two years earlier when they won at Edgeley Park. This time they beat our then league rivals Corby Town in a replay, before losing out to Stamford.

I mentioned previously how our new Hatters signing was involved in plenty of big wins earlier in his career, Alex took part in a victory over Stafford Town in the Walsall Senior Cup that December when they racked up 11 (eleven) goals without reply, County's new man netting two of those.

The following month a headed goal by the player, who was normally then described as a winger, gave the Pics a 1-0 victory over Nantwich Town, the first league game that season in which the Dabbers had failed to score, as Rushall hovered a couple of wins adrift of the play off places.

The Walsall Senior Cup was not the only competition of that type that Rushall competed in and in April Alex scored twice as they claimed the Staffordshire version with a 4-1 win against Kidsgrove Athletic.

His goal scoring continued the following season as Olympic climbed to the top of the table under new manager John Allen, who replaced Sneekes during the summer. On the weekend of no Premier or Championship football in October 2016 the Wolverhampton Express & Star covered the leading local non-league strikers, and called Alex "the man of the moment in the Evo-Stik Premier, as he headed the goal charts with 10.

It was shortly after that coverage that reports of Alex being watched by EFL sides started to appear in the press. The first side to make a move were Birmingham City, who brought him in for a trial and included Alex in their Under 23 side that Met Sheffield Wednesday on 19^th December. Later that week he was apparently to have a trial with Shrewsbury Town and also had a week at Fleetwood Town during the month.

Back with Rushall they maintained their promotion challenge with a 0-0 draw at Stourbridge on Boxing Day in what would prove to be the last game for Alex with the next scheduled match postponed.

OFF TO THE COAST

On 4^th January 2017 he moved to Fleetwood Town, who agreed to pay an undisclosed fee to bring him on board. The switch made Uwe Rosler the second European manager to sign the forward. The Cod Army said that Reid would initially link up with their development squad, under coach Paul Murray, who described him as, "strong, athletic and has an eye for goal." Towards the end of the season he helped Fleetwood make the Lancashire Senior Cup final, playing alongside recently departed Hatter Elliott Osborne in a penalty shoot out victory over Blackburn Rovers, after a 1-1 draw, with Alex scoring the Town goal.

Reid did not make any first-team appearances for Fleetwood during the remainder of the campaign although he was named on the bench, the first time being for the visit to Walsall, the side who released him some years earlier. His new teammates were to finish fourth but failed to make it through the play-offs, whilst the side he left behind lost the form that had taken them to the top and trained off to a 12^th placed finish.

TEMPORARY CONTRACTS

Alex was in the 26 man squad who flew to Austria for a training camp at the start of pre-season training the following season. Amongst his pre-season performances Alex scored three for the development side In a 9-0 win at Squires Gate

Soon after the season kicked off Fleetwood decided they were happy to loan Alex out and his first move saw him join Wrexham on 15^th August, the fourth of our summer signings to previously play for that club. Wrexham manager at the time was Dean Keates who had played for Rushall when Alex was there, and he joined new County colleague James Jennings on their books.

He made his Wrexham debut as a substitute at home to Gateshead, and scored the winner, and went on to score three in his first four games. The loan arrangement was originally for two months, but it was later extended into November and Alex went on to play 18 games, four as a sub, scoring those three goals mentioned earlier. The Red Dragons even led the table for five days just before his spell ended.

He returned to the Cod Army in mid November and had the opportunity to make his debut, and in the process play his last senior game for them. That came in a EFL Trophy win over Chesterfield, coming off the bench to score one of the goals in a 2-0 victory.

Alex got more experience of National League football when sent on loan to Solihull Moors from the start of January 2018 initially for 28 days, but eventually extended until the end of the season. Moors had lost their top scorer to West Ham United and brought in four new players, presumably with Reid marked in to take over that goal scoring role as they aimed to pull away from trouble.

As it was he was mainly used as an impact substitute by Solihull, starting just three of his 15 matches, but still struck four goals, including one during the win at Tranmere Rovers in their penultimate match when they clinched their top flight place for another year after a ten game unbeaten run which completed the recovery from a shocking first four months of the season.

STEVENAGE STAY

A trial for Stevenage in July, including a brace of goals against St Albans City, earned Alex a contract with the EFL Two Club either as a free transfer or for a reported undisclosed fee as he was still under contract at Fleetwood. He also scored in a defeat to Crystal Palace and when the season proper started he was in the named XI for the 2-2 draw with Tranmere Rovers and a League Cup tie, but struggled for a starting place, This is not to say he was not involved as he came off the bench eleven times in all competitions.

Even with this sparse game time he scored twice, one in the second game at Crawley Town. The year was to end with further frustration for Alex as he was red carded in a game at Crewe with his own manager accusing the Alex officials of unduly influencing the referee in his decision. Back on, and off, the bench later in January he was not to spend much longer with the Boro.

BACK TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

Alex had played his last senior game for Stevenage and was to spend most of his remaining time on their books out on loan to a succession of National League sides, facing the Hatters for each of them.

First up were former Hatter's player Dave Challinor's AFC Fylde who he joined on 8^th February 2019, in plenty of time to face us in the FA Trophy semi-final that March. In the opening leg of that semi-final Alex came off the bench as County held Fylde to a goalless draw at their ground.

Alex lurks in County box for Fylde.

 In the second leg it was our new signing who broke County's resistance with the 89^th minute goal, just after County had levelled the scores and looked to be taking the pursuit of a place at Wembley into extra time.

Alex nicks winner v County- image Andrew Machin.

That Wembley visit saw Alex and his teammates claim an FA Trophy winners medal with a victory over Leyton Orient, although they would probably have foregone this to some extent with a victory over Salford City a week earlier in the play off final for a Football League place. That win over Orient brought Alex's total of appearances for Fylde to 18 before heading back to Stevenage where he was contracted for the following season.

Last years pre-season saw an unusual start, although perhaps not as unusual as Saturday's Carrington meeting against his former club, with Stevenage travelling to the Channel Islands to face Jersey Bulls in that club's first ever game ahead of them joining the English nonleague pyramid.

EBBSFLEET AND DAGGERS

On the last day of August he was loaned out to National League side Ebbsfleet United, who were looking to recover from a poor start to the season.

As part of his 21 National League Game spell he returned to Edgeley Park on 23^rd November last year to figure in a 1-1 draw with substitute Sam Walker netting a late equaliser for the Hatters, who climbed to 10^th with this point.

Alex defends against County.

 

Whilst with Ebbsfleet he scored regularly notching five in those league matches, and also scored in the FA Cup.

He returned to his parent club in the first week of January, only to head out on loan again later that month with another of County's divisional rivals Dagenham and Redbridge for the rest of the season. He made an impressive start netting both goals as his latest club beat Notts County 2-0.

A fortnight later the Daggers welcomed County to their ground and Alex's team recorded a 1-1 draw with a late late response to McAlinden's late Hatters goal, in the game that saw Lois Maynard's only senior first team game for us so far.

By the seasons close down Alex had scored three goals, the other coming at Barrow, in six games.

NOW A HATTER

Released by Stevenage, one of over 20 players on their books to suffer that fate as they prepared for what they expected to be a non-league campaign,, the 6' 4" tall player will now get chance to write his name in County folklore if he assists the newly full time side back into the Football League, continuing Jim Gannon's season-on--season improvements since his return to the manager's post.

Ian Watts