Alan Groves

Alan Groves (24 October 1948 – 15 June 1978) was an English professional footballer. He played as a midfielder.

Groves joined hometown club Southport from Blowick in December 1968 and went on to play for Chester, transferring for a £3,000 fee in 1971 to Shrewsbury Town.

In October 1972 he was sold for £40,000 to AFC Bournemouth, for whom he played a year before beginning a long spell with Oldham Athletic in February 1974. According to Harry Redknapp, Groves was not happy with the move, and during a match against Bournemouth after scoring a goal, Groves dribbled the ball to the Bournemouth dugout and kicked the ball at Trevor Hartley, the manager who had sold him. He made 140 Football League appearances for ''the Latics'' until he moved to Blackpool in November 1977, for £30,000. He made his League debut for the club on 26 November 1977, when Blackpool beat Stoke City 2–1. After his first three games he was convinced that he made the best move of his football career, commenting: "Two away wins in three weeks, it's unbelievable. That's as many as we got in two years at Oldham Athletic. Blackpool have some tremendous players, really skilful. I fancy Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur to go up, but if we play like we did at Mansfield Town, we can make it tough for both of them." Provided by Wikipedia