John Alexander

Alexander was born in Middlesbrough, and despite receiving offers of a traineeship from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley, began his football career in the youth system of Darlington in June 2002. He was included among the substitutes for the Division Three match against Carlisle United on 27 August, chosen in preference to the injured Danny Mellanby and the out-of-form Mark Sheeran, but remained unused. The 16-year-old Alexander was given his debut the following Saturday, as a second-half substitute in the visit to Kidderminster Harriers. He entered the game together with Neil Wainwright and Phil Hadland just after the home side had taken a lead, and the energy of the fresh players helped Darlington exert enough pressure to draw the match. A trial with Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, in which he scored twice for their under-17 team against Tottenham Hotspur under-17s, came to nothing, and Alexander made no more first-team appearances before December, when he joined Northern Premier League club Bishop Auckland on loan. He returned to Darlington's first team in December 2003, when he made three appearances, each time as a late substitute. After another brief loan spell with Bishop Auckland, Alexander was released in April 2004 and signed for Billingham Synthonia. He scored on his Northern League debut, against Dunston Federation, and finished the season with the club. He then took up a place at Stetson University, in DeLand, Florida, where he played college soccer for…