The Pompey Chimes

Alan Biley Portsmouth Football Club Hall of Fame

Alan Biley - chirpy striker

Chirpy striker Alan Biley brought pleasure to Pompey fans in the early 1980s with his hunger for goals. While there have been more prolific scorers in Pompey's history, few who have pulled on the royal blue shirt have been as charismatic as the blond-haired striker.

Alan Biley had an aura about him. Fans and colleagues loved his jovial and amiable manner off the field, while on it he had the knack of being in the right place at the right time. The majority of the 22,446 fans inside Fratton Park on December 22, 1984, will probably never forget the two goals he scored in time added on after a pitch invasion by a fan dressed as Santa Claus. The quickfire, last-gasp brace turned a looming 1-0 defeat against Oxford into a 2-1 victory. His goalscoring record was impressive enough before Pompey paid Everton ÃÂ£125,000 for his signature in August 1982.

The little man, for he was only 5ft 8in tall, had joined Luton Town as an apprentice, not far from his Leighton Buzzard birthplace, and helped Cambridge United to a higher level of football with 75 goals in 160 matches. Short spells at Derby County, Everton, and Stoke checked his scoring record, but the Rod Stewart lookalike got off to a dream start for Pompey, scoring on his home debut against Sheffield United. His consistency, along with a great understanding with strike partner Billy Rafferty, was critical in Pompey's continued upturn in the 1980s.

Biley scored two hat-tricks for the Blues, both at Fratton Park. The first came against Lincoln City on a foggy November evening in 1982 and the second on the last day of the 1983-84 season in a 5-0 win against Swansea. That match saw the arrival of new manager Alan Ball, who ultimately did not see eye to eye with the ebullient character. Ball did the unthinkable and sold Biley to second division rivals Brighton for ÃÂ£60,000 in March 1985.

Pompey League Record:
101 appearances. 51 goals.

Portsmouth Hall of Fame

On February 17, 2012 Alan Biley was honoured by Portsmouth Football Club and joined a select band of Pompey legends..

Alan Biley made himself a cult hero in the three years he played for Pompey after signing from Everton for £100,000 in 1982.

His resemblance to Rod Stewart made him the first Blues star to hold a pop star-like status as the image of footballers began to enjoy a transformation.

He scored 57 goals in 115 appearances, but will always be famed for two injury-time strikes at Fratton Park against top-of-the-table Oxford in 1984, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory. Those goals came in time added on for a pitch invasion by a fan dressed as Father Christmas!

Biley said: “This is very emotional for me because everyone knows how much I love Pompey. I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for the fans and this is the biggest honour I’ve ever had.”

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For complete list of Hall of Fame members click here

The Classic Match in 1984 against Oxford for which Biley will always be remembered

Alan Biley

Career Record

ALAN BILEY

Born: Leighton Buzzard	d.o.b: 26 February 1957

Position:	Forward

Teams	Seasons	Apps.	Gls.
Source : Luton Town - Apprentice
Cambridge United	75-80	165	75
Derby County	79-81	47	19
Everton	81-82	19	3
Stoke City (on loan)	81-82	8	1
Portsmouth	82-85	105	51
Brighton	84-86	35	8
Cambridge United (N/C)	86-87	3	0
to Panionios (Greece)

	Totals	382	157

Alan Paul Biley (born February 26, 1957) was a former English professional footballer and now a football manager who played for Cambridge, Everton and Portsmouth amongst others. His last job was at Spalding United.

His first managerial appointment was with Potton United, later taking over at Barton Rovers before resigning after four months to take over at Diss Town.

After leaving Diss, he managed Spalding United, from October to December 2002, later joining Wootton Blue Cross as assistant manager in June 2003.

In February 2004, Biley joined Kettering Town as assistant manager, working under his former Derby County colleague Kevin Wilson.

Biley had two spells as assistant manager of Kettering Town, separated by a short spell as caretaker manager of Spalding United in February 2006, before taking over as manager of Rothwell Town in November 2006.

In 2007, Biley was once again re-united with Kevin Wilson as he became assistant manager of Corby Town, however following a bad run on the back end of the year, Wilson was sacked and Biley was appointed caretaker manager for the Steelmen's Southern League Premier Division clash with Hemel Hempstead Town, however the match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, and he left the club three days later, as Graham Drury took over as manager, bringing his backroom staff from Stamford AFC with him.

In 2008, he went back to Spalding for a fourth time as manager, The Tulips were on the verge of relegation to the United Counties League, however Biley kept them in the Northern Premier League

Biley resigned from his post at Spalding earlier that year. He resigned from his post at Rothwell in May 2007.

On 14 May 1985, Biley made a guest appearance for a Manchester United XI playing against an Oxford United XI for Peter Foley's testimonial. The match finished 1–1.

Alan Biley
Personal information
Full name	Alan Paul Biley
Date of birth	26 February 1957 (age 55)
Place of birth	Leighton Buzzard, England
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1973–1974	Luton Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1975–1979	Cambridge United	165	(75)
1979–1981	Derby County	47	(19)
1981–1982	Everton	19	(3)
1981–1982	→ Stoke City (loan)	8	(1)
1982–1984	Portsmouth	105	(51)
1984–1986	Brighton & Hove Albion	35	(8)
1986–1987	Cambridge United	3	(0)
1987–1988	Panionios	2	(0)
Total		384	(157)
Teams managed
	Potton United
2000–2001	Barton Rovers
2001–2002	Diss Town
2002	Spalding United
2005–2006	Spalding United
2006–2007	Rothwell Town
2008–2009	Spalding United
2012–	Hemel Hempstead Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).