Alistair Sperring (born 26 October 1963) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Born on

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island, later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st cent ...

, Sperring began his career with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1983, and later played for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks’, the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently co ...

and Hayling United.

Career

Alistair Sperring initially joined the Southampton F.C. Academy as an apprentice in July 1980 at the age of 16, before signing professional terms in August 1983. He made his first and only appearance for the club on 8 November 1983 in the third round of the League Cup against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, which the Saints lost 2–1. During the game, the goalkeeper missed the ball with a punch and collided with teammate Mark Wright, who had to be substituted off due to a broken nose. After a brief loan spell with

between August and September 1984, Sperring left Southampton. He completed a trial for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in January 1985, and later joined

in September 1985. The goalkeeper returned to Hayling Island in 1987 to end his playing career with Hayling United. After retiring from football, Sperring entered the motor industry and eventually became the managing director of Havant Motor Factors, a spare parts specialist.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sperring, Alistair 1963 births People from Hayling Island Living people English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Southampton F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Bognor Regis Town F.C. players Footballers from Hampshire