Alan Foggon began at Newcastle United in 1967 before he joined Cardiff City in 1971. A much travelled player, he later appeared for several clubs, including Middlesbrough, Manchester United, and Whitley Bay.
PART ONE
Born and growing up in the semi rural village of West Pelton in Country Durham, Alan Foggon was handed his First Division debut for local side Newcastle United by Joe Harvey in a goalless draw against Arsenal at Highbury on 9 February 1968. Arguably, the highlight of his footballing life arrived when he scored the winner for Newcastle in a 3-2 victory over Hungarian giants Ujpest Dozsa at the Megyeri Ut Stadium in the second leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final to secure a 6-2 aggregate win for The Magpies on 11t June 1969.
After contributing 14 League Division One goals during 61 appearances for Newcastle, Foggon left the St James´ Park club to play for Jimmy Scoular´s Cardiff City side where he accumulated 17 Second Division appearances for The Bluebirds between 1971 and 1973. Midway through the 1972-73 season, the strong running perfomer was brought to fellow Second Division outfit Middlesbrough by shrewd manager Stan Anderson who paid a fee of £10,000 for him plus Ayresome Park inside forward Johnny Vincent and he instantaneously became a huge favourite with the home supporters.
At Middlesbrough, Foggon would appear alongside such talented players as David Armstong, Stuart Boam, John Craggs, David Mills, Bobby Murdoch, Graeme Souness, and Frank Spraggon, and was a member of the promotion winning Boro team which outclassed Sheffield Wednesday by an impressive 8-0 score at Ayresome Park on the final day of the 1973-74 campaign. Already crowned Second Division Champions Middlesbrough, who were now managed by former Leeds United and England defender Jack Charlton, were three up at the break through goals from John Hickton, David Mills, and Bobby Murdoch, and in the second half Graeme Souness hit a treble while Foggon netted a brace.
Back in the First Division, Middlesbrough kicked off the 1974-75 season with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Birmingham City at St Andrew’s, with Alan Foggon producing a double and John Hikcton scoring a single. Foggon continued to deliver excellent performances as the campaign progressed and he hit another brace in a commanding 3–0 victory against Manchester City at Ayersome Park on 21 September. He then scored the solitary goal in a 1–0 win over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on 16 October before netting one of the goals in a thrilling 4-4 draw with Coventry City at Ayresome Park three days later.
With the calendar turing from 1974 to 1975, Foggon hit yet another brace in a 2-0 FA Cup Fifth Round Replay win over Peterborough United at Ayresome Park on 18t February. And although The Smoggies lost 1-0 to Birmingham City at St Andrew’s in the FA Cup Quarter Finals, they finished in a respectable seventh place in the top flight table, just three points short of qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
PART TWO
Following a creditable 45 goals in 115 League matches for Middlesbrough under managers Stan Anderson and Jack Charlton, he had a brief spell in the United States where he played for North American Soccer League teams Hartford Bicentennials and Rochester Lancers before he was invited to join forces with ambitious Manchester United at the beginning of the 1976-77 term.
He was granted his competitive debut for the club by Tommy Docherty when he came off the substitutes´ bench to replace Gerry Daly in a 2-2 Division One draw against Birmingham City at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 1976-77 campaign, but failed to establish himself at the club and left for newly promoted First Division team Sunderland in the autumn of 1976.
He then answered the call of Division Four side Southend United where he made 22 League appearances for The Shrimpers during a two-year stay at Roots Hall. As a Southend player, he also had a loan spell with Hartlepools United for whom he registered two goals in 18 Fourth Division outings. Foggon later appeared for Consett AFC before he decided to end his playing days at Whitley Bay in 1980, at the relatively young age of 30.