| Bth | 23/02/50 | West Pelton | Co. Durham |
| P/H/W | Forward | 5ft 9in | |
| App | 08/65 | ||
| Pro | 11/67 | ||
| Deb | 10/02/68 | Arsenal (a) | D1 |
| Dep | 04/08/71 | Cardiff | £25,000 |
| A/G | 69 (11) | 16 |
Alan Foggon was an outside-left or inside-forward with fine control and, on his day, he was deadly. His main strengths were his speed and running power and he was at his best when running head on at a defence.
Joe Harvey once dubbed him "The White Tornado" due to his speed and pallor. He also claimed that at his best he was "priceless". Unfortunately erratic form would be his undoing on Tyneside.
A former England Schools and Youth international he also appeared at an All-England Athletics meeting at Hendon when he was fourteen. He was selected for Durham County Boys and Joe Harvey came to watch him after being tipped off by his school’s sports-master.
Alan joined Newcastle as an apprentice professional in August 1965 at the age of fifteen. Whilst in the Juniors he played in every position except goal and right-back and when he was promoted to the Reserves he mostly featured at inside-forward or wing-half. Alan would later say that his preferred position was wing-half.
He signed professional in November 1967 and made his debut (aged 17) at Highbury in February 1968 playing inside-forward.
Alan established himself in the side during the second half of the 1968/69 season, filling United's problem left wing position. And he scored a great goal when he came on as a substitute in the Fairs Cup Final Second Leg.
However his major issue was his inconsistency. He struggled for form in both 1969/70 and 1970/71 and found himself increasingly consigned to second string football.
Fed up with his lack of first team appearances he asked for a move in December 1970 and moved to Cardiff (aged 21) before the following campaign started.
An almost 1 in 4 goal record on Tyneside wasn’t shabby, but his “unkempt” appearance was often commented upon. A Beatles haircut, shirt outside his shorts and his socks often rolled down
Was handed his debut (aged 17) in the match at Arsenal in February.
The departure of Tommy Robson and Geoff Allen’s tragic injury gave Alan the opportunity to stake his claim in the team and he did so well that he retained his place for most of the remaining matches. His high point was a fantastic winning goal in the Fairs Cup Final Second Leg minutes after coming on as a substitute. He pleaded guilty to driving without insurance and unnecessarily obstructing a footpath in Hood Street, Newcastle for which he received a £12 fine.
Had an inconsistent season when he struggled to hit top form. Some of his best performances were as a midfield runner rather than in his accustomed left flank patrol.
Started the season at outside-left, but lost his place after the first couple of games and asked for a move in December. Returned on the opposite flank for another short spell in the side in March (after Pop Robson's departure).
After a disappointing season at Cardiff he moved to Middlesbrough where he helped them into the First Division and twice finished as top scorer. Spent the summer of 1976 in America before a very short stay at Old Trafford. A move to Sunderland made him only the second post-war player to turn out for the three top North East clubs, after Stan Anderson. He hardly featured for the Wearsiders and subsequent moves took him to Southend and Hartlepool.
Painting by Piotr