Gulls legend Alan Little passes at 69

Alan Little may have played for Torquay United for only 18 months in the mid-1980s, but for many Gulls fans at the time he will always be one of their favourite midfielders.  

His death at the age of only 69 will have saddened many older supporters, but will also revive some happy memories. 

Both Little and his elder brother Brian were born in the Durham coalfield village of Horden, but they began their football careers at Aston Villa. 

Brian remained at Villa Park, but Alan moved on to play nearly 450 games for Southend, Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Torquay, Halifax Town and Hartlepool United.

He signed at Plainmoor for his former Villa teammate Bruce Rioch in the summer of 1982 in a swap deal which sent centre-half Clive Wigginton to Doncaster. 

Little took over Wigginton’s No.5 shirt, but he was a midfielder to his bootstraps and a formidable one at that. 

He was known for his ball-winning qualities, in an era of tough tackling, but he was actually much more than that. 

He packed 60 league and cup appearances into the next season and a half, scoring six goals. 

He was never better than in United’s run to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in 1983, in which Rioch’s side beat Colchester, Carshalton and Oxford United in a replay before losing 2-3 to Sheffield Wednesday in a pulsating tie in front of more than 8,000 at Plainmoor. 

As a manager Little later won promotion York City and knocked Manchester United and Everton out of the League Cup during six years at Bootham Crescent, before shorter spells at Southend and Hartlepool.