Day Two of player updates for Stuart's testimonial
Words John Edwards
The stars are turning out in force to honour a true Alty great a week on Sunday, when The J.Davidson Stadium plays host to a richly-deserved testimonial match for the one and only Stuart Coburn.
Stuey achieved legendary status during the course of amassing a club record 689 appearances, many of them containing moments of brilliance still etched vividly in the minds of Robins fans everywhere.
We're bringing you detailed pen pictures of the 40-odd players lined up for the big day on Sunday July 28th, kicking off at 3.30pm, four or five at a time over the next week or so. Here's the latest quartet from the Alty 2005 squad that will do battle with a 2014 version on an afternoon sure to be packed with nostalgia.
Tickets for the match, which is sponsored by Jones Contracts, are priced just £5 for adults and £2 for under-18s and are available for purchase here.
WARREN PEYTON - if I'm ever asked about the difference between non-League football and the fare on offer higher up, an anecdote involving Warren always springs to mind. I was standing on the Pop Side terraces a good few years ago, as Warren took a free-kick from way out on the touchline and delivered it to perfection to the far post. As he trotted away, a cry of "great ball, Warren" rang out, and he half-turned and replied "cheers, mate". Now you wouldn't get that sort of interaction at a Premier League venue, would you?
Left-footed and predominantly operating on that flank either at full-back or further forward, Warren actually made his Alty debut in central midfield after arriving in November 2005, following spells with Rochdale, Bury, Doncaster Rovers, Nuneaton Borough, where he made the England semi-pro team, and Leigh RMI.
A bricklayer by trade, he further endeared himself to everyone at Alty by building a new turnstile block at the Golf Road End in 2007, and every subsequent click of a Robins fan entering through it should count as a thank you for so generously placing his craft and time at the club's disposal.
Renowned as one of the fittest players in that Robins squad, he made just shy of 150 starting appearances for the club and scored eight goals before leaving to join Stalybridge Celtic in the summer of 2009, along with another ex-Alty player Joe O'Neill.
EDDIE HUSSIN - was on Everton's books as a youngster and worked his way through to senior level, where he played for the Reserves and briefly made it into the first-team squad before being released in May 1997.
Spells with Winsford United, Northwich Vics, Chorley and Marine followed, but it was only when Eddie joined Altrincham in June 2004 that he began to emerge as a central midfielder of real authority. He signed as the Robins were about to embark on what proved a memorable 2004-05 season, and this influential, tough-tackling operator certainly played his part alongside Val Owen.
Made captain after the departure of Peter Band, he led the team to the Conference North promotion final at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium, where he earned himself a second-half booking and had to limp off to be replaced near the end, but only after making his presence felt as forcibly as ever at the heart of a dominant Robins midfield.
Alty were back in the top flight after an absence of five years, but, sadly, opportunities for Eddie were severely restricted by injury, and he left for a second spell with Marine at the age of 29 in 2007.
CHRIS ADAMS - after impressing at Congleton Town, left-back Chris joined Alty in 1997, but, following just one appearance as substitute, he left soon after and had spells with Nantwich Town and Trafford.
He was back at Moss Lane in May 2001 for a second stint at trying to nail down a starting place in the Robins line-up. He appeared to be succeeding after establishing himself as an ever-present in the opening months of the 2001-02 campaign, only for a hernia injury to stop him in his tracks in December.
Fully fit again for the start of the following season, he went into it with renewed optimism but found himself heading out again when Bernard Taylor released him just two league games in.
That would be it for most players, as far as Alty are concerned, but this local postman was prepared to push the envelope to salvage his Robins career, and when Graham Heathcote took over as manager and offered him a third go at Moss Lane, he didn't hesitate.
This time, it was a decidedly more settled spell, starting with debut number three away to Burscough in October 2002 and including a starting place in the 2005 Conference North promotion final triumph before he departed for one last time to join Witton Albion in August 2006.
GED KIELTY - graduated through the ranks at Manchester City, from schoolboy to apprentice and finally senior status before leaving to join the club that produced Roy Keane, Cobh Ramblers in Ireland.
One of the career highlights for Ged was stepping out at Wembley for Southport in the 1997-98 FA Trophy final against Cheltenham Town, and though he ended up on the losing side, he was named the Sandgrounders' man of the match.
Alty rescued him from an unhappy spell at Barrow by signing him in January 1999 and then consented to a request from Leigh RMI to take him on loan in March the following year to help them complete what proved to be a successful bid for promotion to the Conference.
He rejoined Alty from Leigh in February 2004, and, by the end of that season, he was firmly established as a key figure at the heart of the Robins' midfield. Even so, he found himself on the bench more often than not at the start of the 2004-05 campaign, and, after being released by Graham Heathcote in October 2004, he joined Trafford.
*Watch out for more information on the players lined up for Stuart's testimonial here on the club's website tomorrow.
You can also donate to the Testimonial via JustGiving here, as we raise funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.