PLAYER PROFILE

Alan Stubbs

Position: Defence

Height: 6'2

Weight: 13st 10lbs

Date of Birth: 1971-10-06 Kirkby, England

Alan Stubbs

Sunderland completed the signing of defender Alan Stubbs on a one-year contract in August 2005 following his release by Everton. However, within a few months, he was back at Goodison Park again.

Stubbs realised a boyhood dream on joining Everton in July 2001. The central defender had to wait until the age of 29 before joining the team that released him as a schoolboy.

Stubbs had previously enjoyed an eventful spell in Scotland, winning many medals - including a domestic treble in his last season - and twice overcoming testicular cancer.

His started his career at Bolton Wanderers, making over 200 appearances for the club before moving to Glasgow in May 1996.

On his arrival at Goodison, Stubbs stated it had always been his dream to play for the club, and wanted to return home to his native Merseyside with his wife Mandy.

Celtic had offered the popular Stubbs a new contract - but he moved on a Bosman transfer to Goodison Park - promising to help make Everton great again.

Alan quickly became a regular member of the Everton team and excelled during his first season in the famous royal Blue shirt. Stubbs continued to be a consistent performer in the heart of the Toffees defence during the 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons.

The 2004/05 season was another successful campaign for Stubbs. Although a shoulder injury kept him out in April, he made 36 appearances and even rose from defence to score - in a 2-1 win against Portsmouth, before leaving the club at the end of the season.

However, he did not have a happy time at Sunderland, making just ten appearances as they struggled to acclimatise in the top flight, and in January 2006, he made an unexpectedly quick return to Everton on a free transfer, and he played a key role in their revival in the second half of the season.

He continued this fine form in 06/07, but found himself relegated to bit-part player in 07/08 and joined Derby County in January 2008 in a bid to get more games.