Alan Nelmes

Alan Victor Nelmes (born 20 October 1948 in Hackney, London) is a retired English professional football defender who made over 300 appearances in the Football League for Brentford.

Chelsea

Nelmes was born in Hackney, but moved to south London and attended Ingram High School, near Selhurst Park. Nelmes began his career at Division One side Chelsea, signing his first professional contract in October 1965. He failed to make an appearance for the first team and was released in the summer of 1967.

Brentford

Nelmes turned down offers from Aldershot and Colchester United to sign for Division Four side Brentford in the summer of 1967. Operating initially as a right back, he went on to be a vital cog in a threadbare Brentford side, missing only three games between 1968 and 1972 and is one of a few Bees players to make 100 consecutive appearances. Manager Jimmy Sirrel assembled a small squad of versatile players and Nelmes was picked to play up front versus Notts County on 2 March 1968, scoring one of his only two goals for the club. He played in five different positions during the 1967–68 season.

Adept anywhere across the back four and as a sweeper, Nelmes' performances garnered him the Brentford Players' Player of the Year award for the 1970–71 season. Known as 'Spider', he helped Brentford achieve promotion to Division Three in the 1971–72 season, though the club were relegated straight back to Division Four the following year. After a succession of injuries took a toll on his body, Nelmes left the Bees at the end of the 1975–76 season, having made 350 appearances for the club. Despite being what he described as "quite a physical player", Nelmes was never sent off during his career. He was given a testimonial versus former side Chelsea in 1978, which finished 8–2 to the Stamford Bridge club. Nelmes earned a then-club record £7,000 from the match. In recognition of his performances for the club, Nelmes was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014.

Non-league football

After his release from Brentford, Nelmes saw out his career with spells at Southern League side Hillingdon Borough and Isthmian League sides Hayes (managed by former Brentford teammate Bobby Ross) and Southall, before retiring due to a cartilage injury.

Nelmes is married to Norma and has two sons, Martin and Stuart. Martin played tennis and football to county level and is a LTA-qualified tennis coach. Stuart has played cricket for Sussex County League side Middleton since 2005. During the 1970s, Nelmes lived in Isleworth and worked at the Watneys brewery in Mortlake. He spent time running a business in Bognor Regis in the 1970s and in the 1990s and 2000s, he was worked in security at Gatwick Airport. As of 2015, Nelmes was living in Middleton-on-Sea.

As a player

Brentford

• Football League Fourth Division third-place promotion: 1971–72

As an individual

• Brentford Players' Player of the Year: 1970-71
• Brentford Hall of Fame