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Neil Alexander
	Neil Alexander
Personal information
Full name	Neil Alexander
Date of birth	10 March 1978 (age 31)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Rangers
Number	25
Senior career1
National team2
	1 Senior club appearances and goals; counted for the domestic league only and; correct as of 12 December 2009.; 2 National team caps and goals correct; as of 19 August 2009.; * Appearances (Goals)

For the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, see J. Neil Alexander.

Neil Alexander (born 10 March 1978 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish professional football goalkeeper who is currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Rangers.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Alexander started his career with Stenhousemuir before moving to Livingston in 1998, where he was part of the Scottish First Division title-winning side of 2001. He made his Livingston debut on 3 October 1998 against Partick Thistle.

[edit] Cardiff City

On 28 May 2001 he joined Cardiff City for £200,000^[1] and in six years at Ninian Park played over 200 games for the Bluebirds, including helping them win promotion to the Football League Championship. During his time at Cardiff, Alexander became a fans favourite and manager Lennie Lawrence was heavily criticised on several occasions after attempting to replace him with Tony Warner. During the 2006-07 season he became embroiled in a contract dispute with the club which left him refusing to sign a new contract.^[2]^[3] Cardiff manager Dave Jones replaced Alexander as first choice for the last two months of the season with David Forde. His last appearance for Cardiff was on 31 March in a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland and at the time of his departure he was the longest serving player at the club.^[4]

[edit] Ipswich Town

On 16 July 2007 he put pen to paper on a deal with rival Championship side Ipswich Town.^[5] On his arrival at Portman Road Alexander immediately became first choice goalkeeper at the club. He made his debut against Sheffield Wednesday on 11 August 2007. Alexander made 31 appearances for Ipswich during his six month spell.

[edit] Rangers

On 30 January 2008, Rangers agreed a deal with Ipswich Town for the transfer of Alexander and he signed a three and half year contract later that day. The transfer was believed to be a free with add-ons related to success, although its officially undisclosed.^[6]

On 3 February, Alexander made his debut for Rangers as an 88th minute substitute, after Allan McGregor had been sent off in the Scottish Cup against Hibernian.^[7] On 16 April, Alexander made his Old Firm debut as a 77th minute substitute for the injured Allan McGregor. He then played a vital role in Rangers' UEFA Cup and Scottish Cup semi-final wins, where he made important saves when both games were decided by penalty shoot-outs.

Alexander was promoted to first choice keeper at Rangers in April 2009, following the suspension of Allan McGregor after a late night drinking session with then Rangers and Scotland captain, Barry Ferguson. He remained in goal until the end of the season, winning the league and cup double.

[edit] International career

Alexander was first called up for Scotland during the 2002 Far East tour but did not receive a cap.^[8] He made his Scotland as a 49th minute substitute in a friendly against Switzerland in 1 March 2006.^[9]. Alexander also played a part in Scotland's 2006 Kirin Cup win and played both matches against Bulgaria and Japan. Currently is among several players who have found their chances in the Scotland goalkeeping position limited due to Craig Gordon.