Vale Alan Vest

Alan Vest has passed away, and I am sure that many will agree that the sport has lost one of a rare breed, a gentleman within the game.

Saying that Alan was a Yorkshireman through and through, and so was more than capable of a one-liner to put someone in their place.

Alan had football running through his veins and who knows how far he could have gone as a player after signing for his home town Barnsley. Unfortunately, he had to do his National Service in the Royal Air Force and that opportunity was lost.

He continued to play in the lower leagues in Britain before moving to New Zealand and Gisborne City in 1971. While in New Zealand he was selected for the All Whites and played 17 times at international level for New Zealand. Something he would never boast about, and therefore few knew of this achievement.He actually captained New Zealand.

Despite his achievements as a player it was as a coach that Alan will be best remembered. He had a big influence on football in Western Australia over the years. His first role was as the Director of Coaching. He was also the State Coach at a time when playing for Western Australia meant something, and the team participated in meaningful tournaments in Asia.

He also had successful spells with Perth Italia and Floreat Athena.

Alan returned to New Zealand briefly before taking on a coaching role in the National Soccer League with Newcastle KB United, and then taking the reins at West Adelaide SC.

Alan was then lured to Sarawak in Malaysia, where he is still revered and adored after leading the side to the Premier League title as well as the Malaysian FA Cup.He is still the most successful coach in the club’s history.

Returning to Australia Alan took on the role of assistant coach to Mich D’Avray at Perth Glory. This was a combination that worked well, and saw the Western Australian side win the NSL title in 2002–2003, and 2003–04. It is interesting to note that in that first year when the two took charge there were 15 Western Australians in the squad of 22 players. There were 15 when they won their first NSL title, and in that final year 13 local players.

When the NSL was shut down there were many who wanted Alan to take over the reins as Mich D’Avray took on the role of Director of Football. The club wanted a big name, and former Liverpool and England player Steve McMahon was appointed. Alan was made his assistant. The two got on very well, and when the heat was on McMahon and even when he left Alan remained loyal to him.

McMahon left Perth Glory on the 7th December 2005, and Alan took over as Interim Head coach on the 9th of December. The team finished the season three points outside of the finals in fifth position. Many believed that Alan had shown enough in his six game in charge to be given the reins in the second season of the A-League. This writer believes that this was in fact the turning point for the club and it’s A-League history could have been very different if he had been given the role, but it wasn’t to be.

Disappointment was nothing new to Alan, and he would pass it off with a familiar shrug and slight turn of the head.

Few will recall that in 1975 Alan was on the shortlist for the role of Head coach of the Socceroos. The public wanted Rale Rasic to remain as coach following Australia’s first appearance at the FIFA World Cup in 1974, but those in charge did not.

New South Wales and Victoria wanted a Rale Rasic and Johnny Warren combination, with Warren as Rasic’s assistant. Other states wanted Alan, and also in the mix was the ACT Director of Coaching, Jimmy Shoulder.

The coach would be decided by a process of elimination. Rasic was the first eliminated. Johnny Warren was the second to go. Which meant it was between Alan and Jimmy Shoulder. The merits of the candidates became irrelevant. Petty politics which has plagued the game for decades would come into play. Due to the other states voting against Rasic and Warren, New South Wales and Victoria voted against Alan and Jimmy Shoulder was appointed the National coach.

Once again one wonders what he could have achieved if given that opportunity. Alan always smiled when asked of what might of been and humbly said “we will never know.”

In 1996 Alan Vest was rightly inducted into the Hall of Recognition category of the Football Hall of Fame of Western Australia and was made a Legend in 2016.

He was a man with football in his veins. The Yorkshireman’s economy of words stayed with him his whole life. He was always very accommodating to those who wanted to talk to him or interview him. He was good company with many a tale to tell. He will be missed, as he was one of the last of a rare breed.