Upcoming MatchDartford Women vs Sport London E Benfica/November 3, 2024/Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park

ARTICLE | IN CONVERSATION WITH ALEX WALL

Yesterday’s game with Worthing saw striker Alex Wall feature in the Matchday Programme.

For those who missed it, here is the full article:

Those in the know will be aware that this season is Alex Wall’s third stint with the Darts. And, despite the striker admitting to not being superstitious or anything, even he must surely be hopeful of this stint proving to be third time lucky for him.

You see, Alex was here back in 2017, when he arrived on loan from Luton Town from January until April. He was back again twelve months later, but left to join Concord Rangers after just a month in Kent.

Yet, a new season brings fresh opportunities, and Alex has always liked the club and the people here at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park ever since that initial loan. He’s always looked forward to playing here when he was with other teams, so the prospect of wearing the Dartford colours again was an easy decision to make. And, with the draw of the new manager’s project of fighting for promotion to the National League, as well as his belief in the striker, signing for the season was a done deal.

Despite suffering a setback during pre-season, Alex is feeling well rested after going on a few nice holidays during the summer break. He admits that, “…it was a quiet time, just spent with family and friends most of the time.”

A look at his club history might suggest that Alex has become a journeyman amongst football clubs. But, that’s not entirely the case for this quiet man. Things happen in life sometimes, and you have to go where the wind takes you.

It all started with a young 7-year old Alex playing football because, “I guess my Mum just wanted me out of the house…!” Yet, he attracted the eyes of scouts and had a few trials, but never signed for an academy. By not being in an academy, Alex never really believed that making it in the sport was possible until he arrived at Maidenhead United.

Despite his personal feelings, fate still dealt him a good hand in the poker game of life and football. Alex knew the Maidenhead goalkeeper at the time, so turned up for a trial before managing to get a deal under Johnson Hyppolite (Drax). He was there for four years and loved every second of it, before being snapped up by Luton Town.

However, circumstances dictated that he be moved around often, including two stints at Dartford. He eventually ended up at Concord Rangers, where “…I fell in love with football again and scored the most goals I ever have in a season.” Fast forward a few years and, “I’m back here where I want to be, and I feel settled.”

What about outside of the sport? Alex spends time in the gym daily, working through his training sessions either alone or with his Personal Trainer. He’s currently not working at the moment, but does “…have a few fingers in some pies investment-wise, which I’m interested in”, and might spend some free time in a webinar or Zoom call to “…learn about the things that I’m interested in…”

Besides that, Alex enjoys going out for lunch and/or dinner with family and friends, and discovering new places to go and eat, before settling down to relax and watch a good series on the television. He likes listening to music, which he has on for most of the day as well.

At the end of the day, football is Alex’s biggest interest and main focus. Despite saying that his Mum is his biggest influence, as she would always watch him from the side-lines, he’s pretty self-motivated. He’s currently “…concentrating on getting as fit as I can and having a good season. Promotion is the aim, and I want to score as many goals as I can to help achieve that, as well as helping the younger players within the team to come through and be successful.”

After that, when all is said and done, and the dust begins to settle on his playing career, Alex would like to remain in the sport in some capacity. He’d also like to have a child or two in the near future and, “…have a few holidays outside of May or June!”

And now? Alex is “…ready to put my all into the season ahead and would like to be here for as long as possible…Up The Darts!”

By Chris Palmer