Should Alan Knill need a source of inspiration for his new charges after being named as Torquay United’s new interim manager- he can look no further than his own international debut in 1988.
Alan- then a centre-half with Swansea City in the ‘old’ Third Division- was handed his one and only start for Wales by their then manager Terry Yorath in a World Cup Qualifier against the then reigning European Champions Holland in Amsterdam.
If that in itself was daunting enough, he was to be handed the task of man-marking Marco Van Basten-scorer of what is considered to be one of the greatest goals ever scored against the Soviet Union in the final of Euro 88.
On paper, it looked like a contest that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Roy of the Rovers comic as Alan- the winner of a Fourth Division play-off winners’ medal that he won after helping Swansea defeat Torquay in a two-legged final- prepared to line-up against arguably the best striker in the world.
Yorath opted for a 5-3-2 system, which saw Peter Nicholas deployed as a sweeper with Alan partnering Mark Aizlewood in centre of defence. Playing behind the trio, of course was the ever reliable Neville Southall who, like Alan, would find a home at Plainmoor later in his career.
Van Basten proved to be an anonymous figure as the plaudits afterwards went to Alan as the Dutch only managed to beat the Welsh by a solitary goal, which was scored by Ruud Gullit in the 83rd minute.
Wales striker Mark Hughes described Alan’s performance as ‘the best international debut that he had ever seen’ and West Germany manager Franz Beckenbauer- who was observing the game- admitted he was surprised that Alan was only a Third Division player.
However, the injury crisis which was handed Alan his opportunity soon resolved itself and, despite being the radar of Yorath for the remainder of his reign as Wales manager, Alan did not receive any further caps.
He continued his playing career with spells at Bury, Cardiff City, Scunthorpe and Rotherham United before embarking of the managerial career with Rotherham, Bury and Scunthorpe prior to his appointment at Plainmoor.
Alan will now take charge of the Gulls until the end of the current campaign-in the continued absence of Martin Ling- after watching their 1-0 defeat against Aldershot in mid-week.
His reign starts against high-flying Port Vale on Saturday and if the Gulls can subdue Valiant’s leading scorer Tom Pope-in the same way that Alan managed to prevent Van Basten from finding the target that night in Amsterdam- then there is every chance that his tenure would have got off to a positive start.
