Premiership New Boys: Graham Alexander

Continuing our series looking at the new talent coming to the Premiership, we turn our attention to Burnley, who return to the top flight this season after a 33-year absence. Victories over Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal in last year’s Carling Cup suggest that the Clarets are not going to be push-overs – and no doubt their fortunes rest on the shoulders of their grizzly veteran, Graham Alexander.

Club: Burnley.  (Signed from Preston North End in 2007.)

Age: 37.  Perhaps no one is relishing next month’s season opener more than “Grezza”. After 18 years toiling in the lower leagues, Alexander finally gets his chance to play in the Premiership.  Not that he never came close before.  Before Burnley’s victory at Wembley in May, Alexander had previously lost three semi-finals and three finals in the Championship playoffs.

The Upside: Alexander’s great claim to fame is that he is one of the best penalty-takers in the history of the game, having never missed from the spot. That sort of accomplishment should make him a household name in Britain!  As it is, thiskind of composure is characteristic of his entire game, and he will add grit and steel to his team whether he plays in midfield or at the back.

The Downside: Err… he’s 37 years old.

Pedigree:  Let’s see… stints at Scunthorpe, Luton, and Preston mean that this is a man who has clearly graduated from the school of hard knocks.  That kind of scrappiness and tenacity is going to be extremely valuable on cold nights in December when teams like Arsenal visit Turf Moor gunning for a thrashing.

International Career: Alexander is the shining example of what makes a great Scottish international: he’s English. The Coventry-born lad qualified to play for Scotland through his Scottish father and made his international debut against Nigeria in 2002.

Graham Alexander: Old enough to be Ribery's father?!

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The other Premiership New Boys:

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

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Gabriel Obertan

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Christian Benitez

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