King of the Cruyff Turn remains a Robin for 2024-25
Fans of Cruyff Turns rejoice. The flair of Big Alex Fair will be on show for Hassocks next season with the forward remaining a Robin for 2024-25.
Fair joined Hassocks a couple of weeks into the 2023-24 campaign. He became an instant favourite with the Beacon faithful thanks to his dazzling footwork, love of a completely unnecessary stepover and penchant for scoring spectacular goals.
Used either out wide or in the number 10 role by James Westlake last season, Fair notched six times from 26 appearances.
His first goal in Hassocks colours set the tone, a brilliant chest and volley in a 3-1 win over former club Shoreham.
Another outrageous strike from the edge of the box followed 18 days later as AFC Varndeanians were thrashed 5-0.
Fair’s best performance of the campaign probably came in January’s 4-0 home win over Loxwood. He scored one, teed up another and set a world record for number of Cruyff Turns in a single game despite being substituted with 30 minutes still to play.
Like many of the current Robins squad, Fair is best known in Sussex footballing circles for his time at Lancing.
In his first spell at Culver Road, Fair was part of the Lancers squad who ended a 23 year wait for senior silverware when winning the Peter Bentley League Cup at the Beacon in 2016 via a 2-1 victory over Newhaven.
Mike Williamson, Alex Bygraves and new signings Will Berry and Liam Hendy were also involved for Lancing, later moving to Hassocks.
Fair scored six times in 11 appearances for Littlehampton Town in the 2018-19 Southern Combination Division One season, after which re-joined Lancing.
He had 16 goals from 26 games at the point the 2019-20 campaign was curtailed by Covid-19 with Lancing top of the Premier Division.
Included in that haul were both the Lancers goals when they visited the Beacon on August Bank Holiday Monday.
Fair was introduced early in the second half with Lancing trailing 1-0 to a James Littlejohn effort and in danger of suffering a first league defeat of the season.
That was until the forward bagged a brace with both goals coming inside 180 seconds to turn the game on its head.
Fair joined Mile Oak for the 2020-21 campaign and moved to Shoreham for 2021-22. He plundered eight goals in his first season at Middle Road as the Musselmen narrowly missed out on promotion from Division One when defeated by Midhurst & Easebourne in the playoffs.
Shoreham bounced back from that disappointment in style, winning the Division One title in 2022-23. Fair scored 12 times from 26 appearances before opting to leave the Musselmen at the end of the campaign, signing for Hassocks four months later.
