Martin Allen (footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Martin Allen


fullname = Martin James Allen
nickname = 'Mad Dog'
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1965|8|18
cityofbirth = Reading
countryofbirth = England
currentclub =
position = Midfielder (retired)
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1984–1989
1989–1995
1995–1997
1997–1998
clubs = Queens Park Rangers
West Ham United
Portsmouth
Southend United
caps(goals) = 136 (16)
190 (25)
045 0(4)
005 0(0)
nationalyears = 1986–1987
nationalteam = England U21
nationalcaps(goals) = 002 0(0)
manageryears = 2003–2004
2004–2006
2006–2007
2007
2008–
managerclubs = Barnet
Brentford
Milton Keynes Dons
Leicester City
Cheltenham Town

Martin James Allen (born August 18, 1965 in Reading, England) is a former footballer and current manager of Cheltenham Town.

Playing career

In his playing career he was known as 'Mad Dog', he played for Queens Park Rangers, signing professional in 1983 and spending six years at Loftus Road and played in the 1986 League Cup Final against Oxford United, before a £670,000 move to West Ham United. He played in their promotion teams of 1991 and 1993.

Allen stayed with the Hammers until 1995 when he made a £500,000 switch to Portsmouth after a successful loan spell at Fratton Park. After three frustrating years with Pompey, which took in a brief loan stint at Southend United, he hung up his boots and began a coaching career. He was a combative midfield player.

His cousins, Paul Allen, Bradley Allen and Clive Allen were also footballers, as was his uncle Les Allen. His father Dennis Allen played for Reading as well as Charlton Athletic and Bournemouth and died in 1995 at the age of 56.

Management career

Reading

Allen began his management career as an assistant manager at hometown club Reading, where he joined Alan Pardew when the Royals were in the relegation zone. The team produced championship form in their closing 20 fixtures, winning 12 and drawing 4 to secure a top 10 finish. Two years later they won promotion to Division One.

Barnet

Allen's first full manager role was at Conference side Barnet, from March 2003 to March 2004. He succeeded from Peter Shreeves, with whom he was assistant manager to from March 2002. Allen built a team from scratch in pre-season of the 2003–04 campaign. The team shot straight to the top end of the table, however Allen left for Brentford with a few weeks of the season remaining in a move that disappointed many Barnet fans. Under the guidance of new manager Paul Fairclough, the Bees made the play-offs but were beaten in the semi-finals by Shrewsbury Town.

Brentford

Allen had a good run at Brentford, saving the club from relegation from League One in his first season. In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons he took Brentford to the play-offs, but they were eliminated by Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City respectively. He also took Brentford to the fifth round of the FA Cup in two consecutive years, going out to Southampton in the 2004–05 season, losing 3–1 after a 2–2 draw at St Mary's, and to Charlton Athletic 3–1 in the 2005–06 season. He also was in charge of one of the major giant killings in the fourth round in the 2005–06 season, beating Sunderland 2–1.

At Brentford, he proved to be a very popular manager with the fans and an object of curiosity to opponents and media alike due to his unconventional managerial methods, which seem to have paid off due to the relative success Brentford had under him on a limited budget. For example, he participated in a 25 mile sponsored bike ride on November 2005 to raise funds for Brentford. cite news
title = Manager Allen completes bike ride
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/brentford/4480964.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2005-11-29
accessdate = 2007-05-25] In May 2006, Allen announced his resignation as manager of Brentford, citing lack of Board commitment to investing in the team to take it to the next level.cite news
title = Allen resigns from Bees
url = http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=391110&CPID=11&clid=94&lid=5&title=Allen+resigns+from+Bees
publisher = Sky Sports
date = 2006-05-30
accessdate = 2007-05-25]

Milton Keynes Dons

Allen then dropped down a level to manage League Two team Milton Keynes Dons for the 2006–07 season, a club with heavy financial backing and ambitions from owner Pete Winkelman. Allen took his team to the play-offs, but lost in the semi-finals to Shrewsbury Town.

Leicester City

In May 2007, Allen became the new manager at Championship side Leicester City,cite news
title = Allen named new Leicester manager
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/6665547.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-05-25
accessdate = 2007-05-25] after Leicester and Milton Keynes Dons had negotiated a compensation package. However, relations with chairman Milan Mandarić quickly deteriorated and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 29 August 2007 after just four games in charge.cite news
title = Allen ends brief Leicester reign
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/6969388.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-08-29
accessdate = 2007-08-29] The reason for Allen's departure was never revealed, but many believe it was possibly due to his intervention in chairman Milan Mandarić's attempted signing of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Derek Riordan. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/6946891.stm Hasselbaink baffled by Foxes snub] , BBC Sport 2007-08-14. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/6942124.stm Riordan's Leicester hopes fade] , BBC Sport 2007-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.]

Since leaving Leicester, Allen declared his interest in managing fc|Swindon Town, [cite news
title = Allen to apply for Swindon post
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/swindon_town/7120718.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2007-11-30
accessdate = 2007-11-30] which eventually went to Maurice Malpas.

Cheltenham Town

Allen was appointed as manager of Cheltenham Town on 15 September 2008, on a three year contract.cite news
title = Martin Allen confirmed as Robins boss
url = http://www.cheltenhamtownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10434~1392810,00.html
publisher = Cheltenham Town F.C.
date = 2008-09-15
accessdate = 2008-09-15] His father, Dennis, had been manager at Whaddon Road between 1974 and 1979.cite news
title = Like father, like son
url = http://www.cheltenhamtownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10434~1392827,00.html
publisher = Cheltenham Town F.C.
date = 2008-09-15
accessdate = 2008-09-15]

Personal Information

Martin Allen has his own black labrador called Monty.

Managerial stats

:"As of 16 September 2008."

References

External links

*soccerbase (manager)|id=1897|name=Martin Allen
* [http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=6&united=Martin_Allen Martin Allen] at westhamstats.info

Persondata
NAME= Allen, Martin James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Allen, Martin
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= 1965-8-18
PLACE OF BIRTH= Reading, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=