Paul Allen
Personal information
Full name Paul Kevin Allen[1]
Date of birth (1962-08-28) 28 August 1962 (age 61)[1]
Place of birth Aveley,[1] England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1985 West Ham United 152 (6)
1985–1993 Tottenham Hotspur 292 (23)
1993–1995 Southampton 43 (1)
1994 → Luton Town (loan) 4 (0)
1995 → Stoke City (loan) 17 (1)
1995–1997 Swindon Town 36 (1)
1997 Bristol City 15 (0)
1997–1998 Millwall 28 (0)
– Purfleet
Total 587 (32)
International career
1985 England U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Kevin Allen (born 28 August 1962) is an English former professional footballer and delegate liaison officer for the Professional Footballers' Association.

As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played top flight football for West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, with appearance for Spurs and the Saints in the Premier League. He also played in the Football League for Luton Town, Stoke City, Swindon Town, Bristol City and Millwall.[3] He won three caps for England at under-21 level.[4]

Career

At 17 years and 256 days old, Allen's appearance for West Ham United against Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup Final made him the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, though James Prinsep played at a younger age at Kennington Oval in 1879. Both records have since been broken.[5] His debut for West Ham had come on 29 September 1979 when 32 days after his 17th birthday he had appeared for the club in their 2–1 home win over Burnley in the Second Division. He collected a Second Division title medal for the Hammers in 1980–81 and helped re-establish them as a First Division side. He made 152 league appearances for the Hammers, scoring six goals, before a £400,000 fee took him to their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on 19 June 1985.[6]

He scored on his debut in an emphatic 4–0 win at White Hart Lane versus Watford. Allen went on to play in two FA Cup finals for Tottenham Hotspur, on the losing side in 1987 alongside his cousin Clive Allen. However, Allen was victorious in the 1991 FA Cup defeating Nottingham Forest 2–1.[7] In eight years with Tottenham, he played 292 league games and scored 23 goals. He was voted player of the year for the 1992–93 season, his final full season at White Hart Lane.[8]

He remained at White Hart Lane until 16 September 1993, when a £550,000 deal took him to Southampton. He played 33 FA Premier League games in 1993–94, scoring once, but played just ten league games without scoring in 1994–95 and was loaned out for 17 games to Stoke City, scoring once in a 4–2 defeat away at Southend United in March 1995. He then signed for Swindon Town on a free transfer and helped them win the Division Two title (and promotion to Division One) in 1995–96.

Personal life

Allen comes from a family of footballers, his uncles are former Reading striker Dennis Allen and fellow Tottenham player Les Allen. His cousins are Martin Allen, Clive Allen and Bradley Allen.

After retiring from playing football at the end of the 1997–98, which he spent in Division One with Millwall, he now works for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) in their Player Services Department Professional Footballers' Association.[9]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
West Ham United 1979–80 Second Division 31 2 8 1 7 0 0 0 46 3
1980–81 Second Division 3 1 1 0 3 0 3 0 10 1
1981–82 First Division 28 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 30 0
1982–83 First Division 33 0 1 0 7 2 0 0 41 2
1983–84 First Division 19 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 23 0
1984–85 First Division 38 3 5 2 4 0 0 0 47 5
Total 152 6 18 3 24 2 3 0 197 11
Tottenham Hotspur 1985–86 First Division 33 2 5 0 4 0 6 0 48 2
1986–87 First Division 37 3 6 1 9 0 0 0 52 4
1987–88 First Division 39 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 43 3
1988–89 First Division 37 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 43 1
1989–90 First Division 32 6 1 0 6 2 0 0 39 8
1990–91 First Division 36 3 6 0 6 0 0 0 48 3
1991–92 First Division 39 3 2 0 7 2 8 0 56 3
1992–93 Premier League 38 3 5 0 4 0 0 0 47 3
1993–94 Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 292 23 27 1 44 4 14 0 377 28
Southampton 1993–94 Premier League 32 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 36 1
1994–95 Premier League 11 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 0
Total 43 1 2 0 4 0 0 0 49 1
Luton Town (loan) 1994–95 First Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Stoke City (loan) 1994–95 First Division 17 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 19 1
Swindon Town 1995–96 Second Division 27 0 5 1 0 0 1 0 33 1
1996–97 First Division 10 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 1
Total 37 1 5 1 2 0 1 0 45 2
Bristol City 1996–97 Second Division 14 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 17 0
Millwall 1997–98 Second Division 28 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 34 0
Career total 587 32 53 5 77 6 25 0 742 43
  1. ^ Appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, FA Charity Shield, Football League Trophy, Screen Sport Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winners Cup

Honours

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West Ham United

Tottenham Hotspur

Swindon Town

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c "Paul Allen". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ "Paul Allen". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  4. ^ Courtney, Barrie (10 January 2004). "England – U-21 International Results 1976–1985 – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  5. ^ Moore, Glenn (2 January 2009). "Curtis Weston: History man or just a footballing footnote?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Paul Allen". Sporting Heroes. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  7. ^ Smith, Dave (10 December 2002). "PAUL ALLEN: Still remembered for the cup final goal he didn't score!". Professional Footballers' Association. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  8. ^ "Football photographic encyclopedia, footballer, world cup, champions league, football championship, olympic games & hero images by sporting-heroes.net". sporting-heroes.net.
  9. ^ "Meet the team (Scroll down to "Player Services" and follow link)". Professional Footballers Association. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  10. ^ Paul Allen at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Player of the Year
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. – Hall of Fame inductees
The Allen family tree
West Ham United F.C. – Hammer of the Year
Categories