Graham Allner
Encyclopedia
Graham Allner is a retired British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
footballer and football manager.
He was manager of Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
from 1983 until 1998.
Playing career
Allner started his playing career as a schoolboy at Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
before signing amateur forms at Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
playing reserve football. After being released he drifted into non-league football, firstly at Paget Rangers
Paget Rangers F.C.
Paget Rangers F.C. is a defunct English association football club which was based in Birmingham. The club originally formed in 1938 when a group of former pupils of Paget Road School together with Jack Hughes Snr combined to form a football team.-History:...
, where he won the Midland Combination under the guidance of manager Rhys Davies.
Allner played a handful of games for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
. He then rejoined Davies at Alvechurch
Alvechurch F.C.
Alvechurch Football Club is English association football club based in Alvechurch, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, currently playing in the Midland Football Alliance. They are affiliated with the Worcestershire County Football Association.-History:...
, winning another Midland Combination title in 1971-72. During that season Allner played in all 6 FA Cup games against Oxford City
Oxford City F.C.
Oxford City Football Club is an English football club, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division after gaining promotion via the Division One South & West playoffs...
. Two years later he scored the winning goal against Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
in the FA Cup before eventually being knocked out by Bradford City.
A trial at Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
followed in 1974 before signing for Stourbridge
Stourbridge F.C.
Stourbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Stourbridge, West Midlands. The club currently plays in the Southern League Premier Division.-Early years:The club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard...
in September 1974 under Allan Grundy. He only spent a season at Stourbridge
Stourbridge F.C.
Stourbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Stourbridge, West Midlands. The club currently plays in the Southern League Premier Division.-Early years:The club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard...
before moving to Redditch United
Redditch United F.C.
Redditch United F.C. is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division and play at the Valley.-Birmingham Combination:...
, then quickly moving on to Bromsgrove Rovers
Bromsgrove Rovers F.C.
Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. were a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference...
.
He joined Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...
in 1976, spending two seasons with them. He joined Worcester City
Worcester City F.C.
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at St George's Lane.-History:...
in 1978; in his first season they won the Southern Football League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
but injury sidelined him for most of the first Alliance Premier League
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
season.
Allner then made his first entry into coaching, being appointed player assistant manager at Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
.
Managerial career
Allner began his managerial career with AP LeamingtonLeamington F.C.
Leamington Football Club is the main football club in Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division....
. He led AP Leamington
Leamington F.C.
Leamington Football Club is the main football club in Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division....
to the Southern Premier League in 1983. However, Leamington were denied promotion to the Gola League
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
, their place being taken instead by the club that had finished second that year, Kidderminster Harriers. Soon after this, Allner left Leamington and took charge at the Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
club. Kidderminster quickly established themselves as a top non-league side under Allner's management, winning the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
in 1987 and reaching the final in 1991 and 1995, in addition to making the final of the Welsh Cup
Welsh Cup
The Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from Wales.The Football Association of Wales is the organising body of this competition, which has been run every year since its inception in 1877-78...
in 1986 and 1989. Their most successful season came in 1994/95 when they reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
(the last non league side to do so), knocking out Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
side Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
(Allner's first club as a player), and Preston North End. They also won the Conference title that year, but were denied promotion because their Aggborough
Aggborough Stadium
Aggborough is a football stadium in Kidderminster, England which serves as the home ground of Kidderminster Harriers. It has a capacity of approximately 6,238, of which 3,140 can be seated...
stadium was not deemed up to Football League standards.
Kidderminster almost made it to the Football League in 1996-97
1996-97 in English football
The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
after leading the Conference by 15 points at Christmas, but a storming run by close contenders Macclesfield
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...
pushed them into second place.
Allner quit in November 1998 after almost 16 years in charge (second only to Dario Gradi
Dario Gradi
Dario Gradi MBE is an Italian-born English football manager and former player, who was serving as manager of the Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy. He is a former manager of Crewe Alexandra, with whom he has been associated for almost thirty years.Gradi is notable for his 24-year first spell as manager...
who took over at Crewe in June 1983) and was eventually replaced by Jan Molby. A brief tenure as Worcester City manager followed.
He later worked as a coach under Steve Cotterill
Steve Cotterill
Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...
at Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
and helped them win promotion to Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
in 2002. When Cotterill moved to Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
a few weeks after the promotion triumph, Allner was promoted to the manager's seat but was sacked on 13 January 2003 with Cheltenham heading for relegation. His successor was Bobby Gould
Bobby Gould
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Gould is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Coventry, Gould started his career at Coventry City, making his debut for the club whilst still an apprentice at the age of 16. He did not sign professional until June 1964...
.
He is currently working for The Scouting Network.
As a player
Paget RangersPaget Rangers F.C.
Paget Rangers F.C. is a defunct English association football club which was based in Birmingham. The club originally formed in 1938 when a group of former pupils of Paget Road School together with Jack Hughes Snr combined to form a football team.-History:...
- Midland CombinationMidland Football CombinationThe Midland Football Combination is an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprises five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions...
Champions - 1969/70, 1970/71
Alvechurch
Alvechurch F.C.
Alvechurch Football Club is English association football club based in Alvechurch, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, currently playing in the Midland Football Alliance. They are affiliated with the Worcestershire County Football Association.-History:...
- Midland CombinationMidland Football CombinationThe Midland Football Combination is an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprises five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions...
Champions - 1971/72 - Midland CombinationMidland Football CombinationThe Midland Football Combination is an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprises five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions...
Runner Up - 1972/73 - West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division Champions - 1973-74
- Worcestershire Senior CupWorcestershire Senior CupThe Worcestershire Senior Cup is a football competition organised by the Worcestershire County Football Association. It began in the 1893-94 season, with Redditch Town taking the first honours...
Winners - 1973/74 - Birmingham Senior Amateur Cup Winners - 1973/74
Worcester City
Worcester City F.C.
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at St George's Lane.-History:...
- Southern Football LeagueSouthern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
Premier Division - Champions 1978/79
As a manager
AP LeamingtonLeamington F.C.
Leamington Football Club is the main football club in Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division....
- Southern Premier League champion - 1982/83
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers F.C.
Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...
- FA TrophyFA TrophyThe Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
winner - 1987 - Football ConferenceFootball ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
champion - 1994/95