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Tony Allen (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Anthony Allen is a retired English footballer who played most of his club career as a left back
for Stoke City
between 1957 and 1970. He also made three appearances for England
in 1959, before his twentieth birthday.
, and after playing football for his schools and the Boys Brigade, he was signed by Stoke City
as an amateur, before turning professional on his seventeenth birthday in November 1956.
Although playing outside the top division, his talents were soon spotted by the England
selectors. After winning caps at youth and under-23 levels, he was called up for the full international side for a British Home Championship
match against Wales
in place of Jimmy Armfield
on 17 October 1959. The match was drawn 1–1 and Allen was retained for the next two matches, against Sweden
(a 2–3 defeat) and Northern Ireland
(won 2–1). For the next international match the following April, Ray Wilson was preferred at left-back, remaining first choice for most of the next decade. Although he received further caps at under-23 level (earning seven in all) Allen was never selected again for the full England eleven.
By now he was a fixture in the Stoke side as they generally finished in the middle of the Football League Second Division
table, but in 1963, Stoke finished top of the table and returned to the top flight. He was ever-present throughout the 1960–61 and 1960–62 seasons, and only missed one game in the promotion season. In this period, he clocked up a run of 148 consecutive appearances, which remains a Stoke record.
Stoke finished their first season back in the First Division
in 17th place, but also reached the final of the League Cup
, where they were defeated by Leicester City
4–3 on aggregate.
In 1967, Allen was involved in an incident which led to a major change in the International Laws of Association Football. On 13 May 1967, Stoke City
visited Old Trafford to play Manchester United
. Paddy Crerand
of United had an altercation with Peter Dobing
of Stoke, which was dealt with by referee Pat Partridge
holding Crerand close, such that his head was over the referee's shoulder. Unknown to the official, TV cameras picked up Crerand's action of spitting over his shoulder at Allen. Crerand and Dobing were cautioned for their confrontation, but Partridge had not seen the spitting incident. Partridge later received a letter from the Football League, asking for his observations on the incident, in response to many complaints received. Partridge was unable to respond with conclusive evidence, but nevertheless the International Board changed the Laws of the Game to put spitting on a par with violent conduct, and therefore a dismissable offence.
Allen left Stoke in October 1970, when he moved to Bury
for a fee of £10,000. After a year with the Gigg Lane
club, he moved to Cape Town
to play for Hellenic
. He returned to England in October 1973, and ended his playing career with non-league Stafford Rangers
.
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
for 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...
between 1957 and 1970. He also made three appearances for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in 1959, before his twentieth birthday.
Career
Allen was born in Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, and after playing football for his schools and the Boys Brigade, he was signed by 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...
as an amateur, before turning professional on his seventeenth birthday in November 1956.
Although playing outside the top division, his talents were soon spotted by the England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
selectors. After winning caps at youth and under-23 levels, he was called up for the full international side for a British Home Championship
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
match against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
in place of Jimmy Armfield
Jimmy Armfield
James Christopher "Jimmy" Armfield, CBE, DL is an English former professional football player and manager who currently works as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool, usually at right back...
on 17 October 1959. The match was drawn 1–1 and Allen was retained for the next two matches, against Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
(a 2–3 defeat) and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
(won 2–1). For the next international match the following April, Ray Wilson was preferred at left-back, remaining first choice for most of the next decade. Although he received further caps at under-23 level (earning seven in all) Allen was never selected again for the full England eleven.
By now he was a fixture in the Stoke side as they generally finished in the middle of the Football League Second Division
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...
table, but in 1963, Stoke finished top of the table and returned to the top flight. He was ever-present throughout the 1960–61 and 1960–62 seasons, and only missed one game in the promotion season. In this period, he clocked up a run of 148 consecutive appearances, which remains a Stoke record.
Stoke finished their first season back in the First Division
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....
in 17th place, but also reached the final of the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
, where they were defeated by Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
4–3 on aggregate.
In 1967, Allen was involved in an incident which led to a major change in the International Laws of Association Football. On 13 May 1967, 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...
visited Old Trafford to play Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
. Paddy Crerand
Pat Crerand
Patrick Timothy "Paddy" Crerand is a Scottish-born former footballer of Irish descent. After six years at Celtic he moved to Manchester United where he was a member of teams that won the English League title twice, the FA Cup and European Cup...
of United had an altercation with Peter Dobing
Peter Dobing
Peter Dobing is an English former footballer, who played for Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Stoke City.-Career:...
of Stoke, which was dealt with by referee Pat Partridge
Pat Partridge
Patrick "Pat" Partridge is a retired English football referee, and former President of the Association of Football League Referees and Linesmen. His occupation outside football was as a farmer. He originates from Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, and took the name of his father, Patrick Partridge,...
holding Crerand close, such that his head was over the referee's shoulder. Unknown to the official, TV cameras picked up Crerand's action of spitting over his shoulder at Allen. Crerand and Dobing were cautioned for their confrontation, but Partridge had not seen the spitting incident. Partridge later received a letter from the Football League, asking for his observations on the incident, in response to many complaints received. Partridge was unable to respond with conclusive evidence, but nevertheless the International Board changed the Laws of the Game to put spitting on a par with violent conduct, and therefore a dismissable offence.
Allen left Stoke in October 1970, when he moved to Bury
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
for a fee of £10,000. After a year with the Gigg Lane
Gigg Lane
Gigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.-History:...
club, he moved to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
to play for Hellenic
Hellenic FC
Hellenic FC was a South African association football club based in Cape Town. They were nicknamed The Greek Gods.Established in 1958 by Greek South Africans, Hellenic campaigned in the lower amateur leagues of Cape Town...
. He returned to England in October 1973, and ended his playing career with non-league 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...
.
After football
After ending his playing career, he returned to Stoke where he became a newsagent in Blythe Bridge. Allen also helps to coach local junior clubs.Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 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... |
1957–58 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 39 | 0 | |
| 1958–59 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 38 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 41 | 0 | ||
| 1960–61 | 42 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 1961–62 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 2 | |
| 1962–63 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 1963–64 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 56 | 0 | |
| 1964–65 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 1965–66 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 1966–67 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| 1967–68 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 45 | 1 | |
| 1968–69 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| 1969–70 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 417 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 473 | 4 | |
Honours
Stoke CityStoke 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...
- Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 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...
champions: 1963 - Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
finalist: 19641964 Football League Cup FinalThe 1964 Football League Cup Final, the fourth to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between Stoke City and Leicester City, both of the First Division, over two legs...