Paul Allen (footballer)

Paul Kevin Allen (born 28 August 1962) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder in the Football League for West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Luton Town, Stoke City, Swindon Town, Bristol City and Millwall in the 1980s and 1990s.[3] He won three caps for England at under-21 level.[4]

Paul Allen

Personal information
Full name	Paul Kevin Allen[1]
Date of birth	28 August 1962[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)
National team
1985	England U21	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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]

Allen went on to play in two FA Cup finals for Tottenham Hotspur, on the losing side in 1987 but victorious in 1991.[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 10 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.

After retiring from playing football at the end of the 1997–98, which he spent in Division One with Millwall, he worked for the Professional Footballers' Association.[9]

Career statistics

Source:[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

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, FA Charity Shield, Football League Trophy, Screen Sport Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winners Cup.

Honours

As a player

West Ham United

• FA Cup: 1979–80

Tottenham Hotspur

• FA Cup: 1990–91; runners-up: 1986–87
• FA Charity Shield: 1991

Swindon Town

• Football League Division Two: 1995–96

Individual

• West Ham United Hammer of the Year: 1985
• Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year: 1991

References

1. "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. Struthers, Greg (27 March 2005). "Caught in Time: West Ham win the FA Cup, 1980". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
10. Paul Allen at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Paul Allen at Soccerbase
• Paul Allen at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database