Martin Allen
Encyclopedia
Martin James Allen is a former football player and current manager of Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

. He played more than 100 games for each Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

 and West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

 before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 and Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

. Five years later, he took his first job in management, at non-league Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

. He has since managed Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

, Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

, 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...

 and 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...

.

Playing career

In his playing career he was known as 'Mad Dog', he played for Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

, signing professional in 1983 and spending six years at Loftus Road
Loftus Road
Loftus Road is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, London. It is home to the English football team Queens Park Rangers of the Premier League and has a capacity of around 18,500. The four stands are called the Loftus Road End , Ellerslie Road Stand, South Africa Road Stand and the School End,...

 and played in the 1986 League Cup Final against Oxford United, before a £670,000 move to West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

. He played in their promotion teams of 1991 and 1993.

Allen stayed with the Hammers until September 1995 when he made a £500,000 switch to Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 after a successful loan spell at Fratton Park
Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football stadium in the English city-port of Portsmouth. It has been the home of professional club Portsmouth F.C. since its construction in 1898.-Description:...

. After three frustrating years with Pompey, which took in a brief loan stint at Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

, he hung up his boots and began a coaching career. He was a combative midfield player.

His cousins, Paul Allen
Paul Allen (footballer)
Paul Kevin Allen 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...

, Bradley Allen
Bradley Allen
Bradley James Allen is a former English professional footballer who played as a striker. He notably played for Queens Park Rangers, Charlton Athletic and Grimsby Town. He also played as a professional for Colchester United, Peterborough United and Bristol Rovers in a professional career that...

 and Clive Allen
Clive Allen
Clive Darren Allen is a retired English footballer, a prolific scorer for a number of clubs.Allen is the son of ex-Tottenham Hotspur forward Les Allen, who was a member of the legendary team which won the First Division title and FA Cup "double" in 1961...

, were also footballers, as was his uncle Les Allen
Les Allen
Leslie William Allen is a former English footballer and manager.As a player, 16 year-old Les Allen made his senior football debut in February 1953 for Briggs Sports in an unforgettable FA Amateur cup quarter final tie at Victoria Road, Dagenham against the holders Pegasus, the great amateur team...

. His father, Dennis
Dennis Allen (footballer)
Dennis James Allen was an English football player and manager.Born in Dagenham, Allen represented Charlton Athletic , Reading and Bournemouth as an inside-forward. He scored 89 goals in 358 league appearances...

, played for Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

, Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 and Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....

. His son Charlie Allen also plays professional football for Notts County.

Reading

Allen began his management career as an assistant manager at hometown club Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

, where he joined Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....

 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
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

, from March 2003 to March 2004. He succeeded from Peter Shreeves
Peter Shreeves
Peter Shreeves is a Welsh former football player, manager and coach.-Career:Shreeves was born in Neath in South Wales where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II, but was brought up in Islington, London. He began his career with non-league Finchley from where he...

, to whom he was assistant manager from March 2002. Allen built a team from scratch in pre-season of the 2003–04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....

 campaign. The team shot straight to the top end of the table, however Allen left for Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 with a few weeks of the season remaining in a move that disappointed many Barnet fans. Under the guidance of new manager Paul Fairclough
Paul Fairclough
Paul Fairclough is the current manager of the England C national football team, formerly known as the National Game XI, England non-League team or the England semi-pro team, and in charge of youth development at Barnet having been caretaker for two months in 2011.As a player he made five...

, the Bees made the play-offs but were beaten in the semi-finals by Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town F.C.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is an English Association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1886 and has played in all the bottom three divisions in various guises since being elected into the Football...

.

Brentford

Allen had a good run at Brentford, saving the club from relegation from League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 in his first season. In the 2004–05
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...

 and 2005–06
2005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...

 seasons he took Brentford to the play-offs, but they were eliminated by Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 and Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...

 respectively. He also took Brentford to 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...

 in two consecutive years, going out to Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 in the 2004–05 season, losing 3–1 after a 2–2 draw at St Mary's
St Mary's Stadium
St Mary's Stadium is the home of Southampton F.C., in the city of Southampton. It is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium and with a capacity of 32,689 is the largest football stadium in the south of England, outside of London.-History:...

, and to Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 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
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 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. 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.

Milton Keynes Dons

Allen then dropped down a level to manage League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 team Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

 for the 2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

 season, a club with heavy financial backing and ambitions from owner Pete Winkelman
Pete Winkelman
Pete Winkelman is currently the chairman of football club Milton Keynes Dons, as well as managing director of the property development consortium Inter MK that was responsible for developing the Denbigh North district of Milton Keynes...

, albeit one that had been in severe decline for the past few years and had dropped from the Championship to League Two in three seasons. Allen managed to arrest the club's decline and 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
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

 side 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...

, after Leicester and Milton Keynes Dons had negotiated a compensation package.

In August 2007, striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jerrel Hasselbaink usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch former football striker who played for various clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, and Spain, as well as the Dutch national team. He scored more than 200 career goals...

 agreed contract terms with Leicester and chairman Milan Mandarić
Milan Mandaric
Milan Mandarić is a Serbian-American business tycoon who has owned a string of successful businesses and football clubs including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. He currently is the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday...

 invited him to undergo a medical at Leicester. But when Hasselbaink arrived in Leicester on 13 August, Allen told him that the medical was no longer going take place. Six days later, Mandarić confirmed an interest in striker Derek Riordan
Derek Riordan
Derek George Riordan is a Scottish footballer who plays as a forward. He has been capped three times by the Scotland national football team. Riordan started his career with Hibernian in 2001 and had a brief spell on loan with Cowdenbeath in 2003...

, who was lacking first team football at Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

. However, Allen refused to make an offer for Riordan, which further aggravated Mandarić. 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.

After leaving Leicester, Allen declared his interest in managing , which eventually went to Maurice Malpas
Maurice Malpas
Maurice Daniel Robert Malpas is an ex-footballer and the assistant manager at Inverness Caledonian Thistle having joined the club on 27 January 2009 along with their new manager Terry Butcher...

.

Cheltenham Town

Allen was appointed as manager of 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...

 on 15 September 2008, on a three year contract. His father, Dennis
Dennis Allen (footballer)
Dennis James Allen was an English football player and manager.Born in Dagenham, Allen represented Charlton Athletic , Reading and Bournemouth as an inside-forward. He scored 89 goals in 358 league appearances...

, had been manager at Whaddon Road
Whaddon Road
Whaddon Road is a football stadium in Cheltenham, England. It is the home ground of Cheltenham Town F.C. and shared with Gloucester City A.F.C.. It has a total capacity of 7,066, with a mixture of seating and terracing...

 between 1974 and 1979. With financial difficulties hitting the club and an increasingly troubled dressing room atmosphere, the entire Cheltenham squad were put up for sale. Allen allowed key players to leave mid-season either on loan or for reduced prices, contributing to a run of results which left Cheltenham near the foot of the League Two table. On 20 October 2009 and amidst poor results on the pitch, Allen was suspended by Cheltenham Town and placed on gardening leave
Gardening leave
Garden leave describes the practice whereby an employee who is leaving a job is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remaining on the payroll...

 pending an internal investigation into allegations that he racially abused a nightclub bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...

. In November Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

 police announced that no action would be taken against Allen concerning the alleged nightclub incident. He remained on leave whilst Cheltenham Town considered his future at the club. On 11 December it was announced he had left the club. In January 2010 he was appointed part-time scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

 for Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

.

Return to Barnet

On 23 March 2011, Allen returned to his first managerial club, Barnet, until the end of the 2010–11 season. He was working on an eight game contract but left after only three games, in which Barnet were unbeaten, to take charge of Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

.

Notts County

Allen took charge of Notts County on 11 April 2011 signing a one-year rolling contract. Notts County won eight points out of the seven games Allen was in charge of at the end of the 2010–11 season, enough for them to avoid relegation. Allen was named League One Manager of the Month in September 2011 after leading the team to four wins and a draw in the league. Alan Curbishley
Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....

 chairman of the Manager of the Month judging panel said: "It was a great month for Notts County as Allen's men earned the most points in npower League 1. In addition to their five league games, they also drew with Juventus in a friendly in Italy to mark a memorable occasion for the club. Martin and his side truly deserve this award."

Managerial stats

As of 26 November 2011.
Team Nat From To Record
GWLDWin %
Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

  March 2003 March 2004 47 20 10 17 42.55
Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

  18 March 2004 31 May 2006 124 54 34 36 43.54
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...

  21 June 2006 25 May 2007 55 28 16 11 50.90
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...

  25 May 2007 29 August 2007 4 2 1 1 50.00
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...

  15 September 2008 11 December 2009 60 13 28 19 19.35
Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

  23 March 2011 11 April 2011 3 2 0 1 66.67
Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

  11 April 2011 Present 29 12 7 10 41.38

Business career

Having run his own soccer schools programme across 13 towns while still playing professionally. Allen, a UEFA Pro License
UEFA Pro License
The UEFA Pro Licence is a coaching licence from UEFA . The UEFA Pro Licence is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the UEFA 'B' and 'A' Licences....

 holder and a graduate of the LMA's
League Managers Association
The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...

 Certificate in Applied Management at Warwick University, created the company Pro FC which finds young people with the potential to become footballers. He is also non-exec director of the football charity, Coaching for Hope.

External links

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