Wayne Anthony Allison is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former footballer and coach. In a career spanning over 20 years; he has previously played for eight clubs and scored more than 200 goals. He is a centre forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 and is nicknamed the "Chief". He is currently working for Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

 on the coaching staff.

Playing career

As a child Allison played for home town club Westend Juniors and was the first player from the club to turn professional. His first team was Halifax Town

Halifax Town A.F.C.

Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...

, whom he joined as trainee in August 1986, playing first games before signing a professional contract in July 1987. In two seasons with Halifax he scored 23 league goals in 84 games.

Allison joined Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

 for £250,000 in July 1989, one of three players signed by Steve Harrison from Halifax during his tenure. At Watford he made only 7 appearances, scoring no goals. In July 1990 Watford signed Mark Gavin from Bristol City

Bristol City F.C.

Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

 for a fee for £250,000 and Allison, who was valued at £150,000. He was more successful in Bristol, netting 57 goals in 225 games over a five-year spell at the club.

Swindon Town

Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

 manager Steve McMahon

Steve McMahon

Stephen Joseph McMahon is an English former football midfielder who most notably played for Liverpool in the late 1980s...

 signed Allison in 1995 for a fee set by tribunal of £475,000. A roaming player for the club, Allison's ability to hold the ball up whilst others advanced in support and also help in defence earned him the inclusion in Swindon Town Football Club 100 Greats

Swindon Town Football Club 100 Greats

Swindon Town Football Club: 100 Greats is a book by Richard Mattick published in 2002.The book lists the 100 Swindon Town players that Mattick considered to be greatest...

. He left Swindon for Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

, his home town team, for the highest transfer fee of his career, £800,000. However he moved again in September 1999 to Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere Rovers F.C.

Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...

 for £300,000. During his three year stay at Tranmere he netted 32 goals in 117 appearances.

In July 2002 Allison moved on a free transfer to Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

. Although he had been offered a better deal at Third Division

Football League Third Division

The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

 side Boston

Boston United F.C.

Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...

, he opted for a the challenge of gaining promotion for 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....

 club. He was a regular in a side that reached season both domestic cup semi finals in the 2002–03

2002-03 in English football

The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable...

 season. He started in both 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...

 semi final against Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 and in both legs 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...

 against Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

. He made the last transfer of his career to Chesterfield

Chesterfield F.C.

Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

 on 25 June 2004 on a free transfer.

Coaching and Management

On 25 February 2008, Allison left Chesterfield due to limited playing options as well as lack of support from the board for his application as assistant manager. After completing both his UEFA 'A' and 'B' licenses Allison also passed his Certificate of Applied Management in the summer of 2008 before starting the first year of his pro license in June.

In August 2008, Allison began helping manager Simon Davies

Simon Davies (footballer born 1974)

Simon Ithel Davies is a former international Welsh footballer who has managerial experience in The Football League with Chester City, where he is now youth team manager.-Playing career:...

 at Chester City

Chester City F.C.

Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 and he was confirmed as assistant manager early the following month. On 15 October 2008, the day before his 40th birthday, it was announced Allison had agreed playing terms with the club. Despite being named as substitute on three occasions, he did not make any appearances for City.

After Davies was sacked on 10 November 2008, Allison became Chester's caretaker manager but he informed the club he would not be applying for the position on a permanent basis. Before the club played its next match against Morecambe

Morecambe F.C.

Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth division of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League. They played their home matches at Christie Park...

, Chester had reappointed Mark Wright as manager. Allison was involved in leading the team on the day but then announced he was leaving the club despite being offered the chance to remain. He later had a brief spell on the coaching staff at 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...

 before leaving in January 2009.

He was appointed as a coach by Tranmere Rovers in October 2009, before moving to Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

 in July 2011.

External links

• Swindon Town profile