Malcolm Allison
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Malcolm Alexander Allison[1] | ||
Date of birth | 5 September 1927 | ||
Place of birth | Dartford, England | ||
Date of death | 14 October 2010[1] | (aged 83)||
Place of death | Trafford, England[1] | ||
Position(s) |
Centre half | ||
Youth career | |||
–1945 | Erith & Belvedere | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1945–1951 | Charlton Athletic | 2 | (0) |
1951–1957 | West Ham United | 238 | (10) |
1960–1962 | Romford | 49 | (1) |
Total | 289 | (11) | |
Managerial career | |||
1963–1964 | Bath City | ||
1964 | Toronto City | ||
1964–1965 | Plymouth Argyle | ||
1965–1971 | Manchester City (assistant) | ||
1971–1973 | Manchester City | ||
1973–1976 | Crystal Palace | ||
1976–1977 |
Galatasaray | ||
1978–1979 | Plymouth Argyle | ||
1979–1980 | Manchester City | ||
1980–1981 | Crystal Palace | ||
1981 | Yeovil Town | ||
1981–1982 |
Sporting CP | ||
1982–1984 | Middlesbrough | ||
1984 |
Willington | ||
1985–1986 | Kuwait | ||
1986–1988 | Vitória de Setúbal | ||
1988 | SC Farense | ||
1989 | Fisher Athletic | ||
1992–1993 | Bristol Rovers | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
"I'd been a professional for two and a half months and Malcolm had taught me everything I know.... When Malcolm was coaching schoolboys he took a liking to me when I don't think anyone else at West Ham saw anything special in me... I looked up to the man. It's not too strong to say I loved him."
Bobby Moore[2]
Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English
Allison's managerial potential become apparent while in his youth at West Ham United, where he became a reliable defender and acted as a mentor to the younger players including future England World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore. His playing career was cut short in 1958 when he had to have a lung removed because of tuberculosis.
As a coach, he is remembered for assisting manager Joe Mercer in the transformation of the team he supported as a young boy – Manchester City.[3] During the 1960s and early 1970s, Allison won six major trophies in seven years with Mercer.[3] After Mercer left, he managed the club on two occasions whilst offering his managerial services for a third time in 1989. He also managed several more English clubs including Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough, as well as three in Portugal and the Kuwait national team.
Early life
Son of an electrical engineer, Allison was born in
Playing career
Allison started his career with Charlton Athletic but struggled to make a difference on the pitch, playing just twice in six years. Matters off the pitch led to his transfer, after letting club coaches know that their training methods – which were normally nothing more than running up and down the terracing – were outdated.[4]
Allison joined West Ham United in February 1951, after seven seasons at Charlton Athletic. Here he gained experience not only as a footballer but also as a future coach, and often stayed behind after training with anyone interested in football to discuss and devise new tactics.[5]
A promising career as a centre-half was ended prematurely by a bout of
Managerial career
Allison's first taste of coaching was at West Ham, where – under
At the end of the English season Allison accepted an offer to coach in North America over the summer, with Toronto City.[9] After a matter of weeks he was back in England. His success at Bath had alerted a number of Football League clubs, and in May 1964 he joined Plymouth Argyle, where he had been offered a £3,000 per annum salary. He soon returned to Bath to sign full-back Tony Book. However, Allison knew the Argyle board would be reluctant to permit the purchase of a player with no League experience, who was approaching his thirtieth birthday. Allison encouraged Book to doctor his birth certificate, making him appear two years younger.[10]
Manchester City
Joe Mercer was named Manchester City manager in July 1965. As ill health had hindered him in his previous job as manager of Aston Villa, Mercer sought a younger, energetic man to be his assistant. He offered the position to Allison, whom he knew from coaching courses at Lilleshall.[11] Allison was due to meet Raich Carter to discuss a position at Middlesbrough, but Mercer was able to arrange a meeting the day before, and persuaded Allison to accept his offer.[12]
The Mercer–Allison era is believed to be the strongest in Manchester City's history before the 2010s. They were surprise winners of the First Division in
Crystal Palace
On 31 March 1973, Allison was appointed manager of Crystal Palace. The club had struggled in the top flight throughout the 1972–73 season and he replaced Bert Head. Despite his arrival Palace were relegated, losing five out of their last seven games.
Allison immediately instigated a huge stylistic shift both on and off the field, raising Palace's profile with his charismatic media appearances, replacing the club's rather homely nickname 'The Glaziers' with 'The Eagles', and ending the 68-year association with claret-and-blue kits.[14] Palace's highly recognisable red-and-blue striped home kit was introduced, and later, the all-white strip with red and blue sash, changes which still reflect in the character of the club today.
The following season, 1973–74, was even more disastrous because of a second successive relegation.[14] Allison completely restructured the side in an attempt to halt the club's decline and he angered many fans with his decision to replace favourite John Jackson in the Palace goal. Allison's larger than life image was a mixed blessing in Division Three for it raised hopes and aspirations of supporters while also serving to motivate other clubs when they visited Selhurst Park. Palace defender Jim Cannon said: "Malcolm Allison put Palace on the map. No other man could single-handedly take a club from the First Division to the Third Division and still become an instant hero".[15]
However
With the team failing to reach Wembley and win promotion (despite building up a big lead in the league table in the early part of the season) Allison resigned in May 1976.[14] He returned to the club in 1980–81 for a two-month period in a doomed attempt to avoid relegation from the top flight.
Return to Manchester City
In 1979, Allison was offered the chance to return to Manchester City by then-chairman
Allison was given a sizeable war chest to build his team — this time without Joe Mercer. Allison controversially sold crowd favourites
Daley turned out to be an expensive flop, and Allison always said that he had agreed a much lower fee with the Wolves manager for Daley. Allison later said Swales intervened on a chairman to chairman basis and secured the transfer instantly but at a much higher, possibly
Overseas
Allison also managed overseas, in Turkey with
Personality
Allison was remembered as one of the most exuberant characters in football.[19] During his time as assistant to Joe Mercer at Manchester City, his reputation for unpredictability was well known. When Mercer was stopped by police in his car for erratic driving in the early hours of the morning after leaving a club function at Maine Road, upon winding down his window Mercer quipped to the police officers: "OK chaps, what's Malcolm done now?"[17]
Whilst at City, Allison enjoyed winding up rivals
Allison's outspoken nature and womanising were of great interest to tabloid newspapers and it was reputed that he had relationships with
After football
In 2001 it was revealed by his son that Allison was suffering from alcoholism[25] and in 2009 that he had developed dementia.[26]
In January 2007, Crystal Palace fans organised a tribute to Allison, which they named 'Fedora Day'. Fans set up a campaign on www.cpfc.org, an unofficial forum dedicated to the club, to mark the 31st anniversary of the famous FA Cup run which Allison masterminded.
Allison died in a nursing home on 14 October 2010 at the age of 83.
Legacy
Allison was known as a great innovator in revolutionising training methods in
Quotes
- "A lot of hard work went into this defeat."[32]
- "You're not a real manager unless you've been sacked."[32]
- "John Bond has blackened my name with his insinuations about the private lives of football managers. Both my wives are upset." – Allison on his successor at Manchester City in 1980.[32]
- "A lot of people in football don't have much time for the press; they say they're amateurs."[32]
- "I think I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world because I had a job I loved doing."[33]
- "We'll terrify the cowards of Europe" – Allison following Manchester City's European Cup qualification in 1968.
Managerial statistics
Team | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
Plymouth Argyle | 1 May 1964 | 30 April 1965 | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 38.1 |
Manchester City | 7 October 1971 | 30 March 1973 | 43 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 32.6 |
Crystal Palace | 30 March 1973 | 19 May 1976 | 146 | 52 | 45 | 49 | 35.6 |
Plymouth Argyle | 16 March 1978 | 5 January 1979 | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 35.3 |
Manchester City | 16 July 1979 | 1 October 1980 | 50 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24.0 |
Crystal Palace | 1 December 1980 | 1 February 1981 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11.1 |
Yeovil Town | 1 February 1981 | 14 February 1981 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.0 |
Sporting CP
|
1981 | 1982 | 39 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 71.8 |
Middlesbrough | 23 October 1982 | 28 March 1984 | 70 | 21 | 23 | 26 | 30.0 |
Bristol Rovers | 1 August 1992 | 1 March 1993 | 36 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 22.2 |
Total[34] | 434 | 136 | 129 | 169 | 31.3 |
Honours
Player
West Ham United
- Football League Second Division: 1957–58
Coach
Manchester City
- Football League First Division: 1967–68
- Football League Second Division: 1965–66
- 1969
- 1970
- Charity Shield: 1968, 1972; runner-up: 1969
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1970
Sporting CP
- 1981–82
- 1981–82
References
- ^ a b c "Malcolm Allison". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Malcolm Allison". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Malcolm Allison – Archive". MirrorFootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ a b c "Malcolm Allison — Obituary". telegraph.co.uk. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-85983-608-8.
- ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p68
- ^ "Malcolm Allison remembered". www.whufc.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
- ^ Book, Maine Man, p41.
- ^ a b Book, Maine Man, p42.
- ^ Book, Maine Man, p46.
- ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p248
- ^ Penney, Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years, p14
- ^ White, Jim (18 September 2009). "Manchester City's glory days are returning, says hero of 1968 Mike Summerbee". Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d e "Remembering former Palace manager Malcolm Allison". www.croydonguardian.co.uk. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ "Big Mal, the Legend dies at 83". Ozzie News. 18 October 2010.
- ^ Hodgson, Derek (7 May 1996). "Peter Swales: Obituary". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Playboy bunnies, the Kray Twins and 23 bottles of champagne: The wild life of Malcolm Allison". mirrorfootball.co.uk. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ "Happy Birthday Mister Allison". LeaodaEstrela.blogspot.com. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
- ^ "Why players adored Allison". BBC Sport. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- ^ "Malcolm Allison: A man who lived life large to the last". The Guardian. London. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ "Seven deadly sins of football: Lust – Part One". The Guardian. London. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "Malcolm Allison's Playboy Palace". onthisdayinsport.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012.
- ^ Tossell, David (16 October 2010). "Forward thinking Malcolm Allison should be remembered for successes as well as excesses". The Times. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ^ "Crystal Clear". The Daily Telegraph. London. 29 June 2000. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "Man City great in hospital". BBC News. 9 May 2001. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ "Book review: The Worst Of Friends". BBC News. 25 April 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ "He Smokes Cigars and He Drinks Champagne...Fedora day: 26/01/2007 – CPFC BBS". www.cpfc.org. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Remembering Malcolm Allison: football's most iconic gaffer – CLICKON Soccer". The Versed. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Malcolm Allison". Daily Telegraph. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- ^ a b "Hundreds of Manchester City fans honour Malcolm Allison". BBC News. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ "Why Liverpool's living nightmare is far from over and Big Mal was ahead of his time". www.mirrorfootball.co.uk. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Former Manchester City boss Malcolm Allison dies". BBC Sport. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ "Malcolm Allison: A tribute". Manchester City Football Club. mcfc.co.uk. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ Malcolm Allison management career statistics at Soccerbase
Bibliography
- Book, Tony; David Clayton (2004). Maine Man. Mainstream publishing. ISBN 978-1-84018-812-7.
- Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-903135-50-1.
- James, Gary (2006). Manchester City – The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 978-1-85983-512-8.
- Penney, Ian (2008). Manchester City: The Mercer-Allison Years. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 978-1-85983-608-8.
- Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 978-0-907969-05-1.
External links
- Records
- Biographical articles
- Malcolm Allison – Flamboyant manager with the fedora hat – Courtesy of mirrorfootball.co.uk
- Obituaries and tributes
- Malcolm Allison: A tribute at mcfc.co.uk – Video tribute courtesy of Manchester City Football Club
- Obituary at guardian.co.uk – courtesy of The Guardian
- Obituary at telegraph.co.uk – courtesy of The Daily Telegraph
- Obituary at independent.co.uk – courtesy of The Independent