Craig Allardyce

Playing career

Allardyce had a journeyman career, playing for eleven clubs in seven years. Allardyce started his career in 1993 with Preston North End and left the club in 1994, to join Macclesfield Town. In 1994, Allardyce moved to Chinese outfit Guangdong Hongyuan. On 31 July 1994, Allardyce was involved in an on-pitch brawl with Hao Haidong in Guangdong Hongyuan's league match with Bayi FC. This resulted in Allardyce and Hao receiving a half-year ban by the Chinese Football Association. He left China after this incident. Allardyce then returned to England to play for a short spell at Northwich Victoria, before moving to Blackpool, where his father Sam was manager until he was sacked in 1996. He stayed at the club for three years, playing only once in a league game during the 1995–96 season. After he was released by Blackpool in 1997, Allardyce then had short spells at Rushden & Diamonds, Chorley, Chesterfield, Peterborough United, Welling United and Mansfield Town, before joining Boston United to end his career in 2000.

Career as a football agent

After his retirement at 25, Allardyce became a football agent.

Corruption allegations

On 19 September 2006, Allardyce, and his father Sam were implicated in a BBC Panorama documentary for allegedly taking "bungs" (bribes) from agents if they signed certain players. Two agents, Teni Yerima and Peter Harrison, were secretly filmed, each separately saying that they had paid Sam Allardyce through his son.…