Ronnie Allen

Youth teams

Ronald Allen was born on 15 January 1929 in Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. He attended Hanley High School. Despite playing for the school rugby team, his preferred sport was football. He turned out for his local Boys' Brigade team and, later, Wellington Scouts. He then moved on to Northwood Mission, where he played at outside-right, alongside Bill McGarry and Basil Hayward, who would later become his teammates at Port Vale. Allen scored 57 goals for the Mission in the 1943–44 season.

Port Vale

Allen signed amateur forms with Port Vale in December 1944 at the age of 15. He made his full debut on 2 April 1945 in a 2–2 draw against Wrexham in the Football League North, playing at outside-right and laying on one of Vale's goals. At this point in his life he was a mere 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m) and weighed under 8 stone (50 kg). He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 win against Norwich City in August 1945, and in March 1946 signed as a part-time professional, for which he received a £10 signing-on fee. The 1946–47 season was the first full season of competitive football in England following the end of the Second World War; Allen made his Football League debut on 7 September 1946 in a 2–1 defeat to Exeter City. Due to his national service commitments, he only made 18 appearances during that season, scoring five goals. He was the club's top scorer in the 1947–48 season with 13 goals. Allen joined the Royal Air Force early in 1947 and…

Allen made his England debut at the age of 23, in a 3–0 friendly win against Switzerland in Zürich on 28 May 1952. He had to wait almost two years for his second cap, which came against Scotland on 3 April 1954, the same day that his club West Bromwich Albion were playing rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in a vital First Division match. Allen scored with a header in the second half to help England beat the Scots 4–2 in the match at Hampden Park, and also had another headed goal disallowed. He also appeared against Yugoslavia, and was included in England's initial squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but did not make the final travelling party. He nevertheless earned two further caps, the first of which was a 3–2 win against Wales in a British Home Championship game, and the last of which was against West Germany on 1 December 1954. Allen scored from 6 yards (5.5 m) out in a 3–1 Wembley win against the World champions. He was again overlooked in the selection for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He was seen to be too far ahead of his time. On his lack of England caps, Allen himself said, "No two people see the game the same way and everyone is entitled to his own judgement". Albion teammate Frank Griffin stated that "There was too much emphasis put on height for England strikers. They all had to be like Lawton and be over 6ft. He should have played for England more, there was no doubting Allen's sheer skill. That should have been enough." In addition to scoring two goals in five full…

Allen was a skilful and intelligent forward player who used his speed rather than his physique to get the better of opposition defenders. He was an accomplished passer of the ball, able to make pinpoint through passes at both short and long range. He had fantastic vision on the ball, and could play with both feet. He also had a powerful shot, was an accomplished penalty taker, and could volley the ball with ease. The official West Brom website describes Allen as "the complete footballer", and compares him to the Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás.

In March 1965, Allen joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as senior coach, working under manager Andy Beattie. Following Beattie's departure, Allen replaced him as manager in September 1965, just after their relegation to the Second Division. He signed quality players, bringing names such as Derek Dougan and Mike Bailey to Molineux. He guided them to promotion in 1966–67, and Wolves consolidated their top-flight status in 1967–68. However, he was sacked in November 1968, and replaced by former Port Vale teammate Bill McGarry. Allen took up the post of manager at Spanish club Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 1969, replacing Rafael Iriondo. He led Athletic to the runners-up spot in La Liga in 1969–70, as they finished one point behind Atlético Madrid. In 1970–71 the Lions finished fifth, eight points behind champions Valencia CF. He remained at the club until November 1971, leaving shortly after being eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Eintracht Braunschweig. He was appointed manager at Portuguese side Sporting CP for the 1972–73 campaign. He was sacked before the end of the season due to a poor showing in the Primeira Liga – the club ended up in fifth place, equalling their worst-ever finish, despite the goalscoring form of Héctor Yazalde. Champions S.L. Benfica won 28 of their 30 league games. Despite their league form, new manager Mário Lino did lead Sporting to their ninth Taça de Portugal success after defeating Vitória 3–2 at the Estádio Nacional. He returned to the Midlands to…