View source for Clive Allen

{{Short description|English footballer (born 1961)}}
{{about|the English footballer|the basketball player|Clive Allen (basketball)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Clive Allen
| image          = Clive Allen 2016.jpeg
| caption        = Allen in 2016
| height         = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}<ref name="Goodwin2017">{{cite book|author=Bob Goodwin|title=The Spurs Alphabet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AOqcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5|date=16 August 2017|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-0-9540434-2-1|pages=5–}}</ref>
| birth_name = Clive Darren Allen
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|df=y|1961|5|20}}
| birth_place    = [[Stepney]], London, England
| position       = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
| youthyears1    =
| youthyears2    =
| youthclubs1    = Havering/Essex Schools
| youthclubs2    = Romford Juniors
| years1         = 1978–1980
| years2         = 1980
| years3         = 1980–1981
| years4         = 1981–1984
| years5         = 1984–1988
| years6         = 1988–1989
| years7         = 1989–1991
| years8         = 1991–1992
| years9         = 1992–1994
| years10        = 1994–1995
| years11        = 1995
| clubs1         = [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]
| clubs2         = [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]
| clubs3         = [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]]
| clubs4         = [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]
| clubs5         = [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]
| clubs6         = [[FC Girondins de Bordeaux|Bordeaux]]
| clubs7         = [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]
| clubs8         = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]
| clubs9         = [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]
| clubs10        = [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]]
| clubs11        = [[Carlisle United F.C.|Carlisle United]]
| caps1          = 49
| goals1         = 32
| caps2          = 0
| goals2         = 0
| caps3          = 25
| goals3         = 9
| caps4          = 87
| goals4         = 40
| caps5          = 105
| goals5         = 60
| caps6          = 19
| goals6         = 13
| caps7          = 53
| goals7         = 16
| caps8          = 16
| goals8         = 7
| caps9          = 38
| goals9         = 17
| caps10         = 12
| goals10        = 0
| caps11         = 3
| goals11        = 0
| totalcaps      = 407
| totalgoals     = 194
| nationalyears1 = 1976 | nationalteam1 = [[English Schools' Football Association|England Schoolboys]] | nationalcaps1 = 7 | nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 1978–1979 | nationalteam2 = [[England national under-18 football team|England Youth]] | nationalcaps2 = 13 | nationalgoals2 = 3
| nationalyears3 = 1980
| nationalteam3  = [[England national under-21 football team|England U21]]
| nationalcaps3  = 3
| nationalgoals3 = 0
| nationalyears4 = 1984–1988
| nationalteam4  = [[England national football team|England]]
| nationalcaps4  = 5
| nationalgoals4 = 0
| manageryears1  = 2007
| manageryears2  = 2008
| managerclubs1  = [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] (caretaker)
| managerclubs2  = [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] (caretaker)
|module=
{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography|embed=yes
|nickname          =
|team              = 
|image             =
|ImageWidth        =
|alt               =
|caption           =
|status            = Retired
|import            =
|position1         = [[Placekicker|Kicker]]
|position2         =
|position3         =
|position4         =
|position5         =
|number            = 5
|playing_years1    = {{NFLE Year|1997}}
|playing_team1     = [[London Monarchs]]
|career_highlights =
*
|AFLAllStar        =
|CFLAllStar        =
|ProBowls          =
|Awards            =
|Honors            =
|Honours           =
|Retired #s        =
|Records           = [http://www.footballdb.com/players/clive-allen-allencl01 The Football Database]
|statlabel1        = [[conversion (gridiron football)|PAT]]
|statvalue1        = 7/10
|statlabel2        = [[Field goal (American and Canadian football)|FG]]
|statvalue2        = 6/6
}}}}
'''Clive Darren Allen''' (born 20 May 1961) is an English former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played as a [[forward (association football)|forward]] for seven different London clubs. Allen was a prolific striker throughout his career.

In 1986-87 he won the [[PFA Players' Player of the Year|PFA]] and [[Football Writers' Association]] player of the year awards. He also won 5 caps for England from 1984 to 1988.

==Early life==
Clive Allen was born in [[Stepney]], London on 20 May 1961. His father, [[Les Allen]],  was a member of Tottenham Hotspur's Double-winning team of [[1960–61 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season|1960–61]]. His younger brother, [[Bradley Allen]], and cousins [[Martin Allen|Martin]] and [[Paul Allen (footballer)|Paul Allen]] also played football professionally.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1-oAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT12 |title=The Golden Boot: Football's Top Scorers |author=Mark Metcalf |author2=Tony Matthews |date=15 January 2012|publisher =Amberley Publishing |isbn=978-1-4456-1118-1 }}</ref>

==Club career==

===Queens Park Rangers===
Allen started his career at [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] in the late 1970s, and scored 32 league goals in 49 appearances, before moving to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]].<ref name=nb>{{cite web|title=Clive Allen|url=http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/cliveallen.html|work=Post War English & Scottish Football League A&nbsp;— Z Player's Database|publisher=Neil Brown|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>

===Arsenal===
Allen signed for [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in the summer of 1980 for a fee of £1.25m. He did not play a competitive match for the club, although he did play three pre-season matches. He soon moved on to [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] in a swap deal with [[Kenny Sansom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/Sol-Campbell-Clive-Allen-Joey-Beauchamp-and-the-Top-10-shortest-transfers-of-all-time-article128239.html |title=Sol Campbell, Clive Allen, Joey Beauchamp and the Top 10 shortest transfers of all-time |last=David Gerges |work=Mirror Football |publisher=Trinity Mirror |access-date=28 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125233152/http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/Sol-Campbell-Clive-Allen-Joey-Beauchamp-and-the-Top-10-shortest-transfers-of-all-time-article128239.html |archive-date=25 November 2009 }}</ref>

===Crystal Palace===
Allen was Palace's top scorer for the [[1980-81 in English football|1980–81 season]] with nine goals in the league and 11 in all competitions, when Palace finished bottom of the First Division.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holmesdale.net/page.php?id=82&story=4387|title=1980/81 revisited|first=Holmesdale Online|last=www.holmesdale.net|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>

In one of his earliest games for the club, Allen was at the centre of a notorious incident in the defeat against [[Coventry City]] on 6 September 1980, when his shot flew into the goal and rebounded from the stanchion holding up the netting so quickly that it was ruled not a goal, the referee mistakenly ruling that the ball had hit the frame of the goal. As highlights of the match were being televised by the [[BBC]], the incident was captured on camera.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 September 2017 |title=Back in the Day: September 6th - The Clive Allen Ghost Goal |url=https://rednbluearmy.co.uk/articles/06-09-17-back-day-september-6th-clive-allen-ghost-goal |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=rednbluearmy.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

===Return to Queens Park Rangers===
QPR, still in the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]], were now managed by [[Terry Venables]] (who had signed Allen for Palace) and in Allen's first season back at the club ([[1981-82 in English football|1981–82]]) he scored 13 Second Division goals, though not enough to win promotion. QPR also reached the FA Cup final for the first time with Allen scoring the goals in 1–0 victories in both the sixth Round (vs [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]])<ref>{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0NiTU7xp34  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/c0NiTU7xp34 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live| title=QPR 1 Crystal Palace 0 | publisher=YouTube&nbsp;— QPR Official}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and semi-final (vs [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]).<ref>{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXoPYdyN5iE  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/HXoPYdyN5iE |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live| title=QPR 1 WBA 0 | publisher=YouTube&nbsp;— QPR Official}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Allen was injured in the [[FA Cup Final 1982|final]] against Tottenham Hotspur and subsequently missed the replay.<ref>{{cite news 
|url=http://www.indyrs.co.uk/2012/05/the-1982-fa-cup-final-replay-qpr-0-tottenham-hotspur-1/
|title=The 1982 FA Cup Final Replay: QPR (0) – Tottenham Hotspur (1)
|publisher=indyrs.co.uk
|date=27 May 2012 |access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref>

Over the next two seasons, Allen scored 27 League goals as QPR first won the Second Division Championship in 1982–83 and then finished fifth in the First Division in 1983–84. He moved to Tottenham for a £700,000 fee.<ref name="Constable2014">{{cite book|author=Nick Constable|title=Match of the Day: 50 Years of Football|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZS9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT208|date=15 September 2014|publisher=Ebury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4481-4253-8|pages=208–}}</ref>

===Tottenham Hotspur===
Allen scored twice on his debut on 25 August 1984, a 4–1 away win at [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], and scored 10 goals from 18 appearances in his first season, in which Spurs finished third behind [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] and Everton.<ref name="11v11">{{cite web | url=http://www.11v11.com/players/clive-allen-37019/ | title=Clive Allen | publisher=www.11v11.com | access-date=27 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="statto">{{cite web | url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/1984-1985/table | title=Tottenham Hotspur 1984–1985 | publisher=www.statto.com | access-date=27 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408102226/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/1984-1985/table | archive-date=8 April 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In [[1986-87 in English football|1986–87]] he scored 33 League goals, and 49 goals in all competitions, a record for the club.<ref name=tott/> He scored, but was on the losing side alongside his cousin [[Paul Allen (footballer)|Paul Allen]], in the [[1987 FA Cup Final]]. That season he also won the [[PFA Players' Player of the Year|PFA Player of the Year]] and [[Football Writers' Association|Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year]] awards.

===Bordeaux===
Allen moved from Spurs to join [[FC Girondins de Bordeaux|Bordeaux]] in March 1988, scoring 13 goals in 19 league games.<ref name=tott>{{cite web|url=http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/sites/spurs/History%20of%20the%20Club/great-players/clive-allen.page|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204194507/http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/sites/spurs/History%20of%20the%20Club/great-players/clive-allen.page|archive-date=4 February 2013|title=Great players: Clive Allen|work=History of the club|publisher=Tottenham Hotspur|access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

===Later career===
In July 1989 Allen joined [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]], who had just been promoted to the First Division. He scored 10 league goals in his first season, but only four goals in [[1990-91 in English football|1990–91]]. He managed three appearances and scored twice in the league for City the following season, and was transferred to Chelsea in December 1991.<ref name="Matthews2013">{{cite book|author=Tony Matthews|title=Manchester City: Player by Player|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjaIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10|date=21 November 2013|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|isbn=978-1-4456-1737-4|pages=10–}}</ref>

He scored seven goals in 16 games over the next three months with Chelsea, scoring the winning goal in an [[1991-92 FA Cup|FA Cup]] fourth-round tie against [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]. He then joined West Ham United in March 1992, scoring once in four league games, but was unable to stop them from being relegated.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Clive Allen | publisher = Association of Football Statisticians | work = 11v11.com | access-date = 8 April 2018 | url = https://www.11v11.com/players/clive-allen-37019/team/chelsea/#clubmatches}}</ref>

He scored 14 goals in the [[1992-93 in English football|1992–93]] Division One campaign as West Ham were promoted as runners-up. His goal on the last day of the season, against [[Cambridge United F.C.|Cambridge United]], secured promotion to the Premier League.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/september/21-september/top-3-goal-nets-chris-scull-remembers|title=Top 3 Goal Nets: Chris Scull Remembers... |date=21 September 2017|publisher=West Ham United|access-date=10 May 2018}}</ref> He played just seven league games in the [[1993-94 in English football|1993–94]] in the Premier League, scoring two goals against [[Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday]] in August 1993, although he did score West Ham's first goal in the Bobby Moore Memorial Match against a Premier League XI at Upton Park in March 1994 in a 2-1 win for the Hammers. He played his final game for West Ham later in the same month in a 0–0 FA Cup sixth-round game at [[Boleyn Ground|Upton Park]] against [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]], coming on as a substitute for [[Lee Chapman]].<ref name=whs>{{Cite web | title = Clive Allen | website = westhamstats.info | access-date = 8 April 2018 | url = http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=5&united=Clive_Allen}}</ref>

In January 1994, when Allen was out of favour at West Ham United, Tottenham manager [[Ossie Ardiles]] (who had been his Tottenham team-mate the previous decade) expressed interest in bringing Allen back to [[White Hart Lane]] as he looked to spend up to £500,000 on a striker to cover for the injured [[Teddy Sheringham]], but the transfer did not happen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-ardiles-looking-to-angell-or-allen-1406880.html|title=Football: Ardiles looking to Angell or Allen|website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=14 January 1994|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>
Allen opted to drop down a division and join [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] for a fee of £75,000.<ref name=whs/>

He ended his career with three league games for [[Carlisle United F.C.|Carlisle United]] in 1995–96.<ref name=nb/>

==International career==
In the summer of 1984, Allen was given his first [[England national football team|England]] cap against [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]]. In total he made five appearances for [[England national football team|England]] without scoring.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersA/BioAllenCD.html|title=Clive Allen|website=England Football Online|date=25 September 2010|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>

==American football career==
In 1997, Allen played as Kicker for the [[London Monarchs]] in [[NFL Europe]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/american-football-allen-puts-monarchs-back-on-target-1261044.html |title=American football: Allen puts Monarchs back on target |first=Nick |last=Halling |date=12 May 1997 |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==
His son [[Oliver Allen (footballer)|Oliver]] is also a footballer. In 2019, Allen published his autobiography, ''Up Front: My Autobiography''.<ref name="Allen2019">{{cite book|author=Clive Allen|title=Up Front: My Autobiography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BrqxDwAAQBAJ|date=17 October 2019|publisher=deCoubertin Books|isbn=978-1-909245-96-9}}</ref> Allen also works as a commentator on [[ESPN]] and [[BT Sport]] predominantly for coverage of [[Ligue 1]], [[Bundesliga]], [[FA Cup]], and [[UEFA|UEFA club competitions]].

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="wf">{{cite web |title=Clive Allen » Club matches |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/clive-allen/2/|website=worldfootball.net |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="nft">{{NFT|16057}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=3|League
!colspan=2|National cup
!colspan=2|League cup
!colspan=2|Europe
!colspan=2|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan=3|[[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]
|[[1978–79 Football League|1978–79]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|10||4||||||||||colspan=2|—||10||4
|-
|[[1979–80 Football League|1979–80]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|39||28||||||||||colspan=2|—||39||28
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!49||32||||||||||colspan=2|—||49||32
|-
|[[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]]
|[[1980–81 Football League|1980–81]]
|First Division
|25||9||||||||||colspan=2|—||25||9
|-
|rowspan=4|Queens Park Rangers
|[[1981–82 Football League|1981–82]]
|Second Division
|37||13||2||1||||||colspan=2|—||39||14
|-
|[[1982–83 Football League|1982–83]]
|Second Division
|25||13||||||||||colspan=2|—||25||13
|-
|[[1983–84 Football League|1983–84]]
|First Division
|25||14||||||||||colspan=2|—||25||14
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!87||40||2||1||||||colspan=2|—||89||41
|-
|rowspan=5|[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]
|[[1984–85 Football League|1984–85]]
|First Division
|13||7||||||||||4{{efn|name=UC|Appearances in [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]]}}||2||17||9
|-
|[[1985–86 Football League|1985–86]]
|First Division
|19||9||||||||||colspan=2|—||19||9
|-
|[[1986–87 Football League|1986–87]]
|First Division
|39||33||6||4||9||12|| colspan="2" |—||54||49
|-
|[[1987–88 Football League|1987–88]]
|First Division
|34||11||||||||||colspan=2|—||34||11
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!105||60||2||4|| ||||4||2||173||112
|-
|[[FC Girondins de Bordeaux|Bordeaux]]
|[[1988–89 French Division 1|1988–89]]
|[[Ligue 1|Division 1]]
|19||13||||||||||3{{efn|name=UC}}||0||22||13
|-
|rowspan=4|[[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]
|[[1989–90 Manchester City F.C. season|1989–90]]
|First Division
|30||10||||||||||colspan=2|—||30||10
|-
|[[1990–91 Manchester City F.C. season|1990–91]]
|First Division
|20||4||||||||||colspan=2|—||20||4
|-
|[[1991–92 Manchester City F.C. season|1991–92]]
|First Division
|3||2||||||||||colspan=2|—||3||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!53||16||||||||||colspan=2|—||53||16
|-
|[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]
|[[1991–92 Chelsea F.C. season|1991–92]]
|First Division
|16||7||||||||||colspan=2|—||16||7
|-
|rowspan=4|[[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]]
|[[1991–92 West Ham United F.C. season|1991–92]]
|First Division
|4||1||||||||||colspan=2|—||4||1
|-
|[[1992–93 West Ham United F.C. season|1992–93]]
|First Division
|27||14||||||||||colspan=2|—||27||14
|-
|[[1993–94 West Ham United F.C. season|1993–94]]
|[[Premier League]]
|7||2||3||0||1||0||colspan=2|—||11||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!38||17||3||0||1||0||colspan=2|—||42||17
|-
|[[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]]
|[[1994–95 Millwall F.C. season|1994–95]]
|First Division
|12||0||||||||||colspan=2|—||12||0
|-
|[[Carlisle United F.C.|Carlisle United]]
|[[1995–96 Carlisle United F.C. season|1995–96]]
|Second Division
|3||0||||||||||colspan=2|—||3||0
|-
!colspan=3|Career total
!407||194||7||3||1||0||7||2||422||199
|}
{{notelist}}

==Honours==
'''Queens Park Rangers'''
*[[Football League Second Division]]: [[1982–83 Football League Second Division|1982–83]]

'''Individual'''
*PFA  Players' Player of the Year: 1987
*Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year: 1987
*[[PFA Team of the Year]]: [[PFA Team of the Year (1980s)#First Division 8|1986–87 First Division]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Lynch |title=The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes |page=146}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{Englandstats}}

{{Navboxes
|title=Awards
|bg=gold
|fg=navy
|list1=
{{1986–87 Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{1979–80 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{PFA Players' Player of the Year}}
{{FWA Footballer of the Year}}
{{English First Division top scorers}}
{{English Second Division top scorers}}
{{Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Hall of Fame}}
}}
{{Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers}}
{{Allen family}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Clive}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Arsenal F.C. players]]
[[Category:English expatriate sportspeople in France]]
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[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:England men's international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's under-21 international footballers]]
[[Category:England men's youth international footballers]]
[[Category:English expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France]]
[[Category:First Division/Premier League top scorers]]
[[Category:FC Girondins de Bordeaux players]]
[[Category:Ligue 1 players]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:London Monarchs players]]
[[Category:Manchester City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. players]]
[[Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]
[[Category:People from Stepney]]
[[Category:Premier League managers]]
[[Category:Premier League players]]
[[Category:Queens Park Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
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[[Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players]]
[[Category:West Ham United F.C. players]]
[[Category:American football placekickers]]
[[Category:English players of American football]]
[[Category:Footballers who switched code]]
[[Category:Allen family (association football)|Clive]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]
[[Category:English association football commentators]]