 McAllister in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary McAllister[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-12-25)25 December 1964 (age 61)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Motherwell, Scotland[1] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1985 | Motherwell | 59 | (6) |
| 1985–1990 | Leicester City | 201 | (46) |
| 1990–1996 | Leeds United | 231 | (31) |
| 1996–2000 | Coventry City | 119 | (20) |
| 2000–2002 | Liverpool | 55 | (5) |
| 2002–2004 | Coventry City | 55 | (10) |
| Total | 720 | (118) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987–1990[3] | Scotland B | 2 | (1) |
| 1989[4] | Scotland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1990–1999 | Scotland | 57 | (5) |
| 1990[5] | SFA (SFL centenary) | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Coventry City (player-coach) | ||
| 2008 | Leeds United | ||
| 2011 | Aston Villa (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gary McAllisterMBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professionalfootball coach and formerplayer.
McAllister played primarily as amidfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local sideMotherwell before moving south of the border toLeicester City at the age of 20. He then went on to play forLeeds United, where he won theEnglish league championship in1991–92. McAllister later had spells atPremier League sidesCoventry City, where he was credited with his role in helping the club avoid relegation repeatedly, andLiverpool, where he won a cup treble in2000–01 at the age of 36.
McAllister also represented hisnational side for nine years, winning 57caps and scoring five goals.[6] His leadership qualities were noticed, and he spent four years as Scotland captain in addition to two seasons as Leeds United captain. He was awarded anMBE in the2001 New Year Honours in recognition of his contribution to football[7] and was inducted to theScottish Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
He was appointedplayer-manager of Coventry City in April 2002.[8] Heresigned from this position in January 2004 and did not enter management again until he returned toElland Road in January 2008, to replaceDennis Wise asmanager.[9] McAllister guided Leeds to the promotion playoffs, but was dismissed in December 2008. In April 2011, while working as assistant to managerGérard Houllier atAston Villa, he becamecaretaker manager at the Premier League club for a few months due to Houllier's ill health. He also had coaching roles atMiddlesbrough and Liverpool, returning to Scotland with Rangers in 2018. He joined Steven Gerrard in leaving Rangers making a return to Aston Villa as Assistant Manager again.
McAllister began his playing career at his local sideMotherwell; he stated he supported the club as a child, but also had an affection forManchester United as his family were acquainted with that ofMatt Busby.[10] His senior debut was away toQueen of the South on 1 May 1982. McAllister scored eightgoals in 70 appearances, culminating in a fine performance in the 1985Scottish Cup semi-final againstCeltic.[11] With Motherwell he was more often a striker than a midfielder.
McAllister's performances in the cup caught the eye ofLeicester City managerGordon Milne. He signed for the English club, along with Motherwell teammateAlly Mauchlen, for a combined fee of £350,000 in August 1985.[11] Although Mauchlen's greater experience cast McAllister as the 'make-weight' in the deal, he soon rose to prominence as an attacking force in Leicester midfield, impressing manager and fans alike with his accurate passing to feet, and confident range of skills on the ball. During his first season at Filbert Street he adapted well to regular First Division football, and began to rise to prominence in creating chances for a team that includedSteve Lynex andAlan Smith.[10]
During Leicester's ultimately unsuccessful campaign to stave off relegation toSecond Division that season under Milne's successorBryan Hamilton, McAllister found himself employed in a variety of midfield and forward roles, which affected his form. After Hamilton was replaced byDavid Pleat, however, his stylish playmaking abilities began to flourish.
Over the following three seasons his reputation quickly grew into being one of the best players in the Second Division, boosted by a respectable goal tally from midfield that included an uncommon number of well-executed strikes from unfavourable positions. He was named in the Second DivisionPFA Team of the Year in both1988–89 and1989–90 and was the subject of constant transfer speculation and interest by severalFirst Division sides throughout the following term. He turned down a heavily mooted £1.15 million move toNottingham Forest to see out his contract with Leicester afterBrian Clough apparently failed to impress him during an interview.[10][12]
In five seasons with Leicester, McAllister played 225 games in total, scoring 52 goals.
McAllister arrived at Leeds United on 2 July 1990 for a tribunal-determined fee of £1,000,000, and replaced the role vacated byVinnie Jones when he left forSheffield United.[13] The club had just achieved promotion toDivision One, the top tier ofEnglish football at the time. In McAllister'sfirst season at Elland Road, Leeds finished fourth in the table and reached theLeague Cup semi-finals. He formed amidfield quartet that season with fellow Scottish internationalGordon Strachan and relative youngstersDavid Batty andGary Speed. In the1991–92 season Leeds United were crownedLeague Champions.
In the rest of McAllister's time at Leeds, the highest the club finished was fifth in the1993–94 and1994–95 seasons. The lowest was 17th in the1992–93 Premier League – one of the lowest-placed finishes of a defending league champion in English football history. He captained the side for two seasons. During the1992–93 season, McAllister made his debut in theUEFA Champions League. He scored in matches againstVfB Stuttgart[14] andRangers,[15] but Leeds were knocked out by the latter in a match hyped as theBattle of Britain.[16] In McAllister'sfinal season Leeds finished 13th. He captained the team atWembley Stadium in the1996 League Cup Final, where they were beaten 3–0 byAston Villa.
In his six seasons with Leeds United, McAllister played 294 games in total, scoring 45 goals.
Aged 31, McAllister left Leeds for Coventry City on 26 July 1996, for a fee of £3million. His move to the Midlands club came less than a year after he had scored a hat-trick against them for Leeds.[17] He stayed there for four seasons and played firstly underRon Atkinson and then former Leeds teammateGordon Strachan.[10] The side includingNoel Whelan,John Salako andDarren Huckerby were in a relegation battle. Atkinson went upstairs to become 'Director of Football' in late 1996 in order to make way for Strachan. Strachan's team continued to struggle until a late season recovery. With McAllister captaining the side, the Sky Blues secured an away draw against Arsenal and wins against Chelsea, Liverpool (away) and Tottenham Hotspur (away) to secure salvation.[10]
In Strachan's first full season as manager in 1997–98, McAllister played alongsideGeorge Boateng in midfield behindDarren Huckerby andDion Dublin in attack finishing 11th and reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1998. His final Coventry season they had a poor start including defeat byTranmere Rovers in the League Cup and finished 15th in the league. The line-up included the likes ofRobbie Keane,Mustapha Hadji,Carlton Palmer,Mo Konjić andYoussef Chippo.
During his initial time at theSky Blues he played 140 games and scored 26 goals.
Aged 35, on 1 July 2000, McAllister moved toLiverpool in aBosman transfer.[18][10] Though serving for a relatively short time atAnfield, he played an integral role in the team that won atreble of cups in the2000–01 season.Gerard Houllier described McAllister as his "most inspirational signing".[13]
He scored apenalty winner againstBarcelona in theUEFA Cup semi-final[19] and a 44-yard free-kick that won theMerseyside derby against local rivalsEverton in the fourth minute of stoppage time.[10][20] He scored in the run-in against Coventry City[21] andBradford City.[22] helping Liverpool to qualify for theChampions League.
Liverpool's first trophy of the season came in theFootball League Cup Final. After replacingSteven Gerrard as a 78th minutesubstitute, McAllister scored the team's opening penalty kick in a 5–4shootout win overBirmingham City. He again came on as a substitute in theFA Cup Final, as Liverpool came from behind to win 2–1 againstArsenal.[23] Four days later, he was named in the starting line-up in theUEFA Cup Final againstAlavés. McAllister scored one, and had a hand in three, of the five Liverpool goals in a memorable 5–4 victory. In the 117th minute, McAllister's free-kick was deflected by Alaves'Delfi Geli into his own net for the winninggolden goal.[10][24] He was awarded theman of the match award for his efforts, withBBC pundit and former Liverpool defenderAlan Hansen stating, "Gary McAllister was outstanding. At 36, to keep going the way he did, keep taking those free-kicks and producing it when it counted, was sensational. He fully deserved his man of the match award."[25]
McAllister began thefollowing season by scoring a penalty in Liverpool's 2–1 win overManchester United in theCharity Shield.[26] He started the club's openingChampions League fixture, a 1–1 draw withBoavista at Anfield.[27] McAllister left Anfield on 13 May 2002 to take up the role ofplayer-manager of Coventry City.[8] He ended his Liverpool career with a substitute appearance in a 5–0 win overIpswich Town.[28] At Liverpool for two years he featured 87 times and scored nine goals.[13] McAllister was named as number 32 in the100 Players Who Shook The Kopsurvey.[29]
After scoring the equaliser on his debut forScotland B against France in April 1987,[3] McAllister debuted for Scotland in a friendly againstEast Germany in the buildup to the1990 FIFA World Cup.[30] Though he was included in the squad for the tournament, he did not make an appearance as Scotland were eliminated in the first round.[10][30]
In October 1990, McAllister scored his first goal for Scotland in aUEFA Euro 1992 qualifier againstSwitzerland. He appeared in all three of Scotland's group stage matches at the tournament, scoring in a 3–0 win overthe CIS.[30] However, Scotland did not qualify from their group.
Scotland failed to qualify for the1994 FIFA World Cup but did qualify forUEFA Euro 1996 in England, with McAllister thecaptain of the team. Scotland's second match of the group stage was againstEngland atWembley Stadium. In the second half Scotland, trailing 0–1 to anAlan Shearer goal, were awarded apenalty. McAllister's kick was saved byDavid Seaman and Scotland lost 0–2. The team won their next match against Switzerland but were eliminated ongoals scored.[10]
McAllister earned his 50th cap in a1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier withSweden.[30] The team ultimately qualified for the tournament, finishing second toAustria. McAllister scored an important penalty kick in a match away toBelarus in qualifying,[31] but he missed the finals through injury.[32]
On 31 March 1999, McAllister returned to the Scotland team, captaining the side in aUEFA Euro 2000 qualification game againstthe Czech Republic. McAllister was booed by a section ofCeltic Park crowd and announced his retirement from international football soon after.[32] Despite later attempts by managerCraig Brown to convince McAllister to return, theplaymaker did not add to his 57 caps.[33]
McAllister left Liverpool in May 2002 to take up the role ofplayer-manager at Coventry City, replacing his former teammateRoland Nilsson in the job.[8] Heresigned on 12 January 2004. McAllister's former assistant,Eric Black, replaced him three days later. He selected himself in 60 matches and scored 12 goals before retiring as a player.
After almost four years out of the game, McAllister was appointed manager of another of his former clubs as a player, Leeds United, on 29 January 2008 with an initial contract until the end of the season.[9] The club was sitting in sixth place after former bossDennis Wise's surprise departure to Newcastle. McAllister's first game came four days after his appointment, a 1–0 away defeat toSouthend United.[34] Leeds lost their next game 2–0 toTranmere Rovers and slipped to eighth. The new manager bagged his first win at the fifth attempt, in a 1–0 away victory overSwindon Town,[35] before following it up with his first home victory againstAFC Bournemouth, in which Leeds beat the relegation-threatened side 2–0.[36]
LeedschairmanKen Bates rewarded McAllister for his hard work and the team's good form – just two defeats in 12 games – by offering him a new 12-month rolling contract on 3 April 2008.[37] Bates cited McAllister's general improvement of team performances and his planning for the club's future as reasons for offering him the new contract.[38] Leeds secured a spot in the play-offs with a 1–0 atYeovil Town on 25 April 2008, but they lost 1–0 toDoncaster Rovers in the play-off final.[10] During his second season as manager, McAllister was sacked on 21 December 2008 after a poor string of results;[39] these included an FA Cup defeat to part-time clubHiston and culminated with a 3–1 loss toMK Dons.[10][39]
On 22 September 2009, it was revealed that McAllister was in talks withScotland about replacingSteven Pressley as Scotland's third coach; however, on 25 September 2009, it was revealed that he rejected the opportunity as he was holding out for a job at club level.[40] On 29 September 2009, it was reported that he would becomePortsmouth assistant manager, but he couldn't agree a deal with the club.[41]
On 20 May 2010, he was appointed asMiddlesbrough first-team coach, where he teamed up again withGordon Strachan.[42] He made a return to the field to take part inJamie Carragher'stestimonial match in September of that year, appearing for Liverpool in a 4-1 win over Everton.[43]
On 18 September 2010, it was announced on the officialAston Villa website that McAllister had accepted an offer from Gérard Houllier to become the next assistant manager atVilla Park; McAllister had previously played under Houllier when the Frenchman was in charge of Liverpool.[44][45] After Houllier was rushed to hospital in April 2011, McAllister was made caretaker manager for a Premier League game againstStoke City, which ended in a 1–1 draw. After he led Aston Villa to a 2–1 away win againstArsenal and a 1–0 home win over Liverpool, McAllister continued as caretaker for the remainder of the2010–11 season. With Houllier having to step down to due ill health, it was announced on 17 June 2011 that after the appointment ofAlex McLeish as manager that McAllister would not return to the club as part of the new coaching team.
McAllister was appointed first team coach at Liverpool in July 2015.[46][47] He left the position on 8 October 2015 after the sacking ofBrendan Rodgers, but was appointed to an ambassadorial position at the club.[48][49]
WhenRangers announced on 4 May 2018 thatSteven Gerrard would be appointed as the club's new manager, it was also confirmed that McAllister would become his assistant.[50]
On 13 November 2021, shortly afterAston Villa announced thatSteven Gerrard would be appointed as the club's new manager, it was also confirmed that McAllister would return to the club as Gerrard's assistant.[51] On 26 December 2021, for the second time in his career, McAllister acted as caretaker manager for Aston Villa - this time due toSteven Gerrard testing positive forCOVID-19. He provided instructions on the touchline in a 3–1 defeat toChelsea, with Gerrard watching the match on television at home.[52]
On 21 October 2022, McAllister was one of several coaches that left the club, following the sacking of Steven Gerrard the day prior.[53]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland[54] | 1990 | 6 | 1 |
| 1991 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 11 | 3 | |
| 1993 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 10 | 1 | |
| 1998 | — | ||
| 1999 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 57 | 5 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 October 1990 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Switzerland | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying | |
| 2 | 20 May 1992 | Varsity Stadium,Toronto, Canada |  Canada | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 3 | ||||||
| 4 | 18 June 1992 | Idrottsparken,Norrköping, Sweden |  CIS | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 1992 | |
| 5 | 8 June 1997 | Dinamo Stadium,Minsk, Belarus |  Belarus | 1–0 | 1998 World Cup qualification |
Motherwell
Leeds United
Liverpool
Individual
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