| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Ball Allon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-11-12)12 November 1966 (age 59)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Gateshead, England[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1987 | Newcastle United | 9 | (2) |
| 1987–1988 | Swansea City | 34 | (12) |
| 1988–1991 | Hartlepool United | 112 | (48) |
| 1991–1992 | Chelsea | 14 | (2) |
| 1992 | →Port Vale (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 1992–1994 | Brentford | 45 | (19) |
| 1993 | →Southend United (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Port Vale | 23 | (9) |
| 1995 | Lincoln City | 4 | (0) |
| 1995–1998 | Hartlepool United | 56 | (19) |
| Total | 306 | (111) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985 | England Youth | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joseph Ball Allon (born 12 November 1966) is an English formerfootballer. Astriker, he scored 135 goals in 361 league and cup games in a 14-year career in theEnglish Football League.
Starting his career withNewcastle United in 1984, he failed to break into the first team and moved on toSwansea City three years later. After a season with the Swans, he signed withHartlepool United. After scoring 48 league goals for the club, hetransferred toChelsea in 1991. After a season with Chelsea, including aloan spell withPort Vale, he joinedBrentford. In 1994, he moved back to Port Vale permanently before moving back to Hartlepool United viaLincoln City in 1995. He retired in 1998 because of a knee injury. He won threepromotions with three clubs, and was voted onto the Fourth DivisionPFA Team of the Year in1990–91 and won the North-East Footballer of the Year award in 1990–91.
Allon joinedNewcastle United in 1982 and made his debut in the first team whenJack Charlton wasmanager in a 2–1 win overStoke City atSt James' Park on 1 December 1984.[3] At the end of1984–85 he starred in theFA Youth Cup final victory overWatford, scoring twice in a game in whichPaul Gascoigne also netted a wonder goal. He was also capped atEngland Youth level.[4] Allon scored twice in nineFirst Division games in1985–86 and1986–87, before managerWillie McFaul moved him on toSwansea City in August 1987.
Terry Yorath's Swans wonpromotion out of theFourth Division in1987–88 after beatingTorquay United 5–4 onaggregate in theplay-off final. During the season, Allon also scored against rivalsCardiff City in theSouth Wales derby, in a 2–2 draw atVetch Field on New Year's Day. He scored 12 times in 40 league and cup appearances in a partnership withColin Pascoe before he returned to the North-East to joinHartlepool United in November 1988 as one ofBobby Moncur's first signings as manager. Moncur drove from Hartlepool to South Wales to watch the striker in areserve team game and decided to sign him.
Pools paid a nominal fee for the striker to bring him back to the North East. Pools struggled near the foot of theFootball League in1988–89 under Moncur, and Allon scored just five goals in 26 starts.[1] The team again struggled in1989–90 and suffered some heavy defeats under Moncur – losing 7–1 atYork City, 6–1 atAldershot and 6–0 at home toDoncaster. As Pools improved in the second half of the season and moved off bottom spot after being rooted there with 9 points from 18 games, Allon managed 17 goals in 45 league starts to become the club's joint top-scorer with strike partnerPaul Baker.[1] New bossCyril Knowles was the catalyst for change as he turned the club's fortunes around. Allon enjoyed a reunion with his former Newcastle United teammateGascoigne in September 1990 as Pools playedTottenham Hotspur in the League Cup. Gascoigne netted 4 in a 5–0 White Hart Lane defeat for Pools, who lost the second-leg 2–1 at the Victoria Ground.
Allon netted the winning goal for Pools atFeethams in November 1990, as Pools beat rivalsDarlington 1–0. By scoring the winning goal at Feethams in 1997, the striker became the only Pools striker to have twice scored a winning goal in front of the Tin Shed, the favoured end for supporters of Darlington.
Allon netted 35 times as Pools won promotion in1990–91 for only the second time in their history. Pools finished third but were only one point behind championsDarlington.[1] Allon hit 35 goals in 55 games in the campaign and was named Hennessey Cognac North East Player of the Year and North East Football Writers Player of the Year, and was also voted onto thePFA Team of the Year.[1] He came close of a move toMiddlesbrough, but called off the deal after managerColin Todd was sacked.[3]
His form in the 1990–91 season earned him a move to top-flight sideChelsea in August 1991, with managerIan Porterfield paying a fee reported to be £375,000.[3] Middlesbrough were also interested in his services that summer. Allon scored at home on his Chelsea debut, at the Shed End, however, he failed to make an impact atStamford Bridge after sustaining a leg injury which became infected.[3] In February of the1991–92 season he joinedPort Vale onloan, but made just six goalless appearances forJohn Rudge's Valiants, who struggled in vain to avoidrelegation out of theSecond Division.[5] He only stayed for a few months of1992–93, the inaugural season of thePremier League. It was rumoured that his friendship withVinnie Jones led him astray and helped to bring about his poor form.[6] In all he started just four games (with a further 14substitute appearances) and scored three goals for the Blues. He was sold toBrentford in November 1992 for a club-record incoming fee of £275,000.[7]
The "Bees" were relegated out of the First Division at the end of the1992–93 season underPhil Holder. He scored 28 goals in 56 league and cup appearances atGriffin Park. However, the new managerDavid Webb wanted Allon off the wage bill.[3] He had a brief spell on loan atSouthend United in September 1993, where he punched managerBarry Fry in the face upon scoring his 100th career league goal.[3]
Allon moved back to Port Vale – this time permanently – in March 1994.[5] He signed a two-year contract with Vale, which turned out to be only a one-year deal due to an error by the club.[8] ChairmanBill Bell arranged a deal to sign Allon on a free transfer, but Brentford would be paid £2,000 for every appearance and £1,000 for every goal he scored.[3] He scored twice in what remained of the1993–94 campaign, helping the club to win promotion out of the Second Division.[5] He scored eight goals in 22 games atVale Park in1994–95, before he was sold toThird Division sideLincoln City for £42,500 in July 1995.[5]
Allon was the highest-paid player outside of the First Vision at Lincoln.[8] After just five games and three months atSincil Bank he was on the move again, during which time managerSam Ellis was replaced byJohn Beck.[8]
Allon returned toVictoria Park when Hartlepool managerKeith Houchen splashed out £40,000. He scored nine goals in 24 games in1995–96 to become joint top-scorer, but a persistent knee injury restricted his first-team appearances.[1] He scored 11 goals in 34 games in1996–97 to again become the club's top-scorer, as Hartlepool finished just four points above the bottom of the Football League under the stewardship ofMick Tait.[1] His goal spree towards the end of the season helped the club to avoid a drop into theConference.[6] He only made it onto thepitch five times in1997–98, but still found the net twice, both against Colchester at Victoria Park, before he retired due to apatella fracture.[1] His total of 79 goals for Hartlepool puts him in seventh place in their overall list of top scorers.[1]
After retiring from football, Allon presented an award-winningBBC Inside Out documentary on grassroots sport and worked as a summariser atBBC Tees radio.[9] Between 2006 and 2008 Allon worked under ex-Chelsea teammateDennis Wise on the coaching staff atLeeds United.[10] He suffered amental breakdown following the death of his mother due toAlzheimer's disease in 2007.[11]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newcastle United | 1984–85 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985–86 | First Division | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1986–87 | First Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| Total | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| Swansea City | 1987–88 | Fourth Division | 32 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 13 |
| 1988–89 | Third Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 13 | ||
| Hartlepool United | 1988–89 | Fourth Division | 21 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 5 |
| 1989–90 | Fourth Division | 45 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 17 | |
| 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 46 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 55 | 35 | |
| Total | 112 | 48 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 131 | 57 | ||
| Chelsea | 1991–92 | First Division | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 3 |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 3 | ||
| Port Vale (loan) | 1991–92 | Second Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Brentford | 1992–93 | First Division | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 11 |
| 1993–94 | Second Division | 21 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 17 | |
| Total | 45 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 56 | 28 | ||
| Southend United (loan) | 1993–94 | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Port Vale | 1993–94 | Second Division | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 1994–95 | First Division | 19 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 8 | |
| Total | 23 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 10 | ||
| Lincoln City | 1995–96 | Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Hartlepool United | 1995–96 | Third Division | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 9 |
| 1996–97 | Third Division | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 34 | 11 | |
| 1997–98 | Third Division | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| Total | 56 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 63 | 22 | ||
| Career total | 306 | 111 | 14 | 8 | 41 | 16 | 361 | 135 | ||
Newcastle United
Swansea City
Hartlepool United
Port Vale
Individual
