39 Facts About Martin Allen

Martin James Allen was born on 14 August 1965 and is an English football manager and former player.

Martin Allen played more than 100 games as a midfielder for both Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before finishing his playing career with Portsmouth and Southend United.

Martin Allen has since managed Brentford, Milton Keynes Dons, Leicester City, Cheltenham Town and Notts County.

Martin Allen rejoined Barnet as manager on 16 April 2012 on a short-term, three-match contract succeeding Lawrie Sanchez.

Martin Allen was sacked as Gillingham manager in October 2013.

Martin Allen rejoined Barnet for a fourth spell in 2014, leading the Bees back into League Two before dropping divisions to join Eastleigh in December 2016, a role he held only until the following February.

Martin Allen scored the second goal, the other West Ham goals coming from David Kelly and Kevin Keen.

Under manager Billy Bonds Martin Allen was part of the team which won promotion to the First Division in 1991 and to the Premier League in 1993.

Martin Allen was frequently booked during his West Ham career and had a reputation for poor discipline.

Martin Allen was sent off in a match on 17 January 1990 for a two-footed lunge on Derby County's Mark Patterson.

Martin Allen attended the birth and was disciplined by the club.

Under Bonds and Harry Redknapp Martin Allen formed a successful partnership with Peter Butler with Martin Allen contributing 34 goals from midfield in 234 appearances.

However, by 1995 team discipline was poor at West Ham and with Martin Allen playing alongside Julian Dicks, John Moncur and Don Hutchison bookings were commonplace.

Martin Allen was again dismissed in a match against Queens Park Rangers on 3 May 1995 after fouling Rufus Brevett.

Martin Allen began his management career as an assistant manager at hometown club Reading, where he joined Alan Pardew when the Royals were in the relegation zone.

Martin Allen succeeded from Peter Shreeves, to whom he was assistant manager from March 2002.

Martin Allen took over from Wally Downes at Second Division side Brentford in March 2004.

Martin Allen participated in a 25-mile sponsored bike ride in November 2005 to raise funds for Brentford.

In May 2006, Martin Allen announced his resignation as manager of Brentford, citing lack of Board commitment to investing in the team to take it to the next level.

Martin Allen managed to arrest the club's decline and took his team to the play-offs, but lost in the semi-finals to Shrewsbury Town.

In May 2007, Martin Allen became the new manager at Championship side Leicester City, after Leicester and Milton Keynes Dons had negotiated a compensation package.

However, Martin Allen refused to make an offer for Riordan, which further aggravated Mandaric.

Martin Allen was appointed as manager of Cheltenham Town on 15 September 2008, on a three-year contract.

Martin Allen allowed key players to leave mid-season either on loan or for reduced prices, contributing to a run of results which left Cheltenham near the foot of the League Two table.

On 20 October 2009 and amidst poor results on the pitch, Martin Allen was suspended by Cheltenham Town and placed on gardening leave pending an internal investigation into allegations that he racially abused a nightclub bouncer.

Martin Allen remained on leave whilst Cheltenham Town considered his future at the club.

Martin Allen was working on an eight-game contract but left after only three games, in which Barnet were unbeaten, to take charge of Notts County.

Martin Allen took charge of Notts County on 11 April 2011 signing a one-year rolling contract.

Martin Allen was named League One Manager of the Month in September 2011 after leading the team to four wins and a draw in the league.

Martin Allen was sacked by Notts County on 18 February 2012.

On 5 July 2012, Martin Allen was appointed manager of Gillingham signing a two-year contract.

On 20 May 2013, Martin Allen was crowned League 2 Manager of the Year by the LMA for his achievements with the club.

Martin Allen was sacked by Gillingham in October 2013 after sixteen months in charge.

On 1 December 2016, Eastleigh had confirmed that Martin Allen had joined up with them taking the Manager's position previously help by Ronnie Moore.

Martin Allen was fired by Eastleigh on 22 February 2017 after only winning two of his 14 games in charge.

On 10 May 2018, it was announced that Martin Allen had left the club, following relegation from the Football League.

Martin Allen was sacked on 27 December 2018, with the club sitting third bottom of the National League table.

Martin Allen is non-exec director of the football charity, Coaching for Hope.

In December 2013 Martin Allen began writing for the Daily Mail.