Rory Allen

Football player infobox
playername = Rory Allen


fullname = Rory Allen
nickname =
height = height|ft=5|in=11
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|10|17|df=y
cityofbirth = Beckenham
countryofbirth = England
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1995-1999
1998
1999-2002
clubs = Tottenham Hotspur
→ Luton Town (loan)
Portsmouth
caps(goals) = 20 (2)
09 (7)
15 (3)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =

Rory Allen (born 17 October, 1977 in Beckenham) is an English ex-professional football player.

A striker, Allen made his professional football debut for Tottenham Hotspur on 4 September 1996 as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Wimbledon (aged 18). He went on to score twice in 28 games for Spurs including starting a memorable 3rd round FA Cup tie in 1997 against Manchester United alongside Neale Fenn up front.

Allen was sent on loan to Luton Town in 1997, scoring 7 goals in 9 appearances in what was then Division Two (the third tier of English football).
Portsmouth paid Spurs a club record £1,000,000 for him in July 1999, as he became Pompey's first million-pound signing. [ [http://archive.andoveradvertiser.co.uk/1999/7/15/90597.html Pompey swoop for Spurs striker] , Andover Advertiser, 15 July 1999.]

Rory retired from the game in 2002 aged 25, having already undergone eight operations to his ankles and knees over the course of his career. He then left to go see The Ashes in Australia, where he saw all five matches. "It was an amazing experience," he recalls, "Despite the scoreline!" [cite web | url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0,,2012031,00.html | title=The Knowledge| accessdate = 14 February | accessyear = 2007] England lost the series 4-1.

Rory is now forging a career as a civil servant at the Foreign Office in London.

References