{{short description|English footballer}} {{distinguish|Joe Allen|Joe Allen (disambiguation)}} {{use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Joe Allon | image = | caption = | fullname = Joseph Ball Allon<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|11|12|df=y}}<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> | birth_place = [[Gateshead]], England<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> | height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00roll |url-access=registration |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81 |editor-first=Jack |editor-last=Rollin |publisher=[[Queen Anne Press]]|location=London |year=1980 |isbn=0362020175 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00roll/page/250 250]}}</ref> | position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]] | youthyears1 = 1982–1984| youthclubs1 = [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] | years1 = 1984–1987| clubs1 = [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] | caps1 = 9| goals1 = 2 | years2 = 1987–1988| clubs2 = [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] | caps2 = 34| goals2 = 12 | years3 = 1988–1991| clubs3 = [[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]] | caps3 = 112| goals3 = 48 | years4 = 1991–1992| clubs4 = [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] | caps4 = 14| goals4 = 2 | years5 = 1992 | clubs5 = → [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] (loan) | caps5 = 6| goals5 = 0 | years6 = 1992–1994| clubs6 = [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] | caps6 = 45| goals6 = 19 | years7 = 1993 | clubs7 = → [[Southend United F.C.|Southend United]] (loan)| caps7 = 3| goals7 = 0 | years8 = 1994–1995| clubs8 = [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] | caps8 = 23| goals8 = 9 | years9 = 1995 | clubs9 = [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] | caps9 = 4| goals9 = 0 | years10 = 1995–1998| clubs10= [[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]] | caps10= 56| goals10= 19 | totalcaps = 306| totalgoals = 111 | nationalyears1 = 1985 | nationalteam1 = [[England national under-18 football team|England Youth]] | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalgoals1 = 0 }}
'''Joseph Ball Allon''' (born 12 November 1966) is an English former [[Association football|footballer]]. A [[Forward (association football)|striker]], he scored 135 goals in 361 league and cup games in a 14-year career in the [[English Football League]].
Starting his career with [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] in 1984, he failed to break into the first team and moved on to [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] three years later. After a season with the Swans, he signed with [[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]]. After scoring 48 league goals for the club, he [[Transfer (association football)|transfer]]red to [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] in 1991. After a season with Chelsea, including a [[Loan (sports)|loan]] spell with [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], he joined [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]]. In 1994, he moved back to Port Vale permanently before moving back to Hartlepool United via [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] in 1995. He retired in 1998 because of a knee injury. He won three [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]]s with three clubs, and was voted onto the Fourth Division [[PFA Team of the Year]] in [[1990–91 Football League|1990–91]] and won the North-East Footballer of the Year award in 1990–91.
==Career== ===Newcastle United=== Allon joined [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] in 1982 and made his debut in the first team when [[Jack Charlton]] was [[Manager (association football)|manager]] in a 2–1 win over [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] at [[St James' Park]] on 1 December 1984.<ref name="beano1">{{cite journal |title=The Joe Allon Interview |journal=The Vale Park Beano |volume=50}}</ref> At the end of [[1984–85 Newcastle United F.C. season|1984–85]] he starred in the [[FA Youth Cup]] final victory over [[Watford F.C.|Watford]], scoring twice in a game in which [[Paul Gascoigne]] also netted a wonder goal. He was also capped at [[England national under-18 football team|England Youth]] level.<ref>{{cite web |title=England Matches - Youth/Under-18's 1980-90 |url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/matchrsl/MatchRslTmU18pg4.html |website=www.englandfootballonline.com |access-date=16 October 2024}}</ref> Allon scored twice in nine [[Football League First Division|First Division]] games in [[1985–86 Newcastle United F.C. season|1985–86]] and [[1986–87 Newcastle United F.C. season|1986–87]], before manager [[Willie McFaul]] moved him on to [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] in August 1987.
===Swansea City=== [[Terry Yorath]]'s Swans won [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]] out of the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] in [[1987–88 Football League|1987–88]] after beating [[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]] 5–4 on [[aggregate score|aggregate]] in the [[1988 Football League Fourth Division play-off final|play-off final]]. During the season, Allon also scored against rivals [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] in the [[South Wales derby]], in a 2–2 draw at [[Vetch Field]] on New Year's Day. He scored 12 times in 40 league and cup appearances in a partnership with [[Colin Pascoe]] before he returned to the North-East to join [[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]] in November 1988 as one of [[Bobby Moncur]]'s first signings as manager. Moncur drove from Hartlepool to South Wales to watch the striker in a [[reserve team]] game and decided to sign him.
===Hartlepool United=== Pools paid a nominal fee for the striker to bring him back to the North East. Pools struggled near the foot of the [[English Football League|Football League]] in [[1988–89 Football League|1988–89]] under Moncur, and Allon scored just five goals in 26 starts.<ref name="inthemadcrowd">{{cite web|title=Profile – Joe Allon|url=http://www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk/cgi-bin/itmc_view_person.asp?oid=11|work=In the Mad Crowd|access-date=23 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123135900/http://www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk/cgi-bin/itmc_view_person.asp?oid=11|archive-date=23 November 2011}}</ref> The team again struggled in [[1989–90 Football League|1989–90]] and suffered some heavy defeats under Moncur – losing 7–1 at [[York City F.C.|York City]], 6–1 at [[Aldershot Town F.C.|Aldershot]] and 6–0 at home to [[Doncaster Rovers F.C.|Doncaster]]. 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 partner [[Paul Baker (footballer)|Paul Baker]].<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> New boss [[Cyril Knowles]] was the catalyst for change as he turned the club's fortunes around. Allon enjoyed a reunion with his former Newcastle United teammate [[Paul Gascoigne|Gascoigne]] in September 1990 as Pools played [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham 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 at [[Feethams]] in November 1990, as Pools beat rivals [[Darlington F.C.|Darlington]] 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 in [[1990–91 Football League|1990–91]] for only the second time in their history. Pools finished third but were only one point behind champions [[Darlington F.C.|Darlington]].<ref name="inthemadcrowd" /> 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 the [[PFA Team of the Year]].<ref name="inthemadcrowd" /> He came close of a move to [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]], but called off the deal after manager [[Colin Todd]] was sacked.<ref name="beano1"/>
===Chelsea=== His form in the 1990–91 season earned him a move to top-flight side [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] in August 1991, with manager [[Ian Porterfield]] paying a fee reported to be £375,000.<ref name="beano1"/> 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 at [[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]] after sustaining a leg injury which became infected.<ref name="beano1"/> In February of the [[1991–92 Port Vale F.C. season|1991–92 season]] he joined [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] on [[Loan (sports)|loan]], but made just six goalless appearances for [[John Rudge]]'s Valiants, who struggled in vain to avoid [[promotion and relegation|relegation]] out of the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]].<ref name="kent">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=7|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}}</ref> He only stayed for a few months of [[1992–93 Chelsea F.C. season|1992–93]], the inaugural season of the [[Premier League]]. It was rumoured that his friendship with [[Vinnie Jones]] led him astray and helped to bring about his poor form.<ref name="Joe Allon">{{cite web|last=Parkinson|first=Ed|title=Joe Allon|url=http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2934/29/|work=When Saturday Comes|access-date=23 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522122909/http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2934/29/|archive-date=22 May 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In all he started just four games (with a further 14 [[Substitute (association football)|substitute]] appearances) and scored three goals for the Blues. He was sold to [[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] in November 1992 for a club-record incoming fee of £275,000.<ref name="bees05">{{cite book |year=2005 |title=Brentford Football Club Official Matchday Magazine versus Hull City 7 May 2005 |page=46}}</ref>
===Brentford=== The "Bees" were relegated out of the First Division at the end of the [[1992–93 Football League|1992–93 season]] under [[Phil Holder]]. He scored 28 goals in 56 league and cup appearances at [[Griffin Park]]. However, the new manager [[David Webb (footballer)|David Webb]] wanted Allon off the wage bill.<ref name="beano1"/> He had a brief spell on loan at [[Southend United F.C.|Southend United]] in September 1993, where he punched manager [[Barry Fry]] in the face upon scoring his 100th career league goal.<ref name="beano1"/>
===Port Vale=== Allon moved back to Port Vale – this time permanently – in March 1994.<ref name="kent"/> 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.<ref name="beano2"/> Chairman [[Bill Bell (businessman)|Bill 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.<ref name="beano1"/> He scored twice in what remained of the [[1993–94 Port Vale F.C. season|1993–94 campaign]], helping the club to win promotion out of the Second Division.<ref name="kent"/> He scored eight goals in 22 games at [[Vale Park]] in [[1994–95 Port Vale F.C. season|1994–95]], before he was sold to [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] side [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] for £42,500 in July 1995.<ref name="kent"/>
===Lincoln City=== Allon was the highest-paid player outside of the First Vision at Lincoln.<ref name="beano2">{{cite journal |title=The Joe Allon Interview (Part Two) |journal=The Vale Park Beano |volume=51}}</ref> After just five games and three months at [[Sincil Bank]] he was on the move again, during which time manager [[Sam Ellis (footballer)|Sam Ellis]] was replaced by [[John Beck (footballer)|John Beck]].<ref name="beano2"/>
===Return to Hartlepool=== Allon returned to [[Victoria Park (Hartlepool)|Victoria Park]] when Hartlepool manager [[Keith Houchen]] splashed out £40,000. He scored nine goals in 24 games in [[1995–96 Football League|1995–96]] to become joint top-scorer, but a persistent knee injury restricted his first-team appearances.<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> He scored 11 goals in 34 games in [[1996–97 Football League|1996–97]] to again become the club's top-scorer, as Hartlepool finished just four points above the bottom of the Football League under the stewardship of [[Mick Tait]].<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> His goal spree towards the end of the season helped the club to avoid a drop into the [[National League (division)|Conference]].<ref name="Joe Allon"/> He only made it onto the [[Football pitch|pitch]] five times in [[1997–98 Football League|1997–98]], but still found the net twice, both against Colchester at Victoria Park, before he retired due to a [[patella fracture]].<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/> His total of 79 goals for Hartlepool puts him in seventh place in their overall list of top scorers.<ref name="inthemadcrowd"/>
==Post-retirement== After retiring from football, Allon presented an award-winning ''BBC Inside Out'' documentary on grassroots sport and worked as a summariser at [[BBC Tees]] radio.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Karen|title=Joe Allon on scrapes with Vinnie and new romance|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/joe-allon-scrapes-vinnie-new-1369899|access-date=6 July 2016|work=Evening Chronicle|date=23 August 2012}}</ref> Between 2006 and 2008 Allon worked under ex-[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] teammate [[Dennis Wise]] on the coaching staff at [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Weekend Interview: Joe Allon|url=http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/12/the-weekend-interview--joe-allon.html|website=chelseafc.com|access-date=6 July 2016}}</ref> He suffered a [[mental breakdown]] following the death of his mother due to [[Alzheimer's disease]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Karen|title=Ex-Newcastle United star on his mental breakdown|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/local-news/ex-newcastle-united-star-mental-breakdown-1369836|access-date=6 July 2016|work=Evening Chronicle|date=25 February 2013}}</ref>
==Career statistics==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref><ref>{{Soccerbase}}</ref> |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|[[FA Cup]] !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="4"|[[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] |[[1984–85 Newcastle United F.C. season|1984–85]] |[[Football League First Division|First Division]] |1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0 |- |[[1985–86 Newcastle United F.C. season|1985–86]] |First Division |3||1||0||0||0||0||3||1 |- |[[1986–87 Newcastle United F.C. season|1986–87]] |First Division |5||1||0||0||1||0||6||1 |- !colspan="2"|Total !9!!2!!0!!0!!1!!0!!10!!2 |- |rowspan="3"|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] |[[1987–88 Swansea City A.F.C. season|1987–88]] |[[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] |32||12||2||0||4||1||38||13 |- |[[1988–89 Swansea City A.F.C. season|1988–89]] |[[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] |2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !34!!12!!2!!0!!4!!1!!40!!13 |- |rowspan="4"|[[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]] |[[1988–89 Hartlepool United F.C. season|1988–89]] |Fourth Division |21||3||4||2||2||0||27||5 |- |[[1989–90 Hartlepool United F.C. season|1989–90]] |Fourth Division |45||17||1||0||3||0||49||17 |- |[[1990–91 Hartlepool United F.C. season|1990–91]] |Fourth Division |46||28||2||3||7||4||55||35 |- !colspan="2"|Total !112!!48!!7!!5!!12!!4!!131!!57 |- |rowspan="3"|[[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] |[[1991–92 Chelsea F.C. season|1991–92]] |First Division |11||2||0||0||7||1||18||3 |- |[[1992–93 Chelsea F.C. season|1992–93]] |[[Premier League]] |3||0||0||0||0||0||3||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !14!!2!!0!!0!!7!!1!!21!!3 |- |[[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] (loan) |[[1991–92 Port Vale F.C. season|1991–92]] |[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] |6||0||0||0||0||0||6||0 |- |rowspan="3"|[[Brentford F.C.|Brentford]] |[[1992–93 Brentford F.C. season|1992–93]] |First Division |24||6||1||0||5||5||30||11 |- |[[1993–94 Brentford F.C. season|1993–94]] |Second Division |21||13||1||2||4||2||26||17 |- !colspan="2"|Total !45!!19!!2!!2!!9!!7!!56!!28 |- |[[Southend United F.C.|Southend United]] (loan) |[[1993–94 Southend United F.C. season|1993–94]] |First Division |3||0||0||0||0||0||3||0 |- |rowspan="3"|Port Vale |[[1993–94 Port Vale F.C. season|1993–94]] |Second Division |4||2||0||0||0||0||4||2 |- |[[1994–95 Port Vale F.C. season|1994–95]] |First Division |19||7||2||1||1||0||22||8 |- !colspan="2"|Total !23!!9!!2!!1!!1!!0!!26!!10 |- |[[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]] |[[1995–96 Lincoln City F.C. season|1995–96]] |Third Division |4||0||0||0||1||0||5||0 |- |rowspan="4"|[[Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United]] |[[1995–96 Hartlepool United F.C. season|1995–96]] |Third Division |22||8||0||0||2||1||24||9 |- |[[1996–97 Hartlepool United F.C. season|1996–97]] |Third Division |30||9||1||0||3||2||34||11 |- |[[1997–98 Hartlepool United F.C. season|1997–98]] |Third Division |4||2||0||0||1||0||5||2 |- !colspan="2"|Total !56!!19!!1!!0!!6!!3!!63!!22 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !306!!111!!14!!8!!41!!16!!361!!135 |}
==Honours== '''Newcastle United''' *[[FA Youth Cup]]: 1985
'''Swansea City''' *[[Football League Fourth Division]] play-offs: [[1988 Football League Fourth Division play-off final|1988]]
'''Hartlepool United''' *[[Football League Fourth Division]] third-place promotion: [[1990–91 Football League|1990–91]]
'''Port Vale''' *[[Football League Second Division]] second-place promotion: [[1993–94 Port Vale F.C. season|1993–94]]
'''Individual''' *[[PFA Team of the Year (1990s)|PFA Team of the Year]]: [[1990–91 Football League#Fourth Division|1990–91 Fourth Division]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Lynch |title=The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes |page=148}}</ref> *Hennessey Cognac North East Player of the Year: [[1990–91 Football League|1990–91]] *North East Football Writers Player of the Year: [[1990–91 Football League|1990–91]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{1990–91 Football League Fourth Division PFA Team of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allon, Joe}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1966 births]] [[Category:Footballers from Gateshead]] [[Category:English men's footballers]] [[Category:England men's youth international footballers]] [[Category:Men's association football forwards]] [[Category:Newcastle United F.C. players]] [[Category:Swansea City A.F.C. players]] [[Category:Hartlepool United F.C. players]] [[Category:Chelsea F.C. players]] [[Category:Port Vale F.C. players]] [[Category:Brentford F.C. players]] [[Category:Southend United F.C. players]] [[Category:Lincoln City F.C. players]] [[Category:English Football League players]] [[Category:Premier League players]] [[Category:English football coaches]] [[Category:Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff]] [[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]