Clive Allen

Clive Darren Allen was born on May 20, 1961, in Stepney, London, into a family deeply rooted in professional football, a legacy that significantly shaped his early career. His father, Les Allen, was a member of Tottenham Hotspur’s Double-winning team in the 1960-61 season, and other family members including his brother Bradley, and cousins Martin and Paul also pursued professional football careers. Allen began his professional journey at Queens Park Rangers in the late 1970s, making his league debut in November 1978 against Chelsea. He quickly established himself as a forward, scoring 32 league goals in 49 appearances, including a hat-trick on his full debut. This early success earned him a move to Arsenal in 1980 for a fee of £1.25 million, though he did not play a competitive match for them.

Allen’s career progression saw him move to Crystal Palace in a swap deal with Kenny Sansom, where he became the club’s top scorer in the 1980-81 season with nine league goals and 11 in all competitions. He then returned to Queens Park Rangers, playing under Terry Venables, and contributed to their Second Division Championship win in 1982-83, scoring 27 league goals over two seasons. In 1984, Allen joined Tottenham Hotspur for £700,000, continuing a family tradition. His most notable season at Tottenham was 1986-87, where he scored a club record of 49 goals across all competitions—33 league goals, four in the FA Cup, and 12 in the League Cup. His exceptional performance earned him both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year awards. Despite his individual success, the season concluded without silverware for Tottenham, as they finished third in the league and lost the FA Cup final to Coventry.

Later in his career, Allen played for Bordeaux in France, scoring 13 goals in 19 league games during the 1988-89 season. He then returned to England, with spells at Manchester City from 1989 to 1991, Chelsea in 1991-92, and West Ham United from 1992 to 1994, where his 14 goals helped secure promotion to the Premier League in the 1992-93 season. His career concluded with brief stints at Millwall and Carlisle United. Beyond traditional football, Allen ventured into American football in 1997 as a placekicker for the London Monarchs in NFL Europe. Today, he works as a football commentator for various sports networks including ESPN and BT Sport, covering leagues like Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga, and European competitions.