Adam McIlroy Allan (12 September 1904 – after 1937) was a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played at centre half. He played for

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and Queen of the South.

Early years

Adam Allan was born in

Newarthill Newarthill is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated roughly three miles north-east of the town of Motherwell. It has a population of around 6,200. Most local amenities are shared with the adjacent villages of Carfin, Holytown and Ne ...

, Scotland. Adam Allan started his senior career with Falkirk.

Sunderland

Allan moved South to join Sunderland. His debut was 27 August 1927 in a 3–3 draw against Portsmouth at home. He was there for three seasons, with his last game being a 4–1 defeat away against Everton on 3 May 1930. He made 20 appearances in the league that first season."The Stat Cat"
At Sunderland he was a teammate of the player who was the 1928/29 top scorer in England's top division, ex Queen of the South player, Dave Halliday. This was Allan's most successful season at Sunderland. The club ended the season as England's fourth team in the league in which Allan had made 29 appearances as well an FA Cup appearance. In his third and final season at Roker, Allan made 14 first team appearances and a further FA Cup appearance (a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest). Thus in total he made 63 league appearances and two appearances in the FA Cup for Sunderland.

Reading

After Sunderland, Allan joined Reading for whom he made 106 appearances in the league scoring three goals.*Joyce, Michael: "The Football League player's records 1888 to 1939 " ().

Queen of the South

Allan joined newly promoted Queen of the South in 1933 for their first season in the top division of Scottish football. Allan played a prominent role in Queens achieving what remains their highest top division finish, fourth in 1933/34. Among the scalps Queens took that season were double victories over Celtic, Hibs and Hearts. Queens reached the Scottish Cup quarter finals before losing to two deflected goals away to St. Johnstone. Allan was part of the George McLachlan managed 1936 Summer tour to France, Luxembourg, and Algeria. On the back of league wins against Dundee and Hibs, on 30 January 1937 captained by Willie Savage, with Willie Fotheringham in goal and with Willie Culbert,

Laurie Cumming Laurence Stanley Slater Cumming (10 April 1905 – 19 November 1980) was a professional footballer and journalist, born in Derry, Ireland. Cumming played for Alloa Athletic, Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Southampton, Queen of the South, ...

, Joe Tulip and Jackie Law, Sr also playing, Queen of the South condemned Rangers to a 1–0 first round Scottish Cup exit. The Evening Times reported, "It was more than a merited win for Queen of the South. It was a triumph".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Adam Scottish men's footballers Falkirk F.C. players Reading F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players English Football League players 1904 births Year of death missing Men's association football defenders