Bradley James Allen (born 13 September 1971) is an English football coach and former 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 is an academy

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. As a player, he was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

who notably played in the

for

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

. He also played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

before finishing his career with spells in non-league with

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

and Redbridge. He represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at under-21 level, earning eight caps and scoring two goals. Allen joined

as a youth team coach in 2013, having previously worked as a PE Teacher and sports co-commentator.

Club career

Queens Park Rangers

Born in

Harold Wood Harold Wood is a suburban neighbourhood in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is situated east-northeast of Charing Cross. Harold Wood was part of the ancient parish of Hornchurch, which became the Liberty of Havering. Most o ...

, London, Allen began his career with

, where he signed professionally in 1988 during the tenure of Jim Smith, although Smith was replaced by

Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an English footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million pla ...

midway through Allen's first professional season. Over the coming years, he went from strength to strength and began to see regular runs in the first-team. During the inaugural

season in 1992–93 season, Allen played six times and scored twice, once in a 1–1 draw with Chelsea in January 1993 and the winner during a 2–1 win against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

in May 1993. On 20 November 1993, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 3–0 win against Everton. Allen was eventually placed on the transfer list during the ill-fated 1995–96 season in which Rangers were relegated. In total, Allen scored 27 goals in 81 league games for QPR.

Charlton Athletic

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

paid £400,000 for Allen's services in March 1996. He scored six goals in 21 appearances in the league and League Cup in his first full season with the club but chances became harder to come by for Allen, as he made only 14 first-team appearances and could net only two goals during the 1997–98 season as Charlton were promoted to the Premier League. He then made only one appearance for the club in the 1998–99 season, and then joined Division Two side

in February 1999. This spelt the end of his time with Charlton, having scored nine goals in 40 league appearances. Recruited by Colchester manager

Mick Wadsworth Michael Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950) is an English football coach and former player. Born in Barnsley his playing career spanned only one season in The Football League with Scunthorpe United, along with spells playing for Gainsborough Trin ...

, Allen made his debut for the U's in a 1–1 home draw with

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 ...

on 27 February 1999, before being replaced by

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

after 68 minutes. He scored one goal while on loan with the club, a 40th-minute equaliser during a 2–2 draw with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on 9 March. Allen made four appearances in total during his short stay at

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was the home of Colchester United Football Club from its inception in 1937, up until the club relocated to Colchester Community Stadium in 2008, resulting in its closure. The ...

Grimsby Town

Allen was placed on the transfer list at Charlton and transferred to

in the summer of 1999, who at the time plied their trade in the First Division under

Alan Buckley Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside. As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, ...

. He scored nine goals in 36 games in all competitions in the 1999–2000 season but found himself limited to just 25 appearances in the 2000–01 season, being limited by injuries and only managing to score six goals. The 2001–02 season saw a return of five goals in 31 games, but his injury record and Grimsby's financial plight saw Allen released at the end of the season. He ended his Grimsby stay with 15 goals in 80 league games.

Peterborough United

Allen joined

on trial in the summer of 2002, where he featured in a friendly against

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...

. However, he initially delayed joining the club and also refused offers from

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

promotion hopefuls

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

and Cyprus-based club

APOEL Nicosia APOEL (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a major Cypriot multi-spo ...

. He then had an unsuccessful trial spell with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

before signing for Peterborough on 29 August 2002. Allen scored three goals in 11 games for the Posh but Peterborough chairman

Barry Fry Barry Francis Fry (born 7 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. An inside forward, Fry scored a goal for England Schoolboys in front of nearly 100,000 supporters at Wembley and was seen as the best player in the team. H ...

confirmed that his short-term contract would not be renewed when it expired in December 2002. Having been linked with a move to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

Bristol Rovers

signed Allen in November 2002 from Peterborough following the expiry of his short-term contract. He made eight appearances in the league for the club and scored one goal against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

, as he was released at the end of the 2002–03 season. He also scored once in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Hornchurch

Ambitious

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

club

signed Allen in September 2003 following trials with a number of clubs. He was one of a number of former professional players with

experience in a squad that knocked League side

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

out of the

in 2003. However, with the club facing financial turmoil, Hornchurch began releasing players during the 2003–04 season, with Allen one of the squad members released.

Redbridge

Following his release from Hornchurch, Allen quickly joined

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

side Ford United, who would later change name to become Redbridge. Having scored on his debut, his stint did not last long, and was subsequently released in July 2004, with club manager Craig Edwards stating that the club would prefer "to go with younger players" for the coming season and that there were financial implications. Allen then joined Billericay Town on trial, scoring in a pre-season friendly against

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former ...

International career

Allen represented

at youth level and earned eight caps at under-21 level, where he scored twice.

Coaching career

After retiring from the game in 2004, Allen became a

PE teacher Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing primary, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United States it is informally called gym class or ...

and became an academy coach at

, where he is running the under-15 side.

Media career

In addition to his coaching, Allen has worked in the media, providing co-commentary for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

Football First ''Football First – Match Choice'' is an interactive television programme on Sky Sports that shows extended highlights of every Premier League match played on the day, except matches shown live on BT Sport. Using the red button, the end user can ...

programme and also for radio coverage. Allen is also a regular co-commentator on BBC London 94.9, formerly alongside Phil Parry.

Personal life

Allen comes from a famous footballing family. He is the son of former Chelsea, Tottenham and QPR player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Les Allen Leslie William Allen (born 4 September 1937) is an English former football player and manager who played as an inside forward. Playing career Allen started his playing career at amateur club Briggs Sports where he helped them to reach the s ...

. His brother is former England international

Clive Allen Clive Darren Allen (born 20 May 1961) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward for seven different London clubs. Allen was a prolific striker throughout his career ...

and his nephew is former

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

player Oliver Allen. His uncle, Dennis Allen played over 300 league games for

, and his cousin

Martin Allen Martin James Allen (born 14 August 1965) is an English football manager and former player. He 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 ...

has managed a number of Football League clubs, alongside representing QPR and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. He is also related to Charlie Allen, Martin's son, who has played for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

and Gillingham. Bradley is also a cousin to

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...

, who made appearances for West Ham, Tottenham and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

amongst others.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Bradley 1971 births Living people People from Harold Wood Footballers from the London Borough of Havering English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players Redbridge F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff

Bradley Bradley may refer to: People * Bradley (given name) * Bradley (surname) Places In the United Kingdom In England: * Bradley, Cheshire * Bradley, Derbyshire * Bradley (house), a manor in Kingsteignton, Devon * Bradley, Gloucestershire * ...

English football coaches