Leslie William Allen (born 4 September 1937) is an English former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager who played as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

Playing career

Allen started his playing career at amateur club Briggs Sports where he helped them to reach the semi-finals of the Amateur Cup in 1954. In the same year Allen signed for Chelsea on his 17th birthday in September 1954 but never established his place in the Chelsea first-team. He scored 12 League goals for Chelsea in 44 appearances.

Tottenham Hotspur

Allen joined

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 ...

in December 1959 as part exchange for Johnny Brooks. He scored twice in his debut game for Spurs against Newcastle, and five against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in the 1959–60 FA Cup tie a few weeks later that ended 13–2, which is the highest scoring FA Cup tie of the 20th century, and the club's record win. He was a key member of Tottenham's double winning side of 1960–61, forming a lethal goalscoring partnership with Bobby Smith. He scored 23 goals in the league that season, and four in the cups. In all, he scored 47 goals in 119 league appearances for the club, and 61 goals in all appearances (134). but struggled to retain his place following the arrival of

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth- ...

, and had to compete with Bobby Smith for the centre-forward spot. Allen earned an England call-up in February 1961 where he earned one cap for England Under 23s against Wales.

Queens Park Rangers

Allen joined

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 ...

in July 1965 for a recorded sum of £21,000. Allen scored 55 goals in 123 starts and five substitute appearances. He was a member of the QPR team who became the first Third Division side to win the Football League Cup Final 1967.

Managerial career

Allen briefly managed QPR during the 1969–70 season. In November 1972 he became manager of

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, remaining in charge until 1974.

Family

His brother

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is some ...

, sons Clive and Bradley and nephews

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

and

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

were also professional footballers.

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1960–61 *

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 ...

: 1960–61 Queens Park Rangers *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

: 1966–67 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 1966–67

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Les 1937 births Living people Men's association football inside forwards English men's footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Chelsea F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Aris Thessaloniki F.C. managers Swindon Town F.C. players Footballers from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham People from Dagenham Footballers from the London Borough of Havering People from Hornchurch English Football League representative players Les