Ronnie Allen

Port Vale Allen signed amateur forms with Port Vale in December 1944 at the age of 15. He made his full debut on 2 April 1945 in a 2–2 draw against Wrexham in the Football League North, playing at outside-right and laying on one of Vale's goals. At this point in his life he was a mere and weighed under 8 stone (50 kg). In total, he played 156 games for the club (including wartime appearances), scoring 40 goals.

West Bromwich Albion

Allen was transferred to West Bromwich Albion on 2 March 1950 for £20,000, a club record fee for both clubs at the time. This was more than double the previous Albion record, set when Jackie Vernon was brought to the club three years earlier. Allen scored on his debut two days later to secure a 1–1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a First Division match. The attendance of 60,945 remains a record for a league game at The Hawthorns. Though only and barely , he emerged as a talented striker, helping to define the modern role of target man. Signed by Jack Smith, he was soon converted from a wide player into a centre-forward. though the "Baggies" struggled in the league, finishing a disappointing 17th.

He became the club's top-scorer for a fifth and final time in 1955–56, hitting the net 17 times. Allen's transfer record was broken in March 1956, when the club paid Fulham £25,000 for Bobby Robson. The club reached the FA Cup semi-finals again in 1956–57, only to lose out to eventual winners Aston Villa, following a replay. Albion managed to improve their league form in 1957–58, finishing fourth, as Robson and Derek Kevan's strike partnership replaced that of Allen's and Nicholls'. Though Nicholls departed, Allen remained a key member of the first-team, as West Brom finished fifth in 1958–59; he further enhanced his legendary status at Albion by scoring the equaliser late in the game against Aston Villa to send Albion's biggest rivals down. New manager Gordon Clark led West Brom to a fourth-place finish in 1959–60, which was followed by a tenth-place finish in 1960–61.

He scored a total of 234 goals in 458 appearances for West Brom, making him the second-highest scorer in the club's history, behind Tony Brown. This record also makes him eighth in the club's all-time appearance charts.

Crystal Palace Allen was sold to Crystal Palace for a £4,500 fee in May 1961. Under Arthur Rowe's stewardship, the "Glaziers" finished 1961–62 15th in the Third Division. Dick Graham then took the reins for the rest of Allen's time at Selhurst Park, as the club struggled in mid-table in 1962–63, only to win promotion as runners-up in 1963–64. Although his appearances in 1963–64 were restricted by injury (to 27), he was officially captain of the side that season. After scoring a Second Division goal in 1964–65, he became the only player to score a Football League goal in the first twenty consecutive seasons of post-war football. He had to wait almost two years for his second cap, which came against Scotland on 3 April 1954, He also appeared against Yugoslavia, and was included in England's initial squad for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but did not make the final travelling party. He nevertheless earned two further caps, the first of which was a 3–2 win against Wales in a British Home Championship game, and the last of which was against West Germany on 1 December 1954. Albion teammate Frank Griffin stated that "There was too much emphasis put on height for England strikers. They all had to be like Lawton and be over 6ft. He should have played for England more, there was no doubting Allen's sheer skill. That should have been enough."

In addition to scoring two goals in five full internationals, he also appeared twice for the England B team; both matches took place in 1954. He also scored twice for England B when they beat a Sheffield XI 5–4 in October 1957. However, this match is not included in the England B records compiled by RSSSF. The official West Brom website describes Allen as "the complete footballer", and compares him to the Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás. and replaced by former Port Vale teammate Bill McGarry.

Allen took up the post of manager at Spanish club Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 1969, replacing Rafael Iriondo. He led Athletic to the runners-up spot in La Liga in 1969–70, as they finished one point behind Atlético Madrid. In 1970–71 the Lions finished fifth, eight points behind champions Valencia CF. He remained at the club until November 1971, leaving shortly after being eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Eintracht Braunschweig.

He was appointed manager at Portuguese side Sporting CP for the 1972–73 campaign. He was sacked before the end of the season due to a poor showing in the Primeira Liga – the club ended up in fifth place, equalling their worst-ever finish, despite the goalscoring form of Héctor Yazalde. Champions S.L. Benfica won 28 of their 30 league games. Despite their league form, new manager Mário Lino did lead Sporting to their ninth Taça de Portugal success after defeating Vitória 3–2 at the Estádio Nacional.

He returned to the Midlands to take up the management reins at Walsall in July 1973. He stepped down in December, to take up the financially lucrative post as advisor to the Saudi Arabia national football team. He signed Steve MacKenzie, Andy King, Martin Jol, and Romeo Zondervan; none of whom would prove particularly effective. Albion did well in the cup competitions, reaching the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, although they suffered an early exit from the UEFA Cup. But Allen could not put together a good run of form in the First Division, and Albion only stayed up after winning their final game of the season. He then ended his managerial career in May 1982, choosing instead to work as the club's general manager. He had a son, Russell Allen, who started his career at West Brom, before playing close to 300 league games at Tranmere Rovers and Mansfield Town between 1971 and 1981. A minute's silence was held before kick-off and proceeds from the match donated to the Alzheimer's Society, a disease he had been diagnosed with in later life. and while managing the Spanish side in 1971 he had arranged two friendlies between the clubs for the benefit of Bobby Hope and José Ángel Iribar.

In 2004 Allen was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Allen goal.

Managerial

Honours West Bromwich Albion FA Cup: 1953–54 FA Charity Shield: 1954 (shared)

Crystal Palace Football League Third Division second-place promotion: 1963–64

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1966–67

Los Angeles Wolves United Soccer Association: 1967

England British Home Championship: 1953–54, 1954–55