Malcolm Allison facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Malcolm Allison

Allison in Manchester City colours during the 1970s
Personal information
Full name	Malcolm Alexander Allison
Date of birth	(1927-09-05)5 September 1927
Place of birth	Dartford, England
Date of death	14 October 2010(2010-10-14) (aged 83)
Place of death	Trafford, England
Playing position	Centre half
Youth career
0000–1945	Erith & Belvedere
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1945–1951	Charlton Athletic	2	(0)
1951–1957	West Ham United	238	(10)
1960–1962	Romford	49	(1)
Total		289	(11)
Teams managed
1963–1964	Bath City
1964	Toronto City
1964–1965	Plymouth Argyle
1965–1971	Manchester City (assistant)
1971–1973	Manchester City
1973–1976	Crystal Palace
1976–1977	Galatasaray
1978–1979	Plymouth Argyle
1979–1980	Manchester City
1980–1981	Crystal Palace
1981	Yeovil Town
1981–1982	Sporting CP
1982–1984	Middlesbrough
1984	Willington
1985–1986	Kuwait
1986–1988	Vitória de Setúbal
1988	SC Farense
1992–1993	Bristol Rovers
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Malcolm Alexander Allison (born 5 September 1927 – died 14 October 2010) was a famous English football player and manager. People often called him "Big Mal". He was known for his unique style, often wearing a fedora hat and smoking a cigar. He was also very outspoken and confident.

Malcolm Allison showed his talent for coaching early in his career at West Ham United. He was a strong defender and helped guide younger players, including Bobby Moore, who later became a World Cup-winning captain for England. Sadly, his playing career ended early in 1958 because of a serious illness.

As a coach, he is best remembered for helping to transform Manchester City. He worked alongside manager Joe Mercer in the 1960s and early 1970s. Together, they helped Manchester City win six major trophies in just seven years! After Joe Mercer left, Allison managed the club on his own twice. He also managed other well-known English clubs like Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough, as well as teams in Portugal and the Kuwait national team.

Early Life and Education

Malcolm Allison was born in Dartford, England, in September 1927. His father was an electrical engineer.

Malcolm went to secondary modern schools. He actually failed his 11-plus exam on purpose! He did this so he could go to a school where he could play football, instead of rugby. This shows how much he loved football from a young age.

Playing Career

Malcolm Allison started his football journey at Charlton Athletic. He didn't play many games there, only two in six years. He left the club after telling the coaches that their training methods, which mostly involved running up and down stadium steps, were old-fashioned.

In 1951, Allison joined West Ham United. Here, he gained valuable experience as a player and started to develop his coaching skills. He often stayed after training to talk about new tactics with other players who were interested.

His promising career as a centre-half ended too soon. In 1957, he became ill with tuberculosis and had to have a lung removed. This meant he couldn't play professionally anymore. For a while, he left football and worked in other jobs, like selling cars. He eventually returned to play one last season for a non-league team called Romford in 1963.

Managerial Career

Malcolm Allison's first experience with coaching was at West Ham. He helped lead training sessions and became a mentor to young players, including the legendary Bobby Moore. He played a big part in setting up the club's famous youth academy principles.

After gaining more coaching experience, Allison became a manager at Bath City, a non-league club. He immediately increased the number of training sessions for the players. Even though the players had other full-time jobs, they had to train four times a week! In his first season, he led Bath City to a good third-place finish in the league. They also had an exciting FA Cup match against a top team, Bolton Wanderers, drawing 1–1 before losing the replay.

After his success at Bath, Allison briefly coached in North America for Toronto City. He then returned to England and joined Plymouth Argyle in 1964. He even convinced a player named Tony Book to change his birth certificate to appear younger so the club would sign him!

Manchester City's Golden Era

In 1965, Joe Mercer became the manager of Manchester City. Because Mercer had some health issues, he wanted a younger, energetic assistant. He chose Malcolm Allison, who he knew from coaching courses.

The time when Mercer and Allison worked together is seen as one of the most successful periods in Manchester City's history before the 2010s. They surprised everyone by winning the First Division title in 1967–68. Some people had even bet that City would win the league at very long odds, like 200 to 1!

In the years that followed, they continued to win trophies. They won the FA Cup in 1969, and both the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1970. Their team included famous players like Colin Bell, Mike Summerbee, and Francis Lee.

Allison even turned down an offer to manage the famous Italian club Juventus. He thought that Joe Mercer would step aside and let him become the main manager at Manchester City. However, Mercer didn't want to leave. Their relationship became difficult, and eventually, Allison took full charge. Mercer then left to manage Coventry City in 1972. Allison was in sole charge, but the team struggled, and he resigned in March 1973.

Crystal Palace and Big Changes

On 31 March 1973, Malcolm Allison became the manager of Crystal Palace. The team was struggling in the top league and was soon relegated.

Allison immediately made big changes to the club, both on and off the field. He became very popular with the media, raising Crystal Palace's profile. He changed the club's old nickname from 'The Glaziers' to 'The Eagles'. He also changed their team colours, which had been claret and blue for 68 years. He introduced the now famous red-and-blue striped home kit, and later, an all-white kit with a red and blue sash. These changes still define the club's look today.

However, the next season (1973–74) was tough, and Crystal Palace was relegated for a second time in a row. Allison tried to rebuild the team. He made some unpopular decisions, like replacing a popular goalkeeper. Despite the team's struggles, Allison's larger-than-life personality helped keep the fans' hopes high. One player, Jim Cannon, said that Malcolm Allison "put Palace on the map."

The 1975–76 season was Allison's most successful at Crystal Palace. He led the team to the FA Cup semi-finals, beating stronger teams like Leeds United, Chelsea, and Sunderland. They lost to the eventual winners, Southampton, in the semi-final. This FA Cup run was also when Allison first wore his famous fedora hat during a game. He also used a new tactic called the sweeper system, which was quite new at the time.

Allison resigned in May 1976. He returned to Crystal Palace for a short time in 1980, trying to save them from relegation, but it was too late.

Return to Manchester City

In 1979, Malcolm Allison was asked to return to Manchester City by the chairman, Peter Swales. City had only won one trophy since Allison left in 1972.

Allison was given a lot of money to build his new team. He made some controversial decisions, like selling popular players and buying new ones, including Steve Daley for a record-breaking fee. Daley turned out to be an expensive mistake. Allison later said that the chairman had paid too much for Daley. Allison left a year later in 1980, with City struggling.

Success Overseas

Malcolm Allison also managed football teams in other countries. He managed Galatasaray in Turkey (1976–1977). He also managed Sporting CP in Portugal. With Sporting, he had great success, winning both the league championship and the Portuguese Cup in the 1981–1982 season. This was the only league title Sporting won for many years, so Allison is still fondly remembered by their fans.

Personality and Legacy

Malcolm Allison was known as one of the most exciting and unique characters in football. When he was assistant manager at Manchester City, he loved to tease their rivals, Manchester United. His outspoken nature made him very popular with newspapers.

Allison was also known for being a great innovator. He helped change and improve training methods in English football.

Later Life and Tributes

In 2001, it was announced that Malcolm Allison had developed dementia.

In January 2007, Crystal Palace fans organized a special tribute to Allison, which they called 'Fedora Day'. Fans wore his famous fedora hats, smoked cigars, and drank champagne to celebrate the 31st anniversary of his famous FA Cup run with the club. This event received a lot of attention from the national press.

Malcolm Allison passed away in a nursing home on 14 October 2010, at the age of 83. His funeral took place on 27 October. His coffin, draped with a sky-blue Manchester City scarf, was greeted by applause from around 300 people. Next to his coffin was an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne, a nod to his famous personality.

Quotes

• "A lot of hard work went into this defeat."
• "You're not a real manager unless you've been sacked."
• "We'll terrify the cowards of Europe" – Allison after Manchester City qualified for the European Cup in 1968.

Managerial Statistics

Honours

Player

West Ham United

• Football League Second Division: 1957–58

Coach

Manchester City

• Football League First Division: 1967–68
• Football League Second Division: 1965–66
• FA Cup: 1969
• League Cup: 1970
• Charity Shield: 1968, 1972; runner-up: 1969
• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1970

Sporting CP

• Primeira Liga: 1981–82
• Cup of Portugal: 1981–82