| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rory Allen | ||
| Date of birth | 17 October 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Beckenham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995-1999 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | (2) |
| 1998 | → Luton Town (loan) | 9 | (7) |
| 1999-2002 | Portsmouth | 15 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Rory Allen (born 17 October 1977 in Beckenham, Kent) is an English ex-professional football player.
A striker, Allen made his professional football debut for Tottenham Hotspur on 4 September 1996 as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Wimbledon (aged 18). He went on to score four times in 28 games for Spurs including starting a memorable 3rd round FA Cup tie in 1997 against Manchester United alongside Neale Fenn up front. Two of his four goals came in the league, against Newcastle[1] and Manchester United,[2] also scoring a brace against Preston North End in the League Cup.[3]
Allen was sent on loan to Luton Town in 1997, scoring 7 goals in 9 appearances in what was then Division Two (the third tier of English football). Portsmouth paid Spurs a club record £1,000,000 for him in July 1999, as he became Pompey's first million-pound signing.[4]
Rory retired from the game in 2002 aged 25, having already undergone eight operations to his ankles and knees over the course of his career. He then left to go and see The Ashes in Australia, where he saw all five matches. "It was an amazing experience," he recalls, "Despite the scoreline!"[5] England lost the series 4-1.
Rory is now forging a career as a civil servant at the Foreign Office in London.