Gary McAllister

Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December, 1964, in Newarthill, Motherwell) is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Motherwell, scoring 8 goals in 70 appearances, until his fine performance in the 1985 Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic caught the eye of Leicester City manager Gordon Milne. He signed for the English club, along with Motherwell team-mate Ally Mauchlen, for a combined fee of £250,000 in 1985. McAllister went on to play for Leeds United, Coventry City and Liverpool He was also a Scotland international and is a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having won over 50 caps. He was a member of the 1990 FIFA World Cup squad and captained the 1996 European Football Championship team. He also memorably had a penalty saved by England's David Seaman in this tournamount. McAllister arrived at Leeds United in 1990 shortly after the club had achieved promotion to the English first division, then the top rung of English football. Leeds performed well in McAllister's first season at Elland Road, 1990-1991. The club finished fourth in the table and reached the League Cup semi-finals, not a bad accomplishment for a newly promoted side. McAllister formed a strong midfield quartet that season with fellow Scottish international Gordon Strachan and relative youngsters David Batty and Gary Speed. This midfield was the force behind the success of the following season, 1991-1992, when Leeds United were crowned League Champions. The title winning team owed a lot to the midfield. The side was bereft of international talent in attack and defence and so it fell to Strachan and McAllister, Wales international Speed and England's Batty to provide that international class. The quality of that midfield was that anyone of the four could pop up in any position, be it left, right or centre, across the midfield, though Batty tended to be the 'holding' midfield player whilst McAllister, Strachan and Speed provided the creativity. McAllister's dead-ball skills were also utilised by top-scorer Lee Chapman who scored the majority of his goals from headers and thrived off the service provided by McAllister and Strachan's dead-balls. The rest of McAllister's time at Leeds saw the club fail to recapture those heights. The highest the club finished during this period was fifth in 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 and the lowest was 17th in 1992-1993, one of the worst finishes of a defending league champion in English football history. Despite this, between 1992 and 1996, when McAllister left Leeds for Coventry, he captained the side and won a special place in the hearts of Leeds United fans with his fine attitude and blistering long-range strikes. His final season with Leeds (1995-1996) may have been disappointing (they finished 16th in the Premiership) but it allowed McAllister to achieve one of his first footballing ambitions, to captain a side at Wembley Stadium. He lead his side out in the 1996 League Cup Final but the game would end in defeat; Aston Villa comfortably winning 3-0. From 1996 until 2000 Gary McAllister would serve Coventry first under manager Ron Atkinson and then former Leeds team-mate Strachan. In 2000 he completed a surprise move to Liverpool. Not many would have doubted McAllister's ability but many Reds fans may have questioned manager Gérard Houllier's decision to sign a player who was by now 35 years old. Though serving for a relatively short time at Anfield, he played an integral role in the team that won a treble of cups in 2000-2001. His ability to play central midfield or on either wing made him a useful weapon in the armoury of then manager Gérard Houllier, who described McAllister as his "most inspirational signing." Gary was also known for his ability with the dead-ball and frequently demonstrated that skill as he presided over most of Liverpool's set pieces that season scoring a memorable long range free-kick against local rivals Everton which cemented him into Anfield folklore, many suggesting the club had signed him 10 years too late. He also made a strong impression on the younger members of this squad, and seemed to inspire players around him when they found themselves in a corner. McAllister also had a spell in management with former club Coventry. However, he resigned for family reasons, his wife, Denise, having been ill with breast cancer. She died on 3 March 2006, aged 38. In 2001, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to football.

References

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Statistics

Career honours

Motherwell

• 1984/85 Scottish League First Division (Level 2)

Leeds United

• 1991/92 League Championship (Level 1)
• 1992/93 Charity Shield

Runner Up

• 1995/96 League Cup

Liverpool

• 2000/01 League Cup
• 2000/01 FA Cup
• 2000/01 UEFA Cup
• 2001/02 Charity Shield
• 2001/02 European Super Cup

•  • e Scotland squad - 1990 FIFA World Cup
1 Leighton • 2 McLeish • 3 Aitken • 4 Gough • 5 McStay • 6 Malpas • 7 Johnston • 8 Bett • 9 McCoist • 10 MacLeod • 11 Gillespie • 12 Goram • 13 Durie • 14 McInally • 15 Levein • 16 McCall • 17 McKimmie • 18 Collins • 19 McPherson • 20 McAllister • 21 Fleck • 22 Gunn • Coach: Roxburgh