Joseph Ball Allon (born 12 November 1966 in Gateshead) is an English former footballer.

[edit] Playing career

A Forward, he started his professional career with Newcastle United in 1984, but played just 10 games for the first team (two goals). In August 1987 he moved to Swansea City, scoring twelve times in 40 appearances before returning to the North-East to join Hartlepool United in November 1988. He scored 57 goals in 131 appearances, including 35 (28 league) in 1990–91 Season when Hartlepool were promoted to Division 3 - a post-war record for the club. His form that season earned him a move to Chelsea in August 1991 for a fee reported to be £250,000.

However he failed to break into the Chelsea first team, starting just 4 games (with a further 14 substitute appearances) and scoring three goals; he had a short spell on loan at Port Vale in 1992 before being sold to Brentford in November of that year. 28 goals in 56 appearances followed at Griffin Park before Allon moved to Port Vale - this time permanently - in March 1994. A further 10 goals followed, however Allon was not a regular in the side and started just 15 games in just over a year.

He was sold to Lincoln City for £42,500 in July 1995.^[1] After just five games and three months he was on the move again, back to Hartlepool United; he added a further 22 goals before being forced to retire due to a persistent knee injury early in 1998. His total of 79 goals for Hartlepool puts him in 7th place in their overall list of top scorers. Since retiring, he has appeared as a summariser and expert on Local Radio and remains a popular figure with Hartlepool United fans.

[edit] Coaching career

In 2007 Allon joined Leeds United's coaching staff.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Soccerbase - Joe Allon
• Joe Allon at In the Mad Crowd - Hartlepool United Stats Site