| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Allan Charles Cockram [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 October 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Kensington, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cambridge University (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975–1981 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1985 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | (0) |
| 1985 | San Francisco Flyers | ||
| 1985 | Bristol Rovers | 1 | (0) |
| 1985 | San Jose (indoor) | ||
| 1985–1986 | Farnborough Town | ||
| 1987–1988 | St Albans City | 44 | (25) |
| 1988–1991 | Brentford | 90 | (14) |
| 1991 | Woking | ||
| 1991–1992 | Reading | 6 | (1) |
| 1992 | Farnborough Town | ||
| 1992 | Woking | ||
| 1992–1996 | St Albans City | 98 | (25) |
| 1996–1997 | Chertsey Town | ||
| 1999–2000 | Leatherhead | ||
| International career | |||
| England Youth | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985 | San Francisco Flyers | ||
| 1994–1996 | St Albans City (player-manager) | ||
| 1996–1997 | Chertsey Town (player-manager) | ||
| 2019– | Cambridge University | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Allan Charles Cockram (born 8 October 1963) is an English retired professional footballer who played in the Football League for Tottenham Hotspur, Bristol Rovers, Brentford and Reading as a midfielder or winger. He later player-managed St Albans City and Chertsey Town in non-League football. Cockram is the founder of the Brentford Penguins, a Down Syndrome football club associated with Brentford which featured in the 2023 documentary film Mighty Penguins . [3]
A winger, Cockram joined Tottenham Hotspur as a schoolboy in 1975 and went on to make two first team appearances for the Lilywhites towards the end of the 1983–84 season. [4] [5] He was released at the end of the 1984–85 season and a two-year period followed as a football nomad, which included short periods playing for Bristol Rovers and Farnborough Town and two spells in the United States. [6] A move to Isthmian League Premier Division club St Albans City during the latter part of the 1986–87 season, in a bid to return to fitness following an achilles injury, [7] proved to be the turning point in Cockram's career. [4] He was voted the Saints' Player of the Year at the end of the 1987–88 season. [8]
After a successful period training full-time with Brentford during the 1987–88 season, [7] Cockram signed a contract with the club in March 1988. [9] He made 118 appearances and scored 17 goals for the club before his release at the end of the 1990–91 season. [9] After a spell back in non-League football with Woking, [1] Cockram made a return to the Football League with Reading in October 1991 and rejoined St Albans City prior to the beginning of the 1992–93 season. [1] [10] He remained at Clarence Park until the end of 1995–96 season and scored 73 goals in 211 appearances across his six seasons with the club. [10] Cockram finished his career with spells at non-League clubs Chertsey Town and Leatherhead. [4]
Cockram player-managed non-League clubs St Albans City and Chertsey Town. [4] He was later a technical specialist at Philadelphia Union and coached at University College London. [11] [12] In 2019, he became manager of Cambridge University. [13]
In 2017, Cockram established Brentford Penguins, a Down Syndrome football club. [12] A documentary film about the club, entitled Mighty Penguins , was released in 2023. [14] Fellow former footballer David Beckham, and his son Romeo, met the Mighty Penguins team in September 2023, and presented Cockram with The Sun's Who Cares Wins Unsung Hero Award. [15]
Cockram represented England Youth. [4]
Cockram worked as a firefighter in west London and later became a businessman. [7]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1983–84 [5] | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Bristol Rovers | 1985–86 [16] | Third Division | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| St Albans City | 1986–87 [17] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 11 | 4 | — | — | — | 2 [c] | 2 | 13 | 6 | |||
| 1987–88 [18] | 33 | 21 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 [d] | 8 | 42 | 29 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 25 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 10 | 55 | 35 | ||||
| Brentford | 1987–88 [19] | Third Division | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| 1988–89 [19] | 37 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 [e] | 1 | 51 | 10 | |||
| 1989–90 [20] | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 [e] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |||
| 1990–91 [21] | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 [e] | 0 | 29 | 3 | |||
| Total | 90 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | 118 | 17 | |||
| Reading | 1991–92 [22] | Third Division | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 [e] | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| St Albans City | 1992–93 [23] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 35 | 12 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 17 [f] | 4 | 58 | 19 | ||
| 1993–94 [24] | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 10 [g] | 2 | 39 | 9 | ||||
| 1994–95 [25] | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 [h] | 4 | 32 | 6 | ||||
| 1995–96 [26] | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 [i] | 0 | 25 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 142 | 50 | 9 | 3 | — | — | 60 | 20 | 211 | 73 | ||||
| Career total | 241 | 65 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 21 | 341 | 91 | ||
St Albans City
Individual