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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 January 1868 | ||
| Date of death | 1 January 1946 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Swindon, England | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1902–1933 | Swindon Town | ||
Sam Allen (2 January 1868 – 1 January 1946) was a long serving servant of Swindon Town football club.
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Founded as Swindon AFC in 1879, they became Spartans in 1880 and Swindon Town in 1883. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's home since 1896 is the County Ground, having a capacity of 15,728.
A Swindon stalwart, Allen originally joined the club in 1895 as a member of the club's committee. Two years later, he joined the board of directors, before he took control of team affairs prior to the 1902-03 season, becoming the Town's first recognised manager. In an era where the board would have had control over team selection, Allen's job mainly involved assembling a capable team. Slowly but surely, it was a job he did well - turning a team who hadn't yet finished in the top half of the Southern League table, into championship contenders.
The Southern League, currently known as the Evo-Stik League South under the terms of a sponsorship agreement with Bostik Ltd, is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South West, 'South Central' and Midlands of England and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.
By signing Swindon greats such as Jock Walker and Harold Fleming, Allen led the club during one of the most successful spells in their history. Between 1908 and 1914, Swindon won the Southern League title twice, finished as runners-up three times, and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup twice - as well as winning the Dubonnet Cup.
The FA Cup, also known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competition in the world. It is organised by and named after The Football Association. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2019 it is also known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the FA Women's Cup.
The Dubonnet Cup was an invitational English football exhibition cup game held between 1910 and 1912 held in Paris.
Unfortunately, the First World War interrupted Swindon's success, and by the time football resumed in 1919, Allen again had to virtually recreate the side. After a disappointing first season following the hostilities, the Town joined the Football League in 1920, becoming a founder member of Division Three (South). Over the next eight seasons, Swindon finished in the top six in every season bar one - but with only one promotion spot, they failed to get out of the division. Allen again highlighted his eye for a player with his signing of Harry Morris - the club's record goalscorer, and over this period, the Town recorded their two biggest victories - 9-1 vs Luton Town in their first league match, and 10-1 vs Farnham in the FA Cup in 1925.
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to one or the other according to geographical position. Some clubs in the English Midlands shuttled between the Third Division South and the Third Division North according to the composition of the two leagues in any one season.
David Hyman Morris, known as Harry Morris or Abe Morris, was an English professional football forward and coach, best known for his seven-year spell in the Football League with Swindon Town. Morris was voted Swindon Town's greatest-ever player by the club's supporters in 2013 and holds the club records for goals scored in a league match, season and career. He also played for Fulham, Brentford, Millwall, Swansea Town and Clapton Orient.
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknamed "the Hatters" and affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association. The team plays its home matches at Kenilworth Road, where it has been based since 1905. The club's history includes major trophy wins, several financial crises, numerous promotions and relegations, and some spells of sustained success. It was perhaps most prominent between 1982 and 1992, when it was a member of English football's top division, at that time the First Division; the team won its only major honour, the Football League Cup, in 1988.
From 1929, Swindon fell into a gradual decline - not helped by the board's insistence on selling players to balance the books. Allen was obviously not pleased with this, and, after the Town were forced to apply for re-election in 1933, he willingly relinquished his team responsibilities, reverting to a secretarial position. This moved allowed the board to appoint Ted Vizard as the club's first full-time team manager, in the modern sense of the word.
Edward 'Ted' Vizard was a Welsh international footballer who became a manager. He spent almost all his playing career at Bolton Wanderers.
Amazingly, Allen remained as Swindon's secretary for thirteen more years, taking his total length of service to 51 years. He received the Football League's long service award in 1941, as he kept the club alive during World War Two, when the Town, unlike other clubs, completely closed down for the duration. He died whilst still in office, on 1 January 1946 - the report of his funeral covering three columns in the Evening Advertiser.
The Swindon Advertiser is a daily tabloid newspaper, published in Swindon. The newspaper was founded in 1854, and had an audited average daily circulation at the end of 2017 of 8,828.
