MANCHESTER CITY and Crystal Palace have led the tributes for Malcolm Allison after one of English football’s more flamboyant characters from the 1960s and ’70s, famed for his outspoken views and a love of fedoras, cigars and sheepskin coats, died at the age of 83.
Allison will be remembered mostly for his time as Joe Mercer’s assistant at City as they transformed a Second Division team into one of the more exciting sides in England, winning the league title in 1968, followed by the FA Cup in 1969, plus the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970. Allison was famed for his one-liners and once said City would be “the first team to play on Mars”.
The flags at the City of Manchester Stadium were flying at half-mast yesterday and a series of tributes are being planned to mark Allison’s contribution to the most successful period in the club’s history. City described him as “flamboyant, brilliant and larger than life”, and many supporters are planning to wear fedoras at the Europa League tie at home to Lech Poznan next Thursday and the league game three days later against Arsenal.
“Joe Mercer was the figurehead but Malcolm Allison was the key to the door,” Mike Summerbee, one of City’s key players in their trophy-winning years, said. “Malcolm changed football by making us train like athletes and in that respect, he was ahead of his time. He was one of the lads but he knew how to crack the whip and we all respected him. My wife always said that ‘you love Malcolm Allison more than you love me’. That’s how you epitomised Malcolm Allison.
“It is sad to lose not only a great character, but one of the greatest coaches there has ever been in this country. He was the best coach this country has ever had, without a shadow of a doubt. He was a great coach, a very special person and a nice man as well.”
Bernard Halford, the former City secretary, had known Allison for over 40 years. “We will never see the likes of him ever again,” he said. “He did so much for the club. He enhanced the careers of so many other players and they worshipped him.”
Allison went on to manage Crystal Palace on two separate occasions, his managerial career spanning 30 years in total, and also including spells at Plymouth Argyle (twice), Middlesbrough, Yeovil Town and Bristol Rovers.
Allison, or “Big Mal” as he was commonly known, spent most of his playing career at West Ham United, making over 200 appearances in defence before he suffered tuberculosis and had to have a lung removed, eventually forcing him out of the game.
His managerial career was launched at Bath City in 1963 and over the next three decades he also had spells abroad, including with the Kuwait national team, Toronto City, Galatasaray and Sporting Lisbon, with whom he won the Portuguese title and domestic cup.
His life in football was never far from controversy, Allison becoming a regular in the tabloids because of his relationships with, among others, Christine Keeler of the Profumo scandal and two Miss United Kingdom winners.
In 1976 the Football Association charged him with disrepute because of a News of the World photograph showing him in the Crystal Palace players’ bath with the risque actress Fiona Richmond, who he had invited to a training session.
Howard Wilkinson, the chairman of the League Managers Association, said: “Malcolm was a legend. He was generous, humorous and a fantastic coach who lived life to the full and was inspirational to would-be coaches including myself and Terry Venables. He was a forward-thinker with a big personality who always had a smile on his face.”
Guardian Service
