Mark McAllister (born 13 February 1971 in Inverness) is a former professional footballer who played for
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
in the Scottish League.
Early career
McAllister is the son of former Press and Journal editor Bill McAllister. He began his career playing in the Highland League for Caledonian in 1988 at the age of 17. As a left back, McAllister was known for his forward runs and combative tackling as well as scoring important goals and spent a short spell at
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
under manager
Ian Branfoot
Ian Grant Branfoot (born Gateshead, 26 January 1947) is an English former footballer and manager.
He played as a defender, and after starting at Gateshead joined Sheffield Wednesday, making his Football League debut in 1965. After 42 senior ...
Inverness Thistle
Inverness Thistle Football Club was a football club playing in the city of Inverness in northern Scotland.
Formation and timeline
They were members of the Highland Football League, winning the championship eight times, including its inaugur ...
merged to form
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...
, McAllister was automatically transferred to the new club from Caledonian. Initially he played as a left wing-back before adopting a central defender role under the management of former Soviet Union and Dynamo Kiev player Sergei Baltacha.
McAllister made 138 appearances for Inverness Caledonian and scored 9 goals.
During the club's inaugural season, McAllister made 39 out of a possible 40 appearances and was presented with both the Supporters Player of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year trophies. In the club's second season, under the management of former
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
player, Steve Paterson, McAllister became the first Inverness Caledonian Thistle player to achieve 50 first team appearances in the Scottish League
McAllister also holds the accolade of scoring the club's first ever
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Queen of the South on 17 December 1994 at Telford Street Park.
Following a spell at
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
, McAllister returned to Inverness Caledonian Thistle to continue his career in Scotland.
In 1996, McAllister relocated to London and continued his playing career with
Dulwich Hamlet
Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill.
History
The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...
in the Premier Division of the
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
for 2 seasons, followed by
Fisher Athletic
Fisher Athletic F.C. were a semi-professional football club from South East London, which last played in the Conference South, which is one of the two leagues that form the sixth tier of the English football league system. The Bermondsey-based ...
for one year in the
Southern League Premier Division
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
.
McAllister retired at the end of the 2000 season.
Honours
* Inverness Cup winners medal 1988-89
* Scottish Qualifying Cup winners medal 1991-92
* North of Scotland League Cup winners medal 1993-94