Leighton Gary Allen (born 22 November 1973) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Colchester United. He was also on the books at

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, but failed to make a first-team appearance.

Career

Born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, Allen was on the books at

club

for two years prior to his release in the summer of 1994. Unable to break into the first team, he joined Gillingham for a short stint until he was signed by Colchester United manager George Burley. Allen made just two

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

substitute appearances for the club, the first as a replacement for

Paul Abrahams Paul Abrahams (born 31 October 1973) is an English former footballer who played as a forward or as a winger in the Football League, most notably for Colchester United, where he made over 100 league appearances in two spells between 1992 and 1 ...

in a 1–0 win against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

on 10 September 1994, and in the second he came on for Chris Fry in a 3–2 away victory at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

on 24 September. Shortly after this, Allen was released from Colchester as Burley built up his squad. Following his brief Football League stint, Allen returned to his south-coast roots to play for Ringmer, Saltdean United,

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, Crawley Town,

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

and Peacehaven & Telscombe.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Leighton 1973 births Living people Footballers from Brighton English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Wimbledon F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Ringmer F.C. players Saltdean United F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Worthing F.C. players Peacehaven & Telscombe F.C. players English Football League players