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Sean McAllister (footballer, born 1987)

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Sean McAllister
Personal information
Full name Sean Brian McAllister[1]
Date of birth (1987-08-15) 15 August 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth Bolton, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1996–1999 Manchester United
1999–2003 Bolton Wanderers
2003–2006 Sheffield Wednesday
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Sheffield Wednesday 68 (4)
2007 → Mansfield Town (loan) 7 (0)
2007–2008 → Bury (loan) 0 (0)
2010–2012 Shrewsbury Town 35 (1)
2012–2013 Port Vale 2 (0)
2013 Cowdenbeath 9 (0)
2013–2016 Scunthorpe United 73 (0)
2016–2018 Grimsby Town 4 (0)
2017–2018 → York City (loan) 3 (0)
2019 Chester 10 (0)
2019–2021 Newtown 49 (1)
Total 260 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sean Brian McAllister (born 15 August 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Primarily as a central midfielder, he has good vision and passing ability. He began his professional career at Sheffield Wednesday in 2006. He had spells on loan at Mansfield Town and Bury, before establishing himself in the Wednesday first-team in the 2008–09 season. He was allowed to join Shrewsbury Town in July 2010 and helped them to win promotion out of League Two in 2011–12. He joined Port Vale on a short-term contract in November 2012. Then he signed with Cowdenbeath in March 2013 before joining Scunthorpe United four months later. He helped Scunthorpe to win promotion out of League Two in 2013–14. He signed with Grimsby Town in June 2016 and had a loan spell with York City from December 2017 to January 2018. He joined Chester in January 2019 and then moved on to Newtown eight months later. He retired in July 2021.

Career

[edit]

Early career

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McAllister was born in Bolton, Greater Manchester.[citation needed] He started playing at Deans Sports in Swinton before going on a successful trial at Manchester United at the age of nine.[citation needed] He spent three years as a schoolboy at Old Trafford before joining Bolton Wanderers, where he stayed for four years.[citation needed]

Sheffield Wednesday

[edit]

He switched to the Sheffield Wednesday Academy in 2003.[citation needed] Having previously been an unused substitute in the Steel City derby at Hillsborough,[4] McAllister made his first-team debut for Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship the following week on 25 February 2006, coming on as a substitute after 56 minutes when Wednesday were already 3–0 down to Southampton at St Mary's.[5] He did not appear in the first-team again until the end-of-season, when he played all 90 minutes of a 2–0 victory against Derby County at Pride Park.[5] He was named as the club's Young Player of the Year for the 2005–06 season.[6]

On 19 August 2006, McAllister scored his first senior goal to inspire a Wednesday comeback, as they went on to beat Plymouth Argyle 2–1 at Home Park following his 52nd-minute equaliser.[7] He collected the ball from Burton O'Brien's cross and shot into the top corner of the goal.[8] He would rarely feature in the rest of the 2006–07 season, only making one substitute appearance under Paul Sturrock's successor Brian Laws.[7] Despite this, he signed a new contract in May 2007.[9]

After failing to feature for the first team during the start of the 2007–08 season, he was sent out on a one-month loan to League Two club Mansfield Town in September 2007.[10][11] He made four league starts, and manager Bill Dearden had the loan deal extended to cover a second month.[12] However, he then lost his first-team place at Field Mill, and returned to Wednesday.[citation needed] He then joined Chris Casper's Bury on loan in November 2007,[13] and remained at Gigg Lane for two months without making a first-team appearance.[14][15] He was recalled by Wednesday as a back-up early into his second month with Bury.[citation needed] He went on to break into the first-team again in February 2008,[15] but missed the end-of-season run-in with a calf injury.[16]

He signed a two-year contract extension in May 2008.[17] He became a first-team regular in the 2008–09 season, making 42 appearances and claiming three league goals against Preston North End, Crystal Palace, and Reading.[18] However, he lost his first-team spot in September 2009, and later struggled with a stomach injury.[19] He was released by new manager Alan Irvine at the end of the 2009–10 season,[20] after he was limited to 14 appearances throughout the season.[21]

Shrewsbury Town

[edit]

McAllister signed a two-year contract with Shrewsbury Town in July 2010.[22] Manager Graham Turner stated that "McAllister's an attacking, exciting player and I'm a bit surprised he was still on the market. We were a little short in midfield and with his Championship experience he could be a real gain for us."[23] He made his first appearance at the New Meadow as a 77th-minute substitute in a 3–1 victory over Bradford City on 7 August 2010.[24] He was named as Shrewsbury's Player of the Month for August 2010,[25] but found first-team opportunities harder to come by in the second half of the season due to a hernia injury and the arrival of new signings Nicky Wroe and David Davies.[26] He had an operation to correct the hernia injury in February 2011.[27]

McAllister returned to fitness during the 2011–12 pre-season, scoring against a Manchester United XI in a 2–1 home victory in July 2011.[28] He scored his first competitive goal for Shrewsbury when he was recalled to the starting line-up in a 2–0 win over Crewe Alexandra on 20 August.[29] His goal came in the 23rd minute[29] with a glancing header from Lionel Ainsworth's cross.[30] However, the form of Matt Richards and loan signing David McAllister again left him sitting on the sidelines for much of the season.[31] Shrewsbury won promotion to League One as runners-up of League Two,[32] although McAllister was not offered a new contract.[33] He said that "Hopefully my experience at a higher level, and the fact that I've got a promotion under my belt, will help my cause. I'm disappointed, I thought I was worth a new deal, but I've had two good years at Shrewsbury."[34]

Port Vale

[edit]

McAllister failed to find a club before the start of the 2012–13 season, despite a trial at Oxford United.[35] In October 2012, he went on trial at Port Vale,[36] after personally ringing manager Micky Adams to enquire about a vacancy in midfield created when Doug Loft picked up an injury.[37] He signed an eight-week contract with Vale on 9 November.[38] The League Two club were in administration, and applied for special permission to sign McAllister after asking the Football League for leniency after they underwent a shortage of available midfielders.[39] He made his debut from the bench at Vale Park on 17 November, replacing Rob Taylor 74 minutes into a 2–2 draw with York City.[40] However, he would only feature twice more for Vale,[40] and left the club on 8 January 2013, with Adams saying "it's unfortunate we weren't able to offer Sean more first-team opportunities, but that underlines the competition for places we have among the squad, but he's a great kid, a model professional and I'd recommend him anywhere."[41]

Cowdenbeath

[edit]

McAllister joined Scottish First Division club Cowdenbeath in March 2013.[42] He made nine appearances at the end of the 2012–13 season,[40] helping the club to avoid relegation.[43]

Scunthorpe United

[edit]

On 19 July 2013, McAllister made a return to League Two when he signed a one-year contract with Scunthorpe United.[44] He made 43 appearances in the 2013–14 season[45] as Scunthorpe won promotion as divisional runners-up,[46] and was also crowned the club's Player of the Year for his "high energy and consistent performances".[47][48]

He signed a new two-year contract in May 2014.[49] However, after Mark Robins replaced Russ Wilcox as manager, McAllister found first-team football hard to come by in the second half of the 2014–15 season.[50] He made 15 appearances across the 2015–16 season,[51] and was released at the end of the season.[52]

Grimsby Town

[edit]

On 23 June 2016, McAllister signed a two-year contract with newly promoted League Two club Grimsby Town on a free transfer.[53] However, he played just four matches throughout the 2016–17 season[54] as he struggled with what was said to be a recurring groin injury.[55] However, he later discovered that he had been misdiagnosed, and was suffering with an ankle related problem.[56]

McAllister joined National League North club York City on 8 December 2017 on a one-month loan.[57] He made his debut on 16 December 2017, when starting in a 2–1 away defeat to Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Trophy first round.[58][59] He finished the loan with four appearances.[60] He was released by Grimsby at the end of the 2017–18 season after making just six appearances in two years.[61]

Chester

[edit]

On 11 January 2019, McAllister joined National League North side Chester.[62] He was signed to form a central midfield partnership with Gary Roberts as Gary Stopforth was ruled out with injury.[63] Manager Bernard Morley praised McAllister for an assured performance in his "Seals" debut appearance against Guiseley.[64]

Newtown

[edit]

On 9 August 2019, McAllister joined Cymru Premier side Newtown.[65] He made 26 appearances in the 2019–20 campaign, which was curtailed early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, and signed a new contract in June.[66][67] He featured 26 times in the 2020–21 campaign and was an unused substitute as Newtown beat Caernarfon Town in the play-off final to secure qualification into the newly created UEFA Europa Conference League.[60][68] He announced his retirement in July 2021.[69]

Style of play

[edit]

In describing his playing style, McAllister said that "I work hard and I read the game well... [and] I like to get forward".[70] Port Vale assistant manager Mark Grew said that "he's a good passer, he has excellent vision and great energy".[71]

Career statistics

[edit]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sheffield Wednesday 2005–06[5] Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
2006–07[7] Championship 6 1 0 0 1 0 — 7 1
2007–08[15] Championship 8 0 0 0 0 0 — 8 0
2008–09[18] Championship 40 3 1 0 1 0 — 42 3
2009–10[21] Championship 12 0 0 0 2 0 — 14 0
Total 68 4 1 0 4 0 — 73 4
Mansfield Town (loan) 2007–08[15] League Two 7 0 — — — 7 0
Bury (loan) 2007–08[15] League Two 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
Shrewsbury Town 2010–11[24] League Two 18 0 1 0 2 0 2[a] 0 23 0
2011–12[29] League Two 17 1 2 0 2 0 1[a] 0 22 1
Total 35 1 3 0 4 0 3 0 45 1
Port Vale 2012–13[40] League Two 2 0 0 0 — 1[a] 0 3 0
Cowdenbeath 2012–13[40] Scottish First Division 9 0 — — — 9 0
Scunthorpe United 2013–14[45] League Two 39 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 43 0
2014–15[72] League One 23 0 4 0 2 0 2[a] 1 31 1
2015–16[51] League One 11 0 2 0 1 0 1[a] 0 15 0
Total 73 0 8 0 4 0 4 1 89 1
Grimsby Town 2016–17[54] League Two 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
2017–18[73] League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 2 0
Total 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 6 0
York City (loan) 2017–18[60] National League North 3 0 — — 1[c] 0 4 0
Chester 2018–19[60] National League North 10 0 — — 0 0 10 0
Newtown 2019–20[60] Cymru Premier 23 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 26 1
2020–21[60] Cymru Premier 26 0 0 0 0 0 1[d] 0 27 0
Total 49 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 53 1
Career total 260 6 14 0 14 0 11 1 299 7
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance in EFL Trophy
  3. ^ Appearance in FA Trophy
  4. ^ Appearance in play-offs

Honours

[edit]

Shrewsbury Town

Scunthorpe United

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "EFL: Club retained and released lists published". English Football League. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Sean McAllister". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Sean McAllister". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Sheff Wed 1–2 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 18 February 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Sheffield Wednesday: McAllister can't wait for Steel City derby debut". Yorkshire Evening Post. Leeds. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Plymouth 1–2 Sheffield Wed". BBC Sport. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Owls offer new deals to quartet". BBC Sport. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  10. ^ "Sean set for Stags spell". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 6 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Owls midfielder to join Mansfield". BBC Sport. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Stags to extend McAllister loan". BBC Sport. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Bury sign midfielder McAllister". BBC Sport. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  14. ^ "McAllister extends loan with Bury". BBC Sport. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  16. ^ "McAllister joins Owls' casualties". BBC Sport. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
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  18. ^ a b "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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  20. ^ "Sean McAllister aims high with Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  21. ^ a b "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Sean McAllister aims high with Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  23. ^ "Shrewsbury sign Sean McAllister & goalkeeper Ben Smith". BBC Sport. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
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  30. ^ "Shrewsbury 2–0 Crewe". BBC Sport. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  31. ^ "Sean McAllister desperate to help Shrewsbury Town get up". Shropshire Star. Telford. 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  32. ^ a b "League Two: 2011/12: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  33. ^ "Shrewsbury Town let four players leave". BBC Sport. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  34. ^ "McAllister to use promotion experience to find new club". BBC Sport. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  35. ^ "Shrewsbury Town closing in on new signing". Shropshire Star. Telford. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  36. ^ "Murphy set to claim midfield start". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.[dead link]
  37. ^ "Port Vale: Sean McAllister eyes longer deal at Vale Park". BBC Sport. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  38. ^ "Port Vale sign Sean McAllister on short-term deal". BBC Sport. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  39. ^ "Ex-Shrewsbury midfielder Sean McAllister set to sign for threadbare Port Vale". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 9 November 2012. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012.
  40. ^ a b c d e "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  41. ^ "Adams takes a fresh look at January sales". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.[dead link]
  42. ^ Smith, Craig (16 March 2013). "Cowdenbeath v Airdrie United: Cameron looking for space". The Courier. Dundee. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013.
  43. ^ MacGregor, Archie (5 May 2013). "Hamilton Academical 1–3 Cowdenbeath: Cowdenbeath escape play-offs". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  44. ^ "Scunthorpe United sign midfielder Sean McAllister". BBC Sport. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  45. ^ a b c "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  46. ^ a b "League Two: 2013/14: Latest table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  47. ^ a b Sumpter, Chris (3 May 2014). "Sam Slocombe leads list of winners at Scunthorpe United's Player of the Year awards night". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  48. ^ Sharpe, Rich (24 January 2014). "Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Sean McAllister on his form at Scunthorpe United that is grabbing the headlines". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  49. ^ "Scunthorpe United: Sean McAllister and Eddie Nolan re-sign". BBC Sport. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  50. ^ Sumpter, Chris (9 December 2014). "Sean McAllister hails competition for places at Scunthorpe United – even though it's cost him a regular starting role". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  51. ^ a b "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  52. ^ "Scunthorpe United: Gary McSheffrey amongst four released by League One club". BBC Sport. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  53. ^ "Sean McAllister: Former Scunthorpe United midfielder joins Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  54. ^ a b "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  55. ^ Dannatt, Matt (12 January 2017). "McAllister nearing return as Comley negotiations continue". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2017.[dead link]
  56. ^ "New Chester signing Sean McAllister reveals injury woes as he looks to rebuild career". Chester and District Standard. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  57. ^ Martini, Peter (8 December 2017). "Sean McAllister joins York City on loan from League Two club Grimsby Town". The Press. York. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  58. ^ Flett, Dave (19 December 2017). "Sean McAllister still feels York City are a "huge club"". The Press. York. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  59. ^ Flett, Dave (17 December 2017). "Kidderminster 2 York City 1 – Match report plus stats". The Press. York. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  60. ^ a b c d e f "S. McAllister". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  61. ^ "James McKeown: Grimsby Town offer new deal to goalkeeper and release 11". BBC Sport. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  62. ^ "Chester Football Club – Official Website » BREAKING | Blues sign experienced midfielder McAllister". Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  63. ^ Bowman, Jamie (17 January 2019). "'There's the potential here to achieve something' - New Chester midfielder Sean McAllister looking to win another promotion with the Blues". Chester and District Standard. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  64. ^ Powell, Dave (14 January 2019). "Bernard Morley assesses Sean McAllister's Chester FC debut". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  65. ^ "New Signing: Sean Macallister". Newtown AFC. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  66. ^ "Coronavirus: Welsh football season ends with Connah's Quay champions". BBC Sport. 19 May 2020.
  67. ^ Grosvenor, Gavin (23 June 2020). "Robins duo commit to Latham Park". County Times. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  68. ^ "Caernarfon Town v Newtown :: Cymru Football". www.cymrufootball.wales. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  69. ^ Jones, Harrison (5 July 2021). "Sean McAllister to retire after Europa Conference League campaign". Y Clwb Pêl-droed - Your home for Welsh football. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  70. ^ "McAllister in for the long haul". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012.
  71. ^ "Clean sheets key to Vale's success, says McAllister". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.[dead link]
  72. ^ "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  73. ^ "Games played by Sean McAllister in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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