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Gary McAllister first came to the attention of most Leeds fans
when he scored a screaming goal at Elland Road for Leicester that
threatened to knock us out of the promotion race. That game was
won, and with Division One demanding skill rather than workrate,
McAllister was persuaded to come to join the Leeds midfield in
place of Vinnie Jones.
Macca proved pivotal in the winning of the title and linked up
well with Gordon Strachan to provide many chances, scoring a few
decent goals himself. His sometimes languid style did not always
endear him to all of the Leeds fans, but one particularly sweet
game for those of us who appreciated his skills came with the visit
of Coventry to Elland Road in 1995. The Macca-hating bloke behind
us was in full flow as a cross failed to reach his target. He was
cut short as McAllister collected the rebound and produced a superb
shot to score. By the end of the game the hat-trick was completed
and for once the boor behind us was silent.
Allegedly the board agreed on a fee to sell McAllister twice in
successive years, but after the debacle of the Coca-Cola Cup Final
and with the takeover casting a shadow over the direction of the
club, he left for Coventry in summer 1996. He's since had to endure
chants of "One Greedy B*****d" from the Leeds fans on his return,
which is a bit rich considering what has happened to wages since.
He left Cov on a Bosman in summer 2000 and enjoyed a new lease of
life at Liverpool at the age of 36. He was instrumental in
Liverpool's unique cup treble in 2000-01 - including the man of the
match award in the UEFA Cup Final - and his late goals in a couple
of crucial league games helped Liverpool pip Leeds for the final
Champions League qualifying place.
With his playing career coming to an end, he took the first
steps into management by moving back to Coventry where he had a
tough time balancing the books, never mind winning promotion. In
2002-03 Coventry got off to a reasonable start but after winning
the Manager of the Month award in December, the team only managed
one more win before the end of the season. In early 2004, his
wife's continuing illness made him decide to temporarily step out
of the game, leaving the hot seat at Highfield Road to spend more
time with his family.
gf says: I met this fine individual yesteday 03-03-03 in Glasgow
he was with Eric Black and we talked about the Worthington Cup
Final , He also gave me his autograph
a kane says: i was at school with gary .i kid him on when i see
him that i taught him how to play football. ihave the odd pint with
his dad and brother craig all the best big man kaney
Sean O'Keefe says: My name is Dean'o Justice a.k.a Sean O'keefe
and Gary McAllister's father-in-law is my cousin.
Stephen says: I'm a Leeds fan and Gary McAllister is without
doubt the best Leeds player ever to wear the shirt. He was an
amazin player, despite bein Scottish he was graceful and skillfull,
he had fantastic vision, has not and will not be replaced in our
midfield. I saw that hat trick Vs. Cov and it summed him up - What
a guy! Nice one Macca!!
Lee from Morley says: My sister was a traffic warden back in the
early 90's, macca parked illegally on Wellington St in LS1 to get a
paper/condoms whatever from a kiosk. My sister asked him to move
his car but he angrily asked her to f off, so she booked him.
Javaid Mehar says: The year after we won the Championship, Macca
kept us up singlehandedly when we did not win away from home all
season.
Michael McGlinchey says: Gary has just walked into our office in
work for a meeting with my boss. said hello! We at fireimc are an
advertising company and Gary is in to promo a golf day.
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