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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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