Played for Villa: 1934-1939
Position: Centre half
Appearances: 160
England international, Jimmy Allen, had been a stalwart of the Portsmouth team, which he captained in the 1934 FA Cup final. Within a couple of months he was on Villa's books, breaking the transfer record at £10,775 after an on-off negotiation which almost fell through. Allen would become a familiar member of the Villa line-up through the second half of the 1930s, although he was reputedly given a luke-warm reception by fans who liked to see their centre halfs go on the attack; Jimmy Allen was a committed stopper of opponents, nothing more. Yet as time went on, he rose in everyone's estimation, eventually becoming indispensible and being appointed team captain. After two successive seasons in which he'd barely missed a match, war broke out, and football went into stasis for several years. Technically still a Villa player throughout hostilities, Allen never played another senior match, forced to bow out through injury. Thereafter he tried his hand at football management before retiring from the game completely in 1953.
WIKIPEDIA ENTRY
Position: Centre half
Appearances: 160
England international, Jimmy Allen, had been a stalwart of the Portsmouth team, which he captained in the 1934 FA Cup final. Within a couple of months he was on Villa's books, breaking the transfer record at £10,775 after an on-off negotiation which almost fell through. Allen would become a familiar member of the Villa line-up through the second half of the 1930s, although he was reputedly given a luke-warm reception by fans who liked to see their centre halfs go on the attack; Jimmy Allen was a committed stopper of opponents, nothing more. Yet as time went on, he rose in everyone's estimation, eventually becoming indispensible and being appointed team captain. After two successive seasons in which he'd barely missed a match, war broke out, and football went into stasis for several years. Technically still a Villa player throughout hostilities, Allen never played another senior match, forced to bow out through injury. Thereafter he tried his hand at football management before retiring from the game completely in 1953.
WIKIPEDIA ENTRY