'Mad Dog' Martin Allen made his name as a player in midfield for Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United before he moved on to play for Portsmouth and Southend United during the latter stages of his career. He also won two caps for the England U21s during his playing days.
As a manager, his first real successes came at Brentford but he started out at Barnet (where he later went on to have another short spell). With the former, he saved the club from relegation before helping them to two spots in the play-offs, first losing to Sheffield Wednesday and then Swansea City. He was a big hit with the Brentford fans and other fans in general thanks to his unconventional managerial methods.
His success in London saw him move on to Milton Keynes Dons, a side that had slipped down the league ladder but who had a relatively wealthy backer. Allen managed to arrest the club's bad fortunes on the pitch and helped them to the play-offs in the 2006-07 but they lost in the semi-finals. Still, his performance in transforming Brentford and MK Dons caught the attention of Leicester and he was named manager in May 2007.
Such was the standard with Milan Mandaric as chairman of City, Allen's time at the Walkers Stadium wasn't a long one. But, on-the-field performances aside, it was a matter off-the-pitch that seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back. Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had agreed terms with Leicester and Mandaric invited him for a medical. But when he arrived in Leicester Allen told him the medical was no longer going to take place. Derek Riordan was another striker Mandaric confirmed an interest in signing to the press but Allen refused to make an offer.
It resulted in a deteriorating relationship between manager and chairman and, after just four matches in charge of the Foxes, Allen's contract was terminated by mutual consent. Following his time with City he went on to manage Cheltenham, where he took a number of his former Leicester players on loan, Barnet and Notts County. His record with City stood at two wins, one draw and one defeat from four matches.
