Craig Allardyce

Born 9 June 1975 (Age 21 at debut)

Position: Defender

(Diamonds player #72)

Total appearances 1

(1 League)

Debut & Final game:

3 May 1997 (Home Altrincham)

The son of the current Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce, Craig started his career as a trainee with Preston North End, but was released in 1994 having made just one appearance as a substitute. The tall defender went on to play for Macclesfield Town and Northwich Victoria before spending some time at Blackpool although again, made just a single substitute appearance.

He was given an opportunity to impress at Nene Park in March 1997 on a non-contract basis, and made just the one appearance as a substitute in the 3-2 win against Altrincham on the final day of the 1996/97 season. He was allowed to leave in the summer and never really settled in at any of the eleven club he played for in just seven years. He joined Chorley June 1997, and went on to play for Chesterfield, Peterborough United, Welling United, Mansfield Town and Boston United. After leaving the professional scene, he played at Kendal for a numbers of years before retiring from the game. He remains in football as a player's agent.