Who remembers Derek Allen
Derek Allen arrived at the Dell in March 1993 from Ayr United aged only 18, having made 5 appearances for the Scottish club he was spotted by Saints and brought South.
He was regarded as a cultured central defender and possibly the perfect foil for a big man alongside him, just over a month after arriving he made his Premiership debut in the final home game of the season against Man City, although his appearance as sub would comprise of only eight minutes, he didnt look out of place and supporters left the dell talking of how he might well be a great find.
Sadly though is Premier career was over when the final whistle blew, not that he knew it at the time, the following three seasons were spent in the reserves where a combination of niggling injury and the fine form of the likes of Ken Monkou,Richard Hall, Steve Wood and even the ageing Kevin Moore meant that he never got near a first team game again.
In March 1996 exactly three years after he arrived he went on loan to brighton, then managed by Jimmy Case and in the summer of that year he joined the seagulls on a permanent basis, initially he did well at Brighon making over 80 appearances in three seasons before surprisingly dropping out of League Football into the conference and taking part time employment alongside this with a stationery firm, his league career ended before he was 25.
Where you one of the 11,830 inside the Dell that day ? Do you remember the fleeting career of Derek Allen and indeed another debutant Neil Bartlett whose career was a little longer.