847 Danny Allsopp

Biography

Striker Danny Allsopp joined the Tigers in May 2003, adding goals to the squad that Peter Taylor was assembling to elevate City out of the fourth tier. Danny immediately hit the ground running and scored a crowd-pleasing winner against Leeds United in a pre-season friendly. His goals, in partnership with Ben Burgess and Stuart Elliott, fired the Tigers into the top 2 as he netted nine times in his first 17 appearances for the club. After spending much of November and December 2003 on the sidelines Danny returned in mid-January 2004 to net twice against promotion rivals Oxford United, he struck four more times as the Tigers eased towards a top 2 finish, promotion being secured with a tumultuous 2-1 win in faraway Yeovil. Allsopp’s second season was dogged by injuries that restricted his impact, and as City again flew high in the League 1 table Danny revealed his preference to fly back to his Australian homeland. He returned to Melbourne in March 2005 having signed off with a brace in his penultimate appearance, a February 2005 win over Wrexham.

Daniel Lee Allsopp was born in Melbourne, Australia and began his career as a teenager with local club Monbulk Rangers. In 1995 he joined National Soccer League side South Melbourne as a raw 17 year old and scored twice in 20 games over the 1995 and 1996 seasons. He moved to NSL rivals Carlton SC for the 1997 season and played for both Carlton and Port Melbourne Sharks during the 1998 season, netting three goals for Carlton and nine goals in just 14 starts for Port Melbourne. It was this form that attracted the attention of clubs in England – a trial at Stoke City in 1997 did not yield a contract but in August 1998 he joined League Division 2 side Manchester City – a big club in a lowly position.

Allsopp made his Manchester City debut against Blackpool in August 1998 and scored his first goal for the club three days later in a League Cup tie against Notts County. He was used regularly as a substitute during the 1998/99 season as well as starting a handful of games, his six goals helping City to promotion back to League Division 1, the second tier of the English League. Danny found first team action at Manchester City harder to come by during the 1999/00 season and he spent November 1999 on loan at League Division 2 side Notts County, scoring once in 3 appearances, then in March 2000 he had a further loan to Wrexham, another League Division 2 side, that yielded an impressive four goals in 3 appearances.

With Manchester City now elevated to the Premier League after a second successive promotion, Allsopp continued to struggle for first team action and spent October 2000 on loan at League Division 2 side Bristol Rovers where he made six appearances. He returned to Manchester City in early November 2000 and made his only Premier League appearance when replacing Paulo Wanchope in a 1-4 defeat at West Ham United, a fortnight later he returned to League Division 2 and rejoined Notts County on loan. Clearly invigorated by his 15 minutes of Premier League action, Danny netted twice against Oxford United in his first game back at Notts County and within a month he had made the move to Meadow Lane permanent with a £300,000 fee being paid for his services. Allsopp retained a place in the Magpies’ first team for the rest of the 2000/01 season, scoring 13 goals in 33 appearances.

Danny was an important part of the Notts County first team during the 2001/02 season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions as the Magpies flirted with relegation before surviving with a win on the last day of the season. Allsopp scored his first hattrick in England in an August 2001 4-3 League Cup win over local rivals Mansfield Town, then scored a penalty against former club Manchester City in the next round. A second hattrick was scored in March 2002 against Tranmere Rovers. Danny continued his form into the 2002/03 season as Notts County suffered financial meltdown, scoring another 12 goals and taking his tally to 49 goals in 117 appearances since his permanent move – form that attracted Hull City during the 2003 close season.

In March 2005 Allsopp returned to Australia and joined A-League side Melbourne Victory, debuting in August 2005 against Sydney FC. Over the next five years he dominated the A-League goalscoring charts, netting 46 goals in 107 appearances and twice winning an A-League title winners’ medal. In 2009 and 2010 Allsopp spent time in the Qatari League with Al-Rayyan (eight goals in 15 appearances) and the United States MLS with DC United (nine goals in 28 appearances). He returned to Australia in 2011 and completed his career with three more seasons playing less regularly for Melbourne Victory and then a couple of local Victoria State League sides. When his footballing days came to an end in 2014 he started a second career managing accounts in the packaging industry.

Danny won numerous caps for Australia at under-17, under-20 and under-21 levels, scoring extravagantly at a goal per game. He earned three senior Australia caps once he had returned from England to Australia, debuting against Uruguay in June 2007 and adding further appearances in May 2008 against Ghana and January 2009 against Indonesia.

Details

Nationality: Australia
Date/Place of Birth: 10 August 1978, Melbourne (Australia)
Hull City First Game: 9 August 2003, Darlington H (League Division 3), 24 years, 364 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 February 2005, Milton Keynes Dons A (League 1), 26 years, 196 days old

Clubs

South Melbourne (1995-1997), Carlton SC (1997-1998), Port Melbourne Sharks (1998), Manchester City (1998-2000), Notts County (1999, loan), Wrexham (1999, loan), Bristol Rovers (2000, loan), Notts County (2000, loan), Notts County (2000-2003), Hull City (2003-2005), Melbourne Victory (2005-2009), Al-Rayyan (2009-2010), DC United (2010), Melbourne Victory (2011-2012), Launceston City (2013), Croydon City Arrows (2013-2014), Launceston City (2014)

Hull City Record

Career: 67 apps, 22 goals

Danny Allsopp
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2003/0431 (5)151 (0)0
2004/0514 (14)71 (1)0

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