Guernsey's record goalscorer by a huge margin has an incredible goals-to-games record. His exploits with the Green Lions have earned him non-league recognition worldwide and he has comfortably averaged more than a goal a game since the formation of GFC. Although very much a team player, a lot of Ross' goals are individual pieces of brilliance, as his strength, speed, awareness and desire to drive at goal make him a nightmare to defend against.
Ross was named the GFC Coaches' Player of the Season 2013/14 alongside Chris Tardif and he also picked up the Fans' Player of the Season award. He also won the Non-League Paper's Golden Boot as the top goalscorer in all non-league football that season.
Before GFC, he was nominated for the 2010 Channel Islands sports personality of the year award, making it into a shortlist of five, after finishing as top scorer for the England amateur team in the UEFA Regions Cup in Split, Croatia, in which Guernsey represented England as winners of the FA National League Systems Cup.
In 2013, he scored arguably the greatest winning goal in the 113-year history of the Muratti Vase, as his wonderful 70-yard individual run and stunning strike helped Guernsey beat Jersey 2-1, and has scored in several Muratti finals. Returned from his second Island Games tournament in 2011 with a silver medal, playing a key role that included scoring the winner in the semi-final and the opening goal in the final defeat, and was a huge contributor as the Sarnians won gold in Jersey in 2015 and silver in Gotland in 2017.
He won the golden boot in Guernsey's first season in Ryman South with 46 league goals as the club reached the play-offs and got to the second qualifying round of their maiden voyage in the FA Cup. A hat-trick - including a last minute penalty - against Hastings United earned a tie against Dover Athletic, then of the Conference South. Allen's brace took the Green Lions so close to a replay but his side valiantly bowed out with a 3-2 loss. He also netted a club-record six goals in one game as the Green Lions beat Crawley Down Gatwick 11-0 in January 2014.
HIs performances saw him reportedly looked at by a number of professional clubs over the years, but he remained at GFC.
Injury restricted his appearances, and goals in 2014-15, which was a difficult season for the Green Lions, but he still managed 19 in the campaign. The goals kept coming and he netted his 200th for the club against Dorking Wanderers in November 2015, also ending the season with the most appearances.
He decided to take a well-earned break in the middle of the 2016-17 season to go travelling, having put his life on hold for the club in its first five years, but returned in time to notch a few goals before the end of the campaign to help the side ease away from the threat of relegation. His return as a substitute against Chatham Town saw him make an instant impact, with an assist within 30 seconds of his introduction, and a goal later on to put a stamp on the win.
A hernia operation followed in the summer, but not until he had helped a very young Guernsey squad to a bronze medal in the island games.
Allen left Guernsey in December 2017 to live in New Zealand, a country he fell in love with during his previous travels. He signed for Team Wellington, quickly settling in and scoring goals that helped them to their domestic league title, followed by success in Oceania Champions League, where he scored in both legs of the final.
This led to qualification for the FIFA Club World Cup. Team Wellington faced Asian champions Al-Ain. Although he didn't get onto the pitch until the latter stages of extra-time in a 3-3 draw, Allen made a name for himself on the world stage by scoring the first penalty of the resulting shoot-out, smashing the ball into the top corner. Unfortunately his side bowed out on spot-kicks.
After another season with Wellington, it was announced that Allen was returning to Guernsey in the summer of 2019, citing the need for a longer competitive season than the 18-game campaign in New Zealand (Wellington would also not be competing in the Champions League this time. The news was met with great enthusiasm at home. It took him just five minutes into the second game of his return to get back on the goal trail and he look set to be a key player for the Green Lions once again, guiding and inspiring a young team around him.
Ross will wear the #10 shirt for the 2024-25 season, a number he has made his own throughout his GFC career.
PLAYER STATISTICS | ||
---|---|---|
Breakdown | This Season | To Date |
Appearances (Sub in brackets) | 11 (0) | 336 (21) |
Goals | 4 | 299 |
Yellow Cards | 2 | 27 |
Red Cards | 0 | 0 |