The timing is perfect for Scott Allison.
Having become a father for the first time six months ago, the experienced coach was desperate to secure a return to Scottish football. “I wanted my wee man to grow up next to his grandparents,” he smiles.
As we will find, it is not the only career decision that has been influenced by family circumstances.
Nevertheless, the opportunity had to be the right one. Working as head of youth development phase with Nottingham Forest was a rewarding position. Not to be wantonly cast aside.
The attractive vacancy Allison had been waiting for arrived when Paul Cowie stepped down from his position at the helm of Dundee United’s youth development system to become first team coach at Ross County during the summer.
He adds: “It was the perfect mix of a family and football decision to come up the road.
“The academy infrastructure is good; we have good staff here and now it’s a case of looking at things and creating a strategy – as an academy – to take forward. Foundation Park is well-named in my option, because the foundations are all there.
“But we need to build on those foundations, take all the good work that has been done and kick things on.”
Allison: I knew I wouldn’t go much further
In Allison, United have hired a vastly experienced coach, with more than 20 years of experience spanning Firhill to Florida; expertise garnered on the training ground AND the classroom following a playing career curtailed by injuries.
“I was playing League Two football at East Stirlingshire around 2002 and had a lot of injuries,” Allison told Courier Sport. “I knew I wasn’t going to go much further as a player, but I was still passionate about the game.”
Realistic about his prospects – and accepting that not every player can be destined for greatness – Allison started to plan for life after retirement, embarking on a management course at Glasgow Caledonian University.
“There will be injuries, there will be set-backs, there might be disappointment – the pathway can’t always be international glory. You need to be prepared for life after football.”
Firhill to Florida
Beginning his coaching career in his 20s, Allison would cut his teeth with the kids at Rangers before working with the Scottish FA, Livingston and St Mirren. However, he came to prominence as academy director at Partick Thistle.
Newly promoted to the top-flight and with the backing of EuroMillions winner Colin Weir, he was charged with oiling a conveyor belt of talent worthy of the Premiership.
The likes of Kevin Nisbet, James Penrice and Aidan Fitzpatrick are among those to emerge from the Jags system.
“It’s an immense source of pride that what we built is still there and a has created a long-term legacy, still bringing through players,” he adds.
Allison was in with the bricks in Maryhill, even serving as joint-caretaker boss following the dismissal of Alan Archibald in 2018. So, his decision to quit the club in 2021 to take up a position in Florida was a surprise.
As was the case for so many, Covid had prompted a period of personal and professional introspection.
“During the Covid pandemic, I feel like everybody had time to think and evaluate – and I thought it was time to try something different and expand my horizons; to see other ways of working,”
Hurricane déjà vu
His something different was to become director of coaching at the Florida Elite Soccer Academy – boasting over 11,000 registered players across North Florida – and craft a relationship with burgeoning USL team Sporting Club Jacksonville.
United Premier Division winner Richard Gough, based in California, was among those to offer him words of advice on his American adventure.
“It was an exciting, challenging project to bring together,” continued Allison. “It was different, it was hot and the lifestyle off the pitch was good – apart from the hurricanes.”
A timely observation given the recent devastation of Hurricane Milton, the second-most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico.
“I know a few people over in Tampa and they’ve been affected by the hurricane, and one of my mates is in Disneyland in Orlando at the moment,” he continued. “I got a video at 3am from him – and it was wild.
“We experienced Hurricane Ian when I was there, which went past Fort Myers. It was quite something to see that place in the aftermath. Eye-opening.
“I was based in Jacksonville on the east coast, so we would only get the tail of a hurricane whipping you. But it’s still scary, and too close for comfort for someone from Scotland!”
Health scare prompted UK return
Then again, “scary” is relative.
And the alarm of a glancing blow from a tropical storm was minor compared to the shuddering news that his sister, Julie, was battling a brain tumour.
That brought Allison back to the UK in a heartbeat, subsequently securing a job at Forest while he supported his sibling.
“Thankfully she made a full recovery and is fine now, but family is the most important thing,” Allison reflected. “It comes first in everything I do.
“On a personal level, it was great to live abroad and experience that. But one thing I did learn while I was away – and that was reinforced during that time – is the importance of family, and the challenge of being away from them.
“So, knowing that I wanted to come back to the UK, that opportunity at a Premier League club – being close to home and the people who needed me – was a simple decision.
“I was able to spend time with her and support her as much as I could while in England.”
Forest fires ambition
From working with schoolboys to coaching an England international in Jonjo Shelvey, Allison’s time at Forest afforded him the chance to see the full development pathway at an English Premier League club in action.
And his determination to implement some of those lessons shines through.
“I was exposed to first-team players who were being prepared to head out on loan, like Jonjo Shelvey and Harry Arter – coaching top, top level footballers – right down to the U/13s,” Allison continued.
“I feel lucky that I saw the full pathway, right up to Premier League players.
“And you are always learning, especially from the attitudes of those top players – the way they conduct themselves in training; the volume of work they do; the amount of gym work they do away from the pitch.”
He adds: “I’m really excited to take some of those learnings in England and ask, how can we add value to what we are doing in Scotland to develop better players for Dundee United – and, ultimately, the Scottish national team?”
In tomorrow’s Courier Sport: Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Scott Allison, as the United youth chief outlines his plans to get Tannadice kids ready for first-team action – technically, mentally AND physically.
And what constitutes success for an academy when more and more Scottish youngsters are being sold as teenagers? Senior appearances or early transfer fees?
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