Allan Russell


Allan John Russell is a retired Scottish professional footballer. Russell is currently the England national football team striker coach.

Career

Scotland and England

Russell began his career in 1999 with Hamilton Academical, making over sixty league appearances over a four-year period. In 2003, Russell began a two-year spell with St Mirren before moving to English side Macclesfield Town in early 2005. Russell's stay at Macclesfield lasted only a few months and he moved on to Mansfield Town at the start of the 2005–06 season.
Russell returned to Scotland with Partick Thistle in January 2007. At Partick he scored once; his goal coming in a 1-0 win over Livingston. Russell began the 2007–08 season with Airdrie, where a December 2007 Player of the Month award and his goalscoring form – by February 2008 he had already scored more than any previous season – attracted interest from Scottish Premier League sides Kilmarnock and Dundee United.
In May 2008, Russell netted the Scottish Football League Second Division Player of the Year award having scored 28 goals in a record breaking season and was eventually signed by Scottish Premier League side Kilmarnock signing a two-year deal. He left Kilmarnock after the expiry of his contract in 2010.

United States

Russell signed for Carolina RailHawks on 23 July 2010. He stayed with the club through the 2011 season winning the 2010 and 2011 NASL league Championships. He then signed with Los Angeles Blues of the USL Pro Division on 8 December 2011, who later changed franchise name to Orange County Blues.
Russell captained Orange County Blues for a time, playing both as a defensive midfielder and as a striker.

England national football team

In March 2017, Russell joined the England coaching staff as their striker coach. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he earned particular praise for his work on the England team's set pieces, after a well-choreographed goal in their game against Panama.