Sean McAllister

His goal came in the 23rd minute with a glancing header from Lionel Ainsworth's cross.

However, the form of Matt Richards and loan signing David McAllister again left him sitting on the sidelines for much of the season.

Shrewsbury won promotion to League One as runners-up of League Two, although McAllister was not offered a new contract.

Sean Brian McAllister (born 15 August 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Primarily as a central midfielder, he has good vision and passing ability.

He switched to the Sheffield Wednesday Academy in 2003.

He was named as the club's Young Player of the Year for the 2005–06 season.

He began his professional career at Sheffield Wednesday in 2006, and had spells on loan at Mansfield Town and Bury, before establishing himself in the Wednesday first team in the 2008–09 season.

Having previously been an unused substitute in the Steel City derby at Hillsborough, McAllister made his first-team debut for Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship the following week on 25 February 2006, coming on as a substitute after 56 minutes when Wednesday were already 3–0 down to Southampton at St Mary's.

He did not appear in the first team again until the end-of-season, when he played all 90 minutes of a 2–0 victory against Derby County at Pride Park.

On 19 August 2006, McAllister scored his first senior goal to inspire a Wednesday comeback, as they went on to beat Plymouth Argyle 2–1 at Home Park following his 52nd-minute equaliser.

He collected the ball from Burton O'Brien's cross and shot into the top corner of the goal.

He would rarely feature in the rest of the 2006–07 season, only making one substitute appearance under Paul Sturrock's successor Brian Laws.

Despite this, he signed a new contract in May 2007.

After failing to feature for the first team during the start of the 2007–08 season, he was sent out on a one-month loan to League Two club Mansfield Town in September 2007.

He made four league starts, and manager Bill Dearden had the loan deal extended to cover a second month.

However, he then lost his first-team place at Field Mill, and returned to Wednesday.

He then joined Chris Casper's Bury on loan in November 2007, and remained at Gigg Lane for two months without making a first-team appearance.

He was recalled by Wednesday as a back-up early into his second month with Bury.

He went on to break into the first team again in February 2008, but missed the end-of-season run-in with a calf injury.

He signed a two-year contract extension in May 2008.

He became a first-team regular in the 2008–09 season, making 42 appearances and claiming three league goals against Preston North End, Crystal Palace, and Reading.

However, he lost his first-team spot in September 2009, and later struggled with a stomach injury.

He was released by new manager Alan Irvine at the end of the 2009–10 season, after he was limited to 14 appearances throughout the season.

He was allowed to join Shrewsbury Town in July 2010, and helped them to win promotion out of League Two in 2011–12.

McAllister signed a two-year contract with Shrewsbury Town in July 2010.

Manager Graham Turner stated that "McAllister's an attacking, exciting player and I'm a bit surprised he was still on the market. We were a little short in midfield and with his Championship experience he could be a real gain for us."

He made his first appearance at the New Meadow as a 77th-minute substitute in a 3–1 victory over Bradford City on 7 August 2010.

He was named as Shrewsbury's Player of the Month for August 2010, but found first-team opportunities harder to come by in the second half of the season due to a hernia injury and the arrival of new signings Nicky Wroe and David Davies.

He had an operation to correct the hernia injury in February 2011.

McAllister made a return to fitness during the 2011–12 pre-season, scoring against a Manchester United XI in a 2–1 home victory in July 2011.

He scored his first competitive goal for Shrewsbury when he was recalled to the starting line-up in a 2–0 win over Crewe Alexandra on 20 August.

He joined Port Vale on a short-term contract in November 2012, and then signed with Cowdenbeath in March 2013, before joining Scunthorpe United four months later.

He helped Scunthorpe to win promotion out of League Two in 2013–14.

He signed with Grimsby Town in June 2016 and had a loan spell with York City from December 2017 to January 2018.

He joined Chester in January 2019 and then moved on to Newtown eight months later.

He retired in July 2021.

McAllister was born in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

He started playing at Deans Sports in Swinton before going on a successful trial at Manchester United at the age of nine.

He spent three years as a schoolboy at Old Trafford before joining Bolton Wanderers, where he stayed for four years.