Malcolm Macdonald

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This article is about the footballer. For the politician, see Malcolm MacDonald.

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Malcolm MacDonald
Personal information
Full name Malcolm Ian MacDonald
Date of birth (1950-01-07) 7 January 1950 (age 74)
Place of birth Fulham, England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1967–1968 Tonbridge Angels 40 (11)
1968–1969 Fulham 13 (5)
1969–1971 Luton Town 88 (49)
1971–1976 Newcastle United 187 (95)
1976–1979 Arsenal 84 (42)
1979 Djurgårdens IF 9 (2)
Total 421 (204)
International career
1972–1976 England 14 (6)
Managerial career
1980–1984 Fulham
1987–1988 Huddersfield Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Malcolm Ian MacDonald (born 7 January 1950) is a former English professional footballer, Nicknamed Supermac, he was a strong, powerfully built striker who was famed as a prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Arsenal and England. MacDonald is Newcastle United's fifth highest goalscorer off all-time.

Football career

Born in Fulham, London, MacDonald started his career as a full back before switching to centre forward. After playing for non-league side Tonbridge Angels,[1] Bobby Robson paid £1,000 to sign him for Fulham in 1968 just after their relegation from the Football League First Division.

A year later he moved to Luton Town. At Luton he scored 49 times in 88 matches, which caught the eye of Newcastle United manager Joe Harvey, who signed him for £180,000 in the summer of 1971. At Newcastle, his hard work and effort in matches meant he quickly became a firm favourite with the fans. He made an immediate impact, scoring a hat-trick on his home debut against Liverpool, and he was the club's top scorer for five seasons in a row.

While at Newcastle, he made his debut for England (against Wales). On 16 April 1975, in a European Championship qualifier for England against Cyprus he scored all five goals in a 5–0 victory. Although three pre-war players (Steve Bloomer, Vivian Woodward and Willie Hall) had previously scored five for England, MacDonald was the first, and remains the only, player to do so in a competitive international. His feat spawned the newspaper headline "SuperMac 5, Cyprus 0".[citation needed] In total he played 14 times for his country, scoring six times (the only other game he scored in being a 2–0 win over then World Champions West Germany).

MacDonald left Newcastle for Arsenal in 1976, for the unusual fee of £333,333.34, (confirmed by MacDonald himself on BBC Radio 5 Live on 31 August 2013) and played two full seasons (being the club's top scorer in both), but suffered a knee injury in a League Cup match against Rotherham at the start of the 1978–79 season, from which he was unable to completely recover. After having spent a couple of months in Sweden with Djurgårdens IF he announced his retirement from playing at the premature age of 29 in August 1979. He never won a major honour but was on the losing side in two FA Cup finals and a League Cup final, two for Newcastle and one for Arsenal.

Football management

After retirement from playing, he returned to Fulham to manage them for four seasons from 1980 to 1984, and was later manager of Huddersfield Town between 1987 and 1988. His time at Fulham was initially successful, with promotion to the Second Division being achieved in 1982. In the 1982–83 season, they appeared certainties for promotion to the First Division for the majority of the season, but a slump in the later stages of the season allowed their lead to wither away and they finished 4th. The following season began as a struggle before a second half turnaround saw them into mid-table safety, however he would be replaced by his assistant Ray Harford in April 1984.

He returned to management with Huddersfield in 1987, but his time in charge proved disastrous, including a 10–1 loss to Manchester City as the side were relegated from the Second Division in dismal fashion.

After being declared bankrupt following a failed business venture, divorcing his second wife and struggling with the aftermath of his injury, he became an alcoholic. MacDonald said that the pain from his long-standing knee injury led to his increasing dependence on alcohol. He eventually gave up drinking in 1997.[2]

Radio

MacDonald worked extensively for Real Radio North East (formerly Century Radio), presenting the Legends Football Phone-In, alongside Bernie Slaven and Micky Horswill. The programme was axed following the end of the 2011–12 season. Now broadcasting on Star radio continuing the format. MacDonald also previously presented his own interview series for the station, Upfront With Malcolm MacDonald,[3] talking to ex-professional players.

He also writes a regular column for the retro football magazine BACKPASS (www.backpassmagazine.co.uk).

In 2011, MacDonald was strongly critical of Newcastle's decision to change their stadium name from St James' Park to the Sports Direct Arena. MacDonald said: "It seems antagonistic. It's not only part of the football club’s heritage, but part of the heritage of the city."[4]

Trivia

During the TV show Superstars in 1975, MacDonald ran 100m in 10.9 seconds.[5] MacDonald is now the President of North Shields F.C. .[6]

Career statistics

Club Season League Cup League Cup Other[7] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fulham[8] 1968–69 Second Division 13 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 5
Luton Town[9] 1969–70 Third Division 46 25 3 1 5 2 0 0 54 28
1970–71 Second Division 42 24 2 4 3 2 0 0 47 30
Total 88 49 5 5 8 4 0 0 101 58
Newcastle United[9] 1971–72 First Division 42 23 2 2 2 1 6 4 52 30
1972–73 First Division 35 17 2 1 1 1 9 5 47 24
1973–74 First Division 29 15 9 7 2 3 4 3 44 28
1974–75 First Division 42 21 2 0 6 6 8 5 58 32
1975–76 First Division 39 19 7 4 7 1 3 0 56 24
Total 187 95 22 14 18 12 30 13 257 138
Arsenal[9] 1976–77 First Division 41 25 3 3 6 1 0 0 50 29
1977–78 First Division 39 15 6 7 7 4 0 0 52 26
1978–79[10] First Division 4 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 6 2
Total 84 42 9 10 14 5 1 0 108 57
Djurgårdens IF 1979 Allsvenskan 9 2 0 0 — 0 0 9 2
Career Total 381 193 36 29 40 21 31 13 488 260
England Under 23 national team[11]
Year Apps Goals
1972 4 4
Total 4 4
England national team[11]
Year Apps Goals
1972 3 0
1973 1 0
1974 3 0
1975 7 6
Total 14 6

International goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.
#[11] Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored
1 12 March 1975 Wembley Stadium  West Germany 2–0 Friendly 1
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 16 April 1975 Wembley Stadium  Cyprus 5–0 Euro 1976 qualifier 5

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 100–102 Century Radio – Music you just have to sing along to!
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ http://www.toon1892.co.uk for Texaco Cup games, 1971/72 to 1974/75 seasons. "Other" currently comprises games played in the Texaco Cup (seasons 1971-72 through to 1974-75),. Malcolm Macdonald profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required) the 1975-76 Anglo-Scottish Cup, the 1972-73 Anglo-Italian Cup and 1978/79 UEFA Cup.
  8. ↑ Malcolm MacDonald's Autobiography "Never Afraid to Miss" gives information on Fulham career stats and some Luton data.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Topps Football Card 1978-79 for Malcolm MacDonald, which gives data for seasons 1970-71 through to 1977-78.
  10. ↑ http://www.11v11.com/teams/arsenal/tab/matches/season/1979 which details appearances and goals for the 1978-79 season.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersMc/BioMacDonaldMI.html for England stats.

External links

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