Neil McDonald
Encyclopedia
Neil Raymond McDonald (born on 2 November 1965 in Wallsend
, North Tyneside
) is a former football player, in the right back and midfield positions, before becoming a coach/manager.
During his career he played for the England under 21
team. As a manager he has been in charge at Carlisle United
and Östersunds FK
. On 18 December 2008 he was appointed Assistant Manager of Blackburn Rovers
, and was sacked on 13 December 2010 along with manager Sam Allardyce
. On 1 June 2011, Allardyce announced McDonald as his assistant manager at West Ham United
.
, before joining Carlisle United as a schoolboy, where he represented England at schoolboy level. He then joined Newcastle United
as an apprentice where he went on to play over 200 league and cup games. He also was an England Youth and England under 21 international while at St. James'
.
McDonald then joined Everton
, for £525,000, in the summer of 1988. At Everton he played in the 1989 FA Cup Final against local rivals Liverpool
. Everton lost the game 3-2.
McDonald's Everton career lasted 3 years with McDonald playing over 100 league and cup games. Memorable moments, apart from the 1989 FA Cup final appearance, were being part of the Everton side that topped the First Division in the late autumn of 1989 (though they were unable to sustain their title challenge in the long run and finished sixth) and being voted club player of the year for the 1990-91 season
.
In October 1991 he joined Oldham Athletic
, newly promoted to the top tier, for £500,000. He stayed there for three seasons, overseeing two successful battles against relegation before they were finally relegated from the FA Premier League
in 1994. He also helped them reach the FA Cup
semi finals in 1994, and they were 1-0 up against Manchester United
in extra time at Wembley
when a late equaliser from Mark Hughes
forced a replay and put Oldham's dreams of a first ever FA Cup final appearance on ice. A few days later they were crushed 4-1 in the replay and McDonald was robbed of yet another chance of FA Cup glory.
After Oldham's relegation, he signed for Bolton Wanderers and helped them win promotion to the FA Premier League
as Division One playoff winners in 1994-95
, as well as reaching the Football League Cup
final where they lost 2-1 to Liverpool
.
A £40,000 move took him to Preston North End in November 1995, and he remained at Deepdale
until his retirement from playing at the end of the 1998-99 season
. In his first season
at Preston, they won promotion as Division Three champions, and by the time of his retirement three years later, they had qualified for the Division Two playoffs. Although they lost out that season, they won promotion a year later as champions. He ended his playing career at Preston a year after the appointment of David Moyes
(now manager of McDonald's former club Everton) as manager.
he started this in 1997 as a player/coach and taking the coaching role on a full time basis in 1998. Then in the year 2000 he joined Sam Allardyce
's backroom staff at Bolton Wanderers
as first-team coach and earning his UEFA Pro Licence while at The Reebok
. He joined Crystal Palace
in 2005 to become Iain Dowie
's assistant.
He subsequently became Carlisle United manager in summer 2006, following Paul Simpson
's departure to Preston North End
. In the press conference unveiling McDonald as manager, Carlisle chairman Andrew Jenkins called McDonald Neale Cooper (the former Hartlepool United
manager) by mistake.
McDonald had a winning start in his first competitive match as manager, beating Doncaster Rovers
1-0 on the 5 August 2006 at Brunton Park
in League One
. The team finished the season in 8th place, Carlisle's highest league placing in 20 years. McDonald was sacked from his post as Carlisle United manager on 13 August 2007, a statement on the club's website read
"The board of Carlisle United regret to say that they have lost confidence in Neil McDonald and are terminating his contract forthwith."
On September 11, 2007 he took over as manager of Swedish club Östersunds FK. managing the team for a 5 week period, during which he saved the club from relegation.
In November 2007 he joined Lincoln City
, where former Newcastle teammate Peter Jackson had previously been appointed manager, as his assistant. This appointment didn't last long however, as a few months later in February 2008, McDonald was appointed as head coach under Gary McAllister
at Leeds United.
On 18 December 2008 he was reunited with Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers, as assistant manager. On 21 November 2009 it was announced that McDonald would take charge of three Blackburn Rovers matches against Bolton Wanderers, Fulham
and Stoke City
during which time manager Sam Allardyce would be undergoing heart surgery. He also took charge of a fourth match in the Football League Cup
in which Rovers played league leaders Chelsea
for a place in the semi-finals. Rovers won the game after a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw. On 13 December 2010 McDonald was sacked by Blackburn's new owners along with Allardyce. Following his appointment as manager, on 1 June 2011, Allardyce announced McDonald as his assistant manager at West Ham United.
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
, North Tyneside
North Tyneside
The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England and is part of the Tyneside conurbation. Its seat is Wallsend Town Hall....
) is a former football player, in the right back and midfield positions, before becoming a coach/manager.
During his career he played for the England under 21
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
team. As a manager he has been in charge at Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
and Östersunds FK
Östersunds FK
Östersunds FK is a soccer club located in Östersund, Sweden. The club, formed 31 October 1996, is currently playing in the third highest Swedish league, Norrettan .-Background:...
. On 18 December 2008 he was appointed Assistant Manager of Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, and was sacked on 13 December 2010 along with manager Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
. On 1 June 2011, Allardyce announced McDonald as his assistant manager at West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
.
Playing career
McDonald started his playing career at his local youth team Wallsend Boys ClubWallsend Boys Club
Wallsend Boys Club is an English youth football club based in Wallsend, North Tyneside. The club is well-known for producing professional footballers, with 65 players from the club having gone on to play professionally.-History:...
, before joining Carlisle United as a schoolboy, where he represented England at schoolboy level. He then joined Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
as an apprentice where he went on to play over 200 league and cup games. He also was an England Youth and England under 21 international while at St. James'
St James' Park
St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...
.
McDonald then joined Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, for £525,000, in the summer of 1988. At Everton he played in the 1989 FA Cup Final against local rivals Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. Everton lost the game 3-2.
McDonald's Everton career lasted 3 years with McDonald playing over 100 league and cup games. Memorable moments, apart from the 1989 FA Cup final appearance, were being part of the Everton side that topped the First Division in the late autumn of 1989 (though they were unable to sustain their title challenge in the long run and finished sixth) and being voted club player of the year for the 1990-91 season
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
.
In October 1991 he joined Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, newly promoted to the top tier, for £500,000. He stayed there for three seasons, overseeing two successful battles against relegation before they were finally relegated from the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
in 1994. He also helped them reach the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi finals in 1994, and they were 1-0 up against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in extra time at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
when a late equaliser from Mark Hughes
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....
forced a replay and put Oldham's dreams of a first ever FA Cup final appearance on ice. A few days later they were crushed 4-1 in the replay and McDonald was robbed of yet another chance of FA Cup glory.
After Oldham's relegation, he signed for Bolton Wanderers and helped them win promotion to the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
as Division One playoff winners in 1994-95
1994-95 in English football
-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
, as well as reaching the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
final where they lost 2-1 to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
.
A £40,000 move took him to Preston North End in November 1995, and he remained at Deepdale
Deepdale
Deepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...
until his retirement from playing at the end of the 1998-99 season
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
. In his first season
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
at Preston, they won promotion as Division Three champions, and by the time of his retirement three years later, they had qualified for the Division Two playoffs. Although they lost out that season, they won promotion a year later as champions. He ended his playing career at Preston a year after the appointment of David Moyes
David Moyes
David William Moyes is an association football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year...
(now manager of McDonald's former club Everton) as manager.
Coaching career
McDonald was a coach at several teams. His first coaching job was with Preston North EndPreston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
he started this in 1997 as a player/coach and taking the coaching role on a full time basis in 1998. Then in the year 2000 he joined Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
's backroom staff at Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
as first-team coach and earning his UEFA Pro Licence while at The Reebok
Reebok Stadium
The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'...
. He joined Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
in 2005 to become Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie is a former footballer and manager. He is currently without a club. He has previously managed Hull City and Queens Park Rangers and was assistant manager of Newcastle United...
's assistant.
He subsequently became Carlisle United manager in summer 2006, following Paul Simpson
Paul Simpson (footballer)
Paul David Simpson is an English former footballer and manager. His son Jake is also a professional footballer.-Manchester City:...
's departure to Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
. In the press conference unveiling McDonald as manager, Carlisle chairman Andrew Jenkins called McDonald Neale Cooper (the former Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United F.C.
Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...
manager) by mistake.
McDonald had a winning start in his first competitive match as manager, beating Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
1-0 on the 5 August 2006 at Brunton Park
Brunton Park
Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United F.C. It is situated in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria and has a certified capacity for the 2011/2012 season of 18,202. The ground opened in 1909...
in League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
. The team finished the season in 8th place, Carlisle's highest league placing in 20 years. McDonald was sacked from his post as Carlisle United manager on 13 August 2007, a statement on the club's website read
"The board of Carlisle United regret to say that they have lost confidence in Neil McDonald and are terminating his contract forthwith."
On September 11, 2007 he took over as manager of Swedish club Östersunds FK. managing the team for a 5 week period, during which he saved the club from relegation.
In November 2007 he joined Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
, where former Newcastle teammate Peter Jackson had previously been appointed manager, as his assistant. This appointment didn't last long however, as a few months later in February 2008, McDonald was appointed as head coach under Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish former professional footballer.McAllister played primarily as a midfielder, in a successful career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell before moving south of the border to Leicester City at the age of 20...
at Leeds United.
On 18 December 2008 he was reunited with Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers, as assistant manager. On 21 November 2009 it was announced that McDonald would take charge of three Blackburn Rovers matches against Bolton Wanderers, Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
during which time manager Sam Allardyce would be undergoing heart surgery. He also took charge of a fourth match in the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
in which Rovers played league leaders Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
for a place in the semi-finals. Rovers won the game after a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw. On 13 December 2010 McDonald was sacked by Blackburn's new owners along with Allardyce. Following his appointment as manager, on 1 June 2011, Allardyce announced McDonald as his assistant manager at West Ham United.
Managerial stats
- As of November 22, 2009.
Team Nat From To Record G W D L Win % Carlisle United Carlisle United F.C.Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
June 17, 2006 August 13, 2007 51 19 14 18 37.25 Östersunds FK Östersunds FKÖstersunds FK is a soccer club located in Östersund, Sweden. The club, formed 31 October 1996, is currently playing in the third highest Swedish league, Norrettan .-Background:...
September 11, 2007 October 2, 2007 ? ? ? ? ? Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C.Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.... November 22, 2009 November 28, 2009 4 2 1 1 50
- November 22 to December 2, 2009 temporarily installed as manager of Blackburn RoversBlackburn Rovers F.C.Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
during Sam AllardyceSam AllardyceSamuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....
's illness.