John McClelland (soccer player, 1955)

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John McClelland
Personnel
Surname John McClelland
birthday 7th December 1955
place of birth Belfast ,  Northern Ireland
size 188 cm
position Central defender
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
Portadown FC
1974-1975 Cardiff City 4 (1)
1975-1988 Bangor City
1978-1981 Mansfield Town 125 (8)
1981-1984 Glasgow Rangers 96 (4)
1984-1989 Watford FC 184 (3)
1989-1992 Leeds United 24 (0)
1990 → Watford FC (loan) 1 (0)
1992 →  Notts County  (loan) 6 (0)
1992-1993 St. Johnstone FC 27 (0)
1993 FC Arbroath 2 (0)
1993-1994 Carrick Rangers 11 (0)
1994 Wycombe Wanderers 0 (0)
1994-1996 Yeovil Town 21 (1)
1996-1997 Darlington FC 1 (0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1980-1990 Northern Ireland 53 (1)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1992-1993 St. Johnstone FC (player-manager)
1 Only league games are given.

John McClelland (born December 7, 1955 in Belfast ) is a former Northern Irish football player and short-term coach. The 53-time national player and World Cup participant from 1982 and 1986 was employed by the Glasgow Rangers in Scotland in the early 1980s , but was not very successful there with two titles in the only moderately important league cup . After a good four and a half years at the English first division club Watford FC , the central defender moved to Leeds United and won the English championship there at the relatively advanced age of 36 . During a short excursion into the head coaching field, between December 1992 and May 1993 he was in charge of the Scottish first division club FC St. Johnstone as a player- coach .

Professional career

First stations (1974–1981)

The first noteworthy professional station for McClelland, who was born in Northern Ireland, was the Welsh club Cardiff City from February 1974 after starting at home FC Portadown , where he only made four appearances in the English second division - only one of them from the start. At the end of the 1974/75 season he moved to Bangor City , which like Cardiff played in the English league, albeit only in the semi-professional Northern Premier League . In the last two of the three years up to 1978 McClelland at least helped to achieve respectable placements in fourth and third place.

In May 1978 McClelland finally took a second attempt in English professional football and joined the third division club Mansfield Town for a transfer fee of £ 8,000 . There he matured - despite relegation in the 1979/80 season - to one of the most constant central defensive players in the league, who even made it to the Northern Irish senior team for the first time in May 1980 .

Glasgow Rangers (1981-1984)

When McClelland joined the Glasgow Rangers in June 1981 for a transfer fee of 90,000 pounds, he was already playing in the fourth of the "Home Nations" of the United Kingdom at professional level. On August 26, 1981, he made his debut in the League Cup against the Raith Rovers (3-1) and his first season 1981/82 he completed with 22 league games. With his stately stature he radiated a high presence in the defense network, but could not contribute to the Rangers becoming a serious title contender. For the second time in a row, the team finished only in third place in the final table, which by Scottish standards meant an almost historic bankruptcy in view of the usual long-term duel between the Rangers and Celtic . The disappointments did not come to an end in McClelland's second year either, and the “light blues” finished fourth behind the new champions Dundee United , Celtic and FC Aberdeen, coached by Alex Ferguson , by a clear margin - in addition there were final defeats in the League Cup and FA Cup against Celtic and Aberdeen.

After Derek Johnstone moved to Chelsea in the summer of 1983 , McClelland was named the new team captain. Under the new leadership, the club won the League Cup in March 1984 thanks to three final goals from Ally McCoist against Celtic . The hoped-for turnaround in everyday life in the league could not be initiated and again the Rangers placed behind the new champions from Aberdeen as well as Celtic and Dundee United. In addition to the sporting problems, there were atmospheric disturbances between McClelland and the club's management. In view of his increasing status as captain, he asked for a salary increase and after the failure of the negotiations he asked for clearance for a change, which in turn hardened the fronts for good. Only injury problems in the squad ensured that he returned to the team - albeit without a captain's armband - although a compromise was obviously out of reach. His last game he played for the Rangers in November 1984, when he in the UEFA Cup second leg of the Italian Inter Milan faced. The omens were very bad, because not only did he and his men have to catch up 0: 3; in addition, he was called up in an unfamiliar role as a center forward alongside Iain Ferguson and Dave Mitchell . However, this unconventional measure was successful; Inter defenders found it difficult to cope with McClelland's somewhat bulky style of play and found themselves confronted 3-0 down before Alessandro Altobelli scored the decisive 3-1 goal. Within a few days, McClelland left Glasgow and joined the English Watford FC in the First Division under coach Graham Taylor . McClelland had turned down advances by FC Aberdeen because his decision was also a conscious decision against the Scottish and for the English league.

Watford FC (1984–1989)

Immediately after the move, Taylor intended to appoint McClelland as his new captain. However, he refused the request and instead successfully voted for the incumbent Wilf Rostron . Although McClelland occasionally encountered reservations due to his unusual and somewhat clumsy running style, he quickly established himself in the top English division. On his debut for the "Hornets" on November 10, 1984 against AFC Sunderland (3-1), he harmonized well in central defense with Steve Terry and the duo complemented each other very successfully in the following years - while Terry primarily physically showed strong, McClelland used his speed. Later Steve Sims was the central defender at his side.

In terms of sport, the years up to the end of the 1986/87 season were quite stable and Watford FC always ended up in the middle of the First Division. When Taylor then left the club for Aston Villa , the club began to slide. Under the new coach Dave Bassett tensions grew and in the team, whose face was constantly changing due to numerous transfers, McClelland was one of the few constants. McClelland won after the end of the 1987/88 season - like two years before - the club's internal award for "Player of the Year", but the club finally descended as the penultimate in the second division - even Bassett's successor Steve Harrison did not have the helm from January 1988 can pull around more. McClelland remained loyal to the club in the Second Division for another year before using a contractual clause for a change. His former sponsor Graham Taylor for Aston Villa initially had him in mind before he decided on Paul McGrath . Instead, he joined second division rivals Leeds United in June 1989 for a transfer fee of £ 100,000 .

Leeds United (1989-1992)

The three years McClelland was under contract with Leeds United were changeable. The almost 34-year-old newcomer had to do with the strains in and after the relegation season in Watford, was overtrained and, above all, his ankle was in such poor condition that he was ready for the competitive game, but had a daily training rhythm could not complete. His contribution to the club's promotion to the top English league in 1990 was accordingly small with three league games; to his new club loaned him back to Watford in January 1990 until the end of the season, but where he came only to one use.

It was not until the 1991/92 championship season that he fought his way back into the team and played 22 competitive games. The 18 league games were also enough to receive a championship medal, regardless of the fact that from March 1992 he denied the season on loan for the first division relegation candidate Notts County to the end.

Career conclusion (1992–1997)

McClelland returned to the Scottish League in August 1992 and served his new club St. Johnstone FC between December 1992 and May 1993 as player-coach . In the role of head coach, however, he found it difficult, especially since he later self-critically remarked that he knew too little about the circumstances and players in the Scottish league and that he knew almost exclusively about English football.

Last stations were the Scottish FC Arbroath and in the Irish League playing Carrick Rangers , before he made himself available for a short time to the Wycombe Wanderers and Yeovil Town as a substitute in the event of injuries. After a resignation, he returned in October 1996 for Darlington FC in professional football. His brief engagement, which also included the function of the Kotrainer, ended in the same month with a broken leg in his only use against Hartlepool United .

Northern Ireland national team

Although initially only active for the lower class Mansfield Town , McClelland came on May 16, 1980 to his A-international debut for Northern Ireland . While he was only substituted there in the second half against Scotland (1-0) for the scorer Billy Hamilton , he was in the starting line-up three times on the occasion of an international trip to Australia in June 1980. The national team career was also favored by his move to the Glasgow Rangers . After all, he was the only player from the ranks of the Glasgow Rangers to play at the 1982 World Cup in Spain . There he played all five games and was also part of the team that caused a big surprise with the 1-0 win over the hosts .

On March 30, 1983, he scored his first and only goal for Northern Ireland during a European Championship qualifier against Turkey . In the next finals at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico , McClelland was then nominated, but did not get a chance in the three games until the end in the first group stage. He only celebrated his comeback in November 1986 and was also captain instead of Sammy McIlroy . In this role, he was available to the team until March 27, 1990, when he said goodbye with a 2-3 home loss to Norway in the 53rd international match.

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John McClelland: Rangers FC 1981-1984 (Sporting Heroes)
  2. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 1-85291-581-1 , pp. 171 .
  3. ↑ The final of the Liagpokalseason 1984/85 was held on October 28, 1984.
personal data
SURNAME McClelland, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Northern Irish soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH 7th December 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Belfast