John McLaughlin (soccer player, 1952)

John McLaughlin
Personnel
Surname	John Thomas McLaughlin
birthday	February 25, 1952
place of birth	Liverpool ,  England
position	midfield
Juniors
Years	station
1967-1969	Liverpool FC
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1969-1976	Liverpool FC	40 (2)
1975	→  Philadelphia Atoms  (loan)	22 (7)
1975	→  Portsmouth FC  (loan)	5 (0)
1976	→  Dallas Tornado  (loan)	5 (0)
1976-1977	AFC Barrow
1977	Wrexham AFC
1977	South Liverpool FC
1978	Macclesfield Town	2 (1)
1978	South Liverpool FC
1978	Rhyl Athletic
1 Only league games are given.

John Thomas McLaughlin (born February 25, 1952 in Liverpool ) is a former English football player . As a midfielder he was considered one of the greatest talents of his time at Liverpool FC . At the beginning of the 1970s, however, he was unable to assert himself in sports and ended his professional career at the age of only 24 due to an injury.

Athletic career

McLaughlin, who was born in Liverpool and matured as a footballer in the school team, joined the local Liverpool FC as a teenager . There he signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday and with good performances in the reserve team, the young midfielder head coach Bill Shankly recommended himself for higher tasks. Shankly was enthusiastic and described McLaughlin as the greatest talent that had come to him from school sports in a long time. The so-praised was characterized by a very mature acting style of play and a good tactical understanding. After a year of getting used to it, McLaughlin made his debut on February 18, 1970 in a first division game against Chelsea , which was lost 2-1. It was his only appearance in the 1969/70 season , which ended with a comparatively disappointing fifth place and 15 points to city rivals and new champions Everton FC marked a turning point - in addition, they had suffered a bitter cup defeat against the second division Watford FC . Shankly rebuilt the somewhat aging roster and McLaughlin should be a key element of this transformation in the creative midfield.

McLaughlin started the first game of the 1970/71 season away at Burnley FC (2-1) and a week later he crowned his debut at home at Anfield with two goals to a 4-0 win over Huddersfield Town . Although he could not score a goal in any other league game, he remained a fixture in a total of 33 games of the current season. In the cup competitions, however, he lost his place in the team towards the end, so that he missed the semi-finals against the eventual winners Leeds United both in the 1: 2 final defeat in the FA Cup against Arsenal and in the trade fair cup . As in the previous year, Liverpool only finished fifth, well behind the new champions, and so Shankly continued his renovation. In addition to players like Kevin Keegan , John Toshack and Ray Clemence for the veteran Roger Hunt , Ian St. John and Tommy Lawrence , it was above all players like the up-and-coming Brian Hall and the newcomer Peter Cormack who pulled the strings in the creative midfield and McLaughlin the robbed sporting perspective. In the 1971/72 season he played only six competitive games and in the following four years together just three more. The last game took place on September 10, 1974 against Brentford FC and ended 2-1 in the League Cup .

In the 1975/76 season, Liverpool FC loaned him to the second division club Portsmouth, trained by Ian St. John . He also spent the summer of 1975 and 1976 in the North American NASL with the Philadelphia Atoms and Dallas Tornado , before retiring from professional sports at the age of only 24 due to a knee injury. In the following years he only appeared in amateur football.

Web links

• John McLaughlin in the barryhugmansfootballers.com database
• Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League AZ Player's Database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ John McLAUGHLIN - Liverpool FC - Biography of his football career at Anfield. (Sporting Heroes)
2. ↑ Players - John McLaughlin (LFCHistory.net)