Aaron McLean (born 25 May 1983) is an English retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker. At international level he gained five caps for the

England C The England national football C team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at non-league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it fe ...

team during his time in the non-league. McLean began his senior career with

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in 1999, having graduated from the club's youth ranks. Never really breaking into the first team, he made 40 league appearances in a four-year spell, which also included a brief loan to

Grays Athletic Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby Aveley. History The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former S ...

. He switched to

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

in 2003, and, after making 68 league appearances, moved again to

in 2005. He quickly became a regular player for Grays, making 59 league appearances before switching to

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

in 2006; initially on loan, which became permanent the following year. He was a regular for Peterborough, and made 148 league appearances before moving to Hull City in January 2011. Initially a regular player for Hull, he fell out of favour following the club's promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, and moved on loan to

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

and then

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

in 2013. In January 2014 McLean completed a move to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, McLean attended

Robert Clack School Robert Clack School is a sixteen form entry comprehensive school in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Russell Taylor is the Headteacher of Robert Clack School. He is a former pupil of the school and joined the teaching staff in 2002. ...

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

. He started his career with the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

in 1998. He then played for

. He then played for

before joining

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side,

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

on loan, on 31 October 2006. McLean then joined Peterborough permanently, for £150,000, when the transfer window opened on 1 January 2007.

Peterborough United

2006–07

McLean was initially signed by Peterborough on loan from

, however was then signed permanently for £150,000 in the following January

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

. During this period he made 20 appearances and scored 10 times in both the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and

2007–08

McLean had his best statistical year in Peterborough's 2007–08 campaign, which resulted in promotion to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. McLean scored 29 goals in the league in 45 appearances that season, which made him the League's leading scorer and earned him the League Two Golden Boot. He also scored three goals in four FA Cup appearances that year.

2008–09

Following promotion to League One, Peterborough were off to a slow start, having won only one game and lost three, leaving them in 20th place in the league, and out of the relegation spots solely on goal difference. In this early period McLean had only one league goal to his name. However whilst Peterborough's luck changed for the better starting with a 5–4 win against

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

in which McLean scored one of Peterborough's five goals, he suffered an elbow injury in the game and had to miss several of the following games. Following three substitute appearances, McLean was back in the starting line-up replacing

Scott Rendell Scott David Rendell (born 21 October 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for AFC Totton. Career Early career Rendell was born in Ashford, Surrey, but lived in Basingstoke, Hampshire. He started his career with Staines Albio ...

. McLean went on to start for the remainder of the season, which saw Peterborough secure second position in the league and with it promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. Despite suffering injury, McLean finished the season with a total of 18 league goals in 39 appearances and was Peterborough's highest scorer behind

Craig Mackail-Smith Craig Anthony Robert Mackail-Smith (born 25 February 1984) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the English Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Peterborough United, Wycombe Wanderers, No ...

2009–10

McLean had a written transfer request accepted by Peterborough in December 2009.

Hull City

2010–11

On 30 December 2010, it was confirmed on the official website that McLean would transfer to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

at the start of the January 2011 transfer window. He made his debut in the New Year's Day game with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

coming on as a first-half substitute to replace

Jamie Devitt Jamie Martin Devitt (born 6 July 1990) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Carlisle United. He has also played for Hull City, Darlington, Shrewsbury Town, Grimsby Town, Bradford City, Accrington Stanl ...

. On 5 February 2011, in the Humber derby against

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

, he got his first two goals for Hull.

2011–12

He scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season, on 10 September, against his old club,

London Road Stadium London Road, currently known as the Weston Homes Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Peterborough, England. The stadium is in Fletton, south of the River Nene. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is t ...

. On 22 October 2011 against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...

Liam Rosenior Liam James Rosenior (born 9 July 1984) is an English football manager and former player. He played either as a full-back or winger. He is the son of former player and manager Leroy Rosenior, and spent time on loan at Torquay United, where his f ...

's first low ball was blocked, but he made sure he got a second chance to cross and McLean was on hand to fire home his first goal at the KC Stadium. On 29 October 2011 against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...

, a ball over the top sent Mclean racing away from his marker and he kept his cool to smash home a shot into the bottom corner from 10 yards. On 7 December 2011 against

at the KC Stadium, a Birmingham attack was broken up and

Corry Evans Corry John Evans (born 30 July 1990) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or centre-back for EFL Championship side Sunderland. A Northern Ireland under-21 and senior international, he came through the Manchester ...

played the ball to

Robert Koren Robert Koren (born 20 September 1980) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Koren earned 61 caps and scored five goals for the Slovenia national team between 2003 and 2011 and played at the 2010 FIFA World C ...

in the centre circle. Koren waited patiently before sliding a perfect ball inside the Birmingham left back for McLean, who advanced to the edge of the box before beating

Boaz Myhill Glyn Oliver "Boaz" Myhill (born 9 November 1982; ) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the Wales national team from 2008 to 2013. Born in the United States to an American father and Welsh mother, Myh ...

with a low shot inside the near post.

2012–13

On 11 August 2012, McLean scored Hull's first competitive goal of the season against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

at the KC Stadium in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. In January 2013, he joined

on loan for the remainder of the season. Upon arrival McLean made negative remarks about

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

town centre, a reaction which disappointed the leader of the local council.

2013–14

He made his

debut as a late substitute in a 1–0 loss to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on 27 October 2013. McLean then joined Championship club

on 21 November 2013, on loan until 1 January 2014. He made his debut two days later, as a second-half substitute as Birmingham drew with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, and then scored both goals as the club's development squad beat their

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

counterparts in the

U21 Premier League Cup The Premier League Cup is an English football competition run by the Premier League for under–21 sides. History The competition was created in 2013 as the U21 Premier League Cup, an U21 equivalent of the FA Youth Cup (an U18 competition com ...

. When it came to light that McLean had been ineligible, having played for his parent club in an earlier round, Birmingham withdrew from the competition. He made seven first-team appearances, mainly as a substitute, without scoring, before missing the last two games of his loan spell with a hamstring injury. Upon his return to Hull he scored his first goal of the season against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in the

on 4 January 2014.

Bradford City

On 16 January 2014 McLean signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with League One club

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 18 January in a 2–2 draw away at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. On 18 November 2014, McLean rejoined Peterborough United on loan until January 2015. He was released by Bradford in June 2015.

Barnet

McLean joined

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

on a short-term deal on 19 August 2015. He played 22 times for the Bees in all competitions, scoring five goals, before leaving the club on 14 January 2016.

Ebbsfleet United

McLean joined

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

on a free transfer on 14 January 2016. He became striker coach at the club for the 2017–18 season and retired from playing at the end of the season.

Coaching career

After leaving his coaching role at Ebbsfleet, McLean became first team coach at Peterborough in May 2019, signing a three-year contract. He left the club a year later.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of British singer

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...

, and nephew of

Bitty McLean Delroy Easton "Bitty" McLean (born 8 August 1972) is a British reggae, lovers rock and ragga singer. He is best known for his three UK Top 10 hits in 1993 and 1994, including his debut offering " It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)". Career ...

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...

2007–08 Football League Two The Football League 2007–08 (named Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons), was the sixteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2007 and concluded in May 2008, with the promotion play-off finals. T ...

Football League One Player of the Month The EFL League One Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in EFL League One, the third tier of English football. Originally named the Football League One Pla ...

: February 2009

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Aaron 1983 births Living people Footballers from Hammersmith English footballers England semi-pro international footballers Association football forwards Leyton Orient F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players Isthmian League players National League (English football) players Premier League players Black British sportspeople