Alistair Henry Mauchlen (born 29 June 1960) is a Scottish former

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 later went into coaching.

Playing career

Early years in Scotland

Born in Kilwinning, after beginning his career with junior club Irvine Meadow, Mauchlen entered league football in August 1978 when he signed for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

of the

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

.Marshall Gillespie, ''The Northern Ireland Football Yearbook 1996/97'', UTV Books, 1996, p. 200 The following season Mauchlen was a regular in a Kilmarnock side that stayed up despite being part-time and was one of the stars of a 2–0 win over

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

in November 1979. In October 1982 Mauchlen transferred to

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

where he soon gained a strong following amongst the supporters for his organisational skill and his aggression. He was appointed club captain in 1984 and helped his side to the First Division title that season. Motherwell were however suffering from financial difficulties at that time and, with Mauchlen one of their most saleable assets, it was only a matter of time before he left.

In England

Mauchlen moved to Leicester City in August 1985 as part of deal that also saw teammate

Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell b ...

make the switch to Filbert Street. The deal amounted to a combined fee of £350,000. Mauchlen turned out in 239

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

matches for the club. Mauchlen joined Leeds United on loan on 12 March 1992 but left the club at the end of that month without making a first team appearance.

Later career

Mauchlen returned to Scotland with Heart of Midlothian in 1992, making 18 league appearances. Unable to command a regular first team place, Mauchlen was loaned to Irish Football League side

Glenavon Glenavon Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club that competes in the NIFL Premiership. Founded in 1889, the club hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white. Gar ...

in November 1993, making the move permanent the following season. He switched to

Ballymena United Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds which is owned by the Mi ...

in August 1995. Mauchlen returned to England with non-league club Leicester United in summer 1996. In August Mauchlen scored the winning goal in their 3–2

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

Midland Division win over

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

. The following day however it was announced in a shock move that Leicester United had been liquidated. A free agent, Mauchlen promptly signed for

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...

. He subsequently turned out for VS Rugby and Hinckley Town.

Coaching career

During the late 1990s Mauchlen managed Oadby Town. In 1997, whilst in charge at Oadby, he was offered the chance to return to Glenavon as manager but he rejected the opportunity after feeling that the contract he was offered was not satisfactory. He returned to Oadby Town around 2004 as a coach under manager Lee Adam. As of 2011 Mauchlen is living back in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, 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 l ...

where he works for British Gas. His son Iain was for a time on the books at Cowdenbeath.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauchlen, Ally 1960 births Living people Footballers from Kilwinning Scottish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Scottish Football League players English Football League players NIFL Premiership players Kilmarnock F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Glenavon F.C. players Ballymena United F.C. players Leicester United F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players Rugby Town F.C. players Hinckley United F.C. players Scottish football managers Irvine Meadow XI F.C. players