Archibald Johnston McPherson (10 February 1909 – 1969) was a Scottish footballer who played as an

inside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or left half, with his longest spell being with

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. He was later a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, in charge of

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...

for a decade.

Career

McPherson, known as 'Curly', began his professional career with RangersMcPherson Archie Image 1 Liverpool 1930
Vintage Footballers before moving south of the border to join

in late 1929 after 18 months at Ibrox, in which he was loaned to

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...

then had a role as back-up to

Bob McPhail Robert Lowe McPhail (25 October 1905 – 24 August 2000) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for Airdrieonians, Rangers and represented Scotland. Career Airdrieonians Born in Barrhead, McPhail started his career at Glasgow Jun ...

, deciding to leave as he was unlikely to displace the Scottish international despite impressing when he did fill in while McPhail was injured. He was to be a regular in Liverpool's first-team for the next five years, playing as an inside-left and forming a partnership with Fred Hopkin. Described as a skilful player and an accurate passer, in December 1934 he moved on to

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 ...

, where he was employed as a wing-half. He featured on the losing side in the 1936 FA Cup Final, before returning to Scotland to spend one year at Falkirk then short spells at East Fife and

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

up to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, after which he retired. He later managed

for ten years, until a short time before his death in 1969. He also played cricket, as a batsman, for Clackmannan County in the Scottish Counties Championship.

Honours

;Rangers *

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rul ...

: 1929–30Rangers Defeat Celtic Glasgow Cup For Ibrox
The Glasgow Herald, 17 October 1929 ;Alloa Athletic *

Stirlingshire Cup The Stirlingshire Cup is an association football cup competition for clubs in the county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1883 and is contested annually by senior member clubs of the Stirlingshire Football Association. Th ...

: 1959–60, 1965–66

References

External links

Profile at LFCHistory.net
1909 births 1969 deaths Scottish men's footballers Rangers F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Scottish football managers Alloa Athletic F.C. managers East Fife F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football wing halves Footballers from Stirling (council area) English Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League managers {{Scotland-footy-forward-1910s-stub