Bernard Anthony McNally (born 17 February 1963) is a former
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
international
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 ...
who played in
midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
.
During his club career he played for
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
(1980–1989),
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
(1989–1995),
Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park.
History
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. (1996–1998), and
Telford United. He earned five caps for the
Northern Ireland national football team from 1986 to 1988, and was included in the
1986 FIFA World Cup team.
Playing career
McNally grew up in the
Ditherington
Ditherington is a suburb of the town of Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. It is the fourth most deprived ward in non-metropolitan Shropshire.
There has been much regeneration work in the southern part of Ditherington, which is ...
area of Shrewsbury, and was a pupil at the
Harlescott Grange School. He was signed as a professional by his hometown club
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
, on the eve of the 1981/82 season, and immediately established himself as a first team member in arguably one of the best ever
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
sides. McNally was one of the key Shrewsbury players during their spell in the old
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, as Shrewsbury established themselves as Second Division regulars during the mid-80s, and made a total of 284 Football League appearances for Shrewsbury, though it was once said he should be sold and someone else just as good should be bought.
In July 1989, McNally was sold for £385,000 (following a tribunal) to
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
, following talks with both
Stoke City and Sunderland. McNally had a successful stint at West Brom, in only his first year at the club he was voted Supporter's Player of the season in 1989/90. Arguably the highlight of his time at
The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the cl ...
being a member of the squad that won the 1993 Second Division playoffs.
He was unable to command a regular first team place later in his West Brom career, and so made a switch to another West Midlands team,
Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park.
History
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. , in 1996. Hednesford were enjoying a successful spell in the
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
, and the experienced Football League veteran was a hit with the Hednesford fans. Arguably the highlight of McNally's Hednesford career was the team's 1996/97
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 ...
run, in which the team reached the fourth round, facing
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...
at the
Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...
. After taking an early lead in front of a 28,000 crowd, Hednesford were unlucky to lose 3–2, with McNally playing an important role.
After playing for Hednesford, he played briefly at
Telford United before retiring as a player
Managerial career
In 2004, one of McNally's former clubs Telford United, went bust following the demise of chairman Andy Shaw's business empire. Despite being unable to save the club, Telford supporters founded a new club,
AFC Telford United
AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...
, playing in the
Northern Premier League's First Division. McNally was appointed as the club's first manager, and quickly built up a squad. Despite some early indifferent form, McNally's side soon rose up the table, eventually finishing third in the league and qualifying for the play-offs. Telford were to beat Kendal Town 2–1 in the playoff final, in front of a league record crowd of 4.215 at the
New Bucks Head
New Bucks Head is a stadium in Wellington, Shropshire, England and the home of Conference National football club AFC Telford United. It was originally built for Telford United to play at before they went bankrupt. The stadium is on the same si ...
.
Telford struggled in their opening season in the Northern Premier League. With the club second from bottom midway through the season, and following considerable pressure from fans, McNally was sacked, later to be replaced by Willenhall's Rob Smith. Despite the setback, McNally stated in a later radio interview for
BBC Radio Shropshire that whilst disappointed, he had no hard feelings towards the club, and was proud to have managed them.
McNally is currently involved in football coaching, and is still remembered with great affection by fans at
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
. To that effect he was invited to be part of the Shrewsbury Town 'Legends' who paraded the pitch at
Gay Meadow
Gay Meadow was the home ground of Shrewsbury Town football club in Shropshire, England. Just outside the town centre, on the banks of the River Severn, it opened in 1910.
The ground closed at the end of the 2006-07 Football League season and t ...
prior to the ground's final League fixture against
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...
on 5 May 2007.
McNally was appointed by Indian club,
Pune FC
Pune Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Pune, Maharashtra. The club has competed in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. The club was one of the most professional clubs in Indian foot ...
as head coach in February 2008, a post he held until May 2008.
In September 2009 he was appointed as Caretaker Manager of
Southern League Premier Division
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 foot ...
side
Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park.
History
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top. . The club had struggled in the first half of their season under former first team manager Simon Lines, therefore McNally had to work quickly to get the club back on track. Success saw the club finish 4th earning a playoff position. Hednesford Town lost in the play-off semi-finals to
Chippenham Town. He was manager until September 2010.
In June 2011 he was appointed as manager by
Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...
club
Newtown In 2011/12 Newtown went to the league cup final, but lost the match on penalties. The 2012/13 season was mixed for McNally and Newtown, as they kept their league status for another season. That season Newtown beat
Bangor City at home and beat
The New Saints
The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, also known as The New Saints ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed y Seintiau Newydd) or TNS, are a professional football club that currently play in the Cymru Premier. They are the most successfu ...
at
Park Hall
Park Hall is an affluent area near to the south-eastern edge of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is considered that the area near to the local Park Hall Primary and Infant schools and the Gillity Village shops are classed as Park Hall. ...
for the first time in 11 years. In the season of 2013/14, McNally saw his
Newtown team play some great football, but it was announced that he was to leave the club to take a coaching roll at former club
Shrewsbury Town F.C. McNally's final match was a 2–0 win against
Port Talbot Town, which left Newtown in 5th place in the early season table. Bernie was given a very good send off from the club as the fans and staff were all grateful of the work he had done with a very small budget.
On 6 September 2015, it was announced that McNally would take over the managerial position at Hednesford Town FC.
References
Bernard McNally Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNally, Bernard
1963 births
Living people
Association football midfielders
Association footballers from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland international footballers
1986 FIFA World Cup players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
English Football League players
Football managers from Northern Ireland
AFC Telford United managers
Newtown A.F.C. managers
Pune FC managers
Telford United F.C. players
I-League managers
Cymru Premier managers
Expatriate football managers in India
Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in India