Robert Wood McDonald (born 13 April 1955) is a former Scottish

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 in the left back position. McDonald was a defender of great control and positional sense who also had a happy knack of scoring goals. He played for King Street Sports club in Aberdeen before joining

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in 1971, turning professional in September 1972. A Scottish youth international, he played in the 1972 Little World Cup when Frank Gray and Kenny Burns were among his contemporaries. After helping Villa to promotion to Division One in 1974-75 and picking up a 1975 League Cup Winners' medal, a £40,000 transfer took him to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. He played thirty-three starting games and six substitute appearances in the league while at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

, scoring once. At Coventry he made one hundred and sixty-one consecutive appearances in the League, scoring fourteen goals. Coventry at this time played a very adventurous game and McDonald was encouraged to get forward and join in the attack. One of his best goals for the Sky Blues came in a famous Christmas time win over

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, a game which Coventry eventually won 5-4. For his goal, Bobby was stationed on the by-line just outside the six yard box. He somehow managed to curl the ball inside the near post past Kevin Keelan in the Norwich goal.

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

signed him for £270,000 in October 1980. Again he was a consistent regular amassing ninety-six League appearances and netting eleven times. McDonald was in the City team which lost the

1981 FA Cup Final The 1981 FA Cup Final was the 100th final of the FA Cup, and was contested by Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. The original match took place on Saturday 9 May 1981 at Wembley, and finished 1–1 after extra-time. Tommy Hutchison opened th ...

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 ...

. He went to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

in September 1983 and won a Third Division medal in his first season, followed by a Second Division medal in 1984-85. In League fixtures with Oxford he made ninety-four appearances and scored fourteen goals. He went to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on a month's loan in February 1987, before joining them in a £25,000 deal to help United's push towards the Play-offs, but took no part in their progress to the FA Cup Semi-Final as he was Cup-tied. Injury cost him his place the following season and he was loaned to

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

for six matches in February 1988. Granted a free-transfer in May 1988, he joined VS Rugby in the close season. He later played for Burton Albion, joining the Brewers in the summer of 1989, and after that moved around the Non-League scene with some regularity.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Bobby 1955 births Living people Footballers from Aberdeen Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Aston Villa F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players