Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former 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 ...

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 o ...

and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

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 ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Macdonald is Newcastle United's fifth highest goalscorer of all time. He also won England's Golden Boot with Newcastle in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and with Arsenal in 1977.

Club career

Early years and Fulham

Born in Finlay Street,

, a stone's throw from Craven Cottage, Macdonald attended the same school (Sloane Grammar school on Hortensia Rd in Chelsea) as former

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

and GTR guitarist

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

. Macdonald started his career as a full back before switching to centre forward. He started his career at

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 ...

. After playing for non-league side

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

, his schoolboy hero

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

paid £1,000 to sign him for

in 1968 just after their relegation from the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

Luton Town

A year later Macdonald moved to

. At Luton he scored 58 times in 101 matches. When he left Luton for Newcastle in 1971, for a fee of £180k, he was driven to his new club in a Rolls-Royce.

Newcastle United

manager

Joe Harvey Joseph Harvey (11 June 1918 – 24 February 1989) was an English football player and later manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager, and, as of 2022, the last to win a major ...

signed Macdonald for £180,000 in the summer of 1971. He made an immediate impact by scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on his home debut against

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 popul ...

. It was in this game that MacDonald earned the nickname "Supermac", which came from a chant by the Newcastle fans to the tune of

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

, namely, "Supermac, superstar, how many goals have you scored so far?" In his first season Newcastle were bottom of the table on 30 October 1971 after Everton handed them their fifth consecutive defeat of the season. That match was the Newcastle debut of

Tony Green Anthony John "Tony" Green (born 29 January 1939) is an English sports commentator and television presenter. Darts career A former amateur player, who played county darts for Lancashire, he was the BBC's lead commentator when they showed t ...

. With Green and Macdonald teaming up effectively up front for Newcastle, the team prospered, with an unbeaten run of five wins and two draws to and climbed up the table. They finished the league eleventh, with Macdonald scoring 30 goals in 52 games in his first season to be Newcastle's top scorer in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

.The Joy of six, The Guardian
/ref> He top scored again in 1973,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. He also won the First Division's golden boot for that 1975–76 season. Macdonald scored twice, eliminating

Burnley F.C. Burnley Football Club () is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, that competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, following relegation from the 2021–22 Premier League. Founded on 18 ...

in the

1973–74 FA Cup The 1973–74 FA Cup was the 93rd season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Liverpool won the competition for only the second time, beating Newcastle United 3� ...

semi-final. In the 1974 FA Cup Final Newcastle lost 3–0 to Liverpool. During the TV show Superstars in 1975, Macdonald ran 100m in 10.9 seconds. Macdonald set up an equalising goal for Alan Gowling in the 1976 League Cup final at Wembley, but Newcastle went on to lose 2-1 to

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 ...

Arsenal

Macdonald left Newcastle for

in 1976, for an unusual fee of £333,333.34. In December 1976, he scored a hat-trick for his new club against Newcastle in a 5-3 win at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

. He was the club's top scorer for two consecutive seasons and won the Golden Boot of 1977. Macdonald, at the time not fully fit, got to 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 ...

final of

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

after scoring twice in the semi-final against

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

at Stamford Bridge. He earned a runners-up medal in the final after a 1-0 defeat 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 ...

. At the start of the 1978–79 season, he suffered a knee injury in a

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 ...

match against

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, an injury from which he was unable to completely recover.

Djurgården

Macdonald spent a couple of months in Sweden with

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum ...

after which he announced his retirement from playing at the premature age of 29 in August 1979. In his footballing career, Macdonald scored a total of 193 goals.

International career

While at Newcastle, he made his

debut against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Macdonald was on the England scoresheet for the first time in a friendly 2–0 win over then World Champions

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. On 16 April 1975, in a European Championship qualifier also held at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

Macdonald scored all five goals in a 5–0 victory for

against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

equalling the record for the most goals scored in a single game by an England player. This feat has not been repeated since by any English footballer. Although three pre-war players,

Howard Vaughton Oliver Howard Vaughton (9 January 1861 – 6 January 1937) was an England international footballer who played as an inside left. Vaughton played for England on five occasions, scoring six goals. Five of his goals were scored in a 13–0 victor ...

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...

and Willie Hall, had previously scored five for England, Macdonald was the first, and remains the only, player to do so in a competitive international. His feat spawned the newspaper headline "SuperMac 5, Cyprus 0". In total he played 14 times for England scoring six goals.

Managerial career

After retirement from playing, Macdonald returned to Fulham as a manager in 1980. His time at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

was initially successful, with promotion to the Second Division being achieved in 1982. In the 1982–83 season, they appeared certainties for promotion to the First Division for the majority of the season, but a slump in the later stages of the season allowed their lead to wither away and they finished 4th. The following season began as a struggle before a second half turnaround saw them into mid-table safety, with Macdonald, even before the season's end leaving the club in April 1984. He returned to management at

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

in 1987, but his time in charge proved unfruitful as the side were relegated from the Second Division in dismal fashion, including a 10–1 defeat to

. Macdonald is now the President of North Shields F.C.

Media career

Macdonald worked extensively for Real Radio North East, presenting, firstly in 2000, the ''Legends Football Phone-In'', alongside

Bernie Slaven Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional football striker. He scored 223 goals in 567 league and cup appearances over the course of an 18-year career and also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland. He star ...

and

Micky Horswill Michael Frederick Horswill (born 6 March 1953 in Annfield Plain, County Durham) is a former English professional footballer, who played for Sunderland, Manchester City, Plymouth Argyle, Hull City, Happy Valley of Hong Kong and Carlisle United ...

. At the end of the 2011–12 season the programme was axed from Real Radio and then made its way upon

Star Radio North East Rathergood Radio, formerly known as Star Radio (in County Durham), was an independent local radio station. It formerly broadcast in Darlington, County Durham, North Yorkshire and surrounding areas on FM. The County Durham licences were owned and ...

, so continuing in a similar format until 2014. Macdonald also presented an interview series for the Century Radio Network titled ''Upfront With Malcolm Macdonald'', in which he talked to famous players such as

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

Joe Royle Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the ...

and

Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...

among others. He also writes a regular column for the retro football magazine ''Backpass''. In 2011, Macdonald was strongly critical of Newcastle United's decision to change their stadium name from

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...

to the Sports Direct Arena. Macdonald said: "It seems antagonistic. It's not only part of the football club's heritage, but part of the heritage of the city."

Outside football

After a failed business venture and divorcing his second wife, he struggled with the aftermath of his injury. Macdonald said that the pain from his long-standing knee injury led to an increasing dependence on alcohol. He eventually gave up drinking in 1997. Macdonald is married to Carol, the former wife of

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

. It was Carol who helped Macdonald to a rehabilitation programme. He has been known to present trophies at football tournaments, including one held at Haggerston Castle Holiday Park.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Macdonald goal.''

Honours

Newcastle United *

runner up: 1973–74 *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

runner up: 1975–76 Arsenal * FA Cup runner up: 1977–78 Individual *

Golden Boot:

, 1977 *

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 ...

* Newcastle United Hall of Fame *

Football League 100 Legends The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Football League and Premier League football. The players were selected in 1998 by a panel of journa ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Malcolm 1950 births Living people Footballers from Fulham English footballers English expatriate footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Allsvenskan players Expatriate footballers in Sweden Arsenal F.C. players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players England international footballers England under-23 international footballers Luton Town F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Fulham F.C. players English football managers Fulham F.C. managers Huddersfield Town A.F.C. managers Tonbridge Angels F.C. players English Football League representative players Association football forwards FA Cup Final players