Rodney Troy McDonald (born 11 April 1992) is an English 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 ...

who plays as a defender for club

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Career

Stoke City

McDonald joined Stoke City's academy from Manchester City's academy in 2005. He became a regular in the club's youth and reserves side but was released in the summer of 2010. In October 2009 he joined

Nantwich Town Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed ''The Dabbers'', a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in and pla ...

on loan to gain some first team experience. However Stoke recalled McDonald after just one substitute appearance after academy manager

Adrian Pennock Adrian Barry Pennock (born 27 March 1971) is an English former association football, footballer who played for Norwich City F.C., Norwich City, Molde FK, AFC Bournemouth, Gillingham F.C., Gillingham and Ebbsfleet United F.C., Gravesend & Northfl ...

wanted him to start on his debut.

Oldham Athletic

McDonald signed for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

in early August 2010 after impressing in a series of trial games at the club. He made his debut on 31 August 2010 in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

match against Shrewsbury Town as a 45th-minute substitute. On 29 October 2010 he joined Stafford Rangers for a month-long loan period to gain some first team experience. He returned to Oldham at the end of November having made four appearances whilst on loan, including three league matches. On 22 February 2011, McDonald joined Northern Premier club

on a month-long loan deal. The loan was extended on 24 March until the end of the season. At the end of the season he was informed that he was out of contract and would not be offered a new deal.

Colwyn Bay

In July 2011, McDonald agreed to join

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

Nantwich Town

In late 2011 he rejoined his former loan club, for the third time, this time on a permanent deal.

Hereford United

On 28 January 2013, McDonald joined

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

on a contract lasting until the end of the season. After impressing Hereford manager

Martin Foyle Martin John Foyle (born 2 May 1963) is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the Head of Recruitment at club St Mirren. In his 20-year playing career he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, he took ...

, McDonald signed a new one-year contract on 11 June 2013.

AFC Telford United

Following Hereford's relegation from the Conference Premier Division, McDonald departed the club and signed for

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 ...

, following Martin Foyle in joining the Bucks.

Northampton Town

After leaving Telford, McDonald joined

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

on a trial, and impressed manager Chris Wilder enough to earn a 12-month contract with the Cobblers. McDonald made his debut for Northampton in a 3–0 win over

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

on 15 August 2015, as a substitute for

Zander Diamond Alexander Kevin "Zander" Diamond (born 12 March 1985) is a Scottish former professional footballer and current assistant manager of Lowland League club Broomhill. Diamond played as a centre-back and began his career with Scottish Premier Leagu ...

. He eventually established himself as a regular starter in the side as they went on to win the 2015/16 League Two title, signing a new contract with the club until the summer of 2018 in February 2016. Following Chris Wilder's departure as Northampton Town manager in May 2016, McDonald struggled to establish in the side during the following season in

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

, making just nine appearances in all competitions during the 2016/17 season. At the end of the campaign, McDonald was transfer-listed by manager

Justin Edinburgh Justin Charles Edinburgh (18 December 1969 – 8 June 2019) was an English professional football manager and player who played as a left back. He notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, where he made 213 league appearance ...

, alongside three other players.

Coventry City

On 19 May 2017, McDonald was signed by

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. McDonald made his debut for the Sky Blues in a 3–0 victory over

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

on the opening day of the 2017–18 League Two season.

AFC Wimbledon

On 2 August 2018, McDonald joined

side AFC Wimbledon for an undisclosed fee.

Carlisle United

On 3 August 2020, McDonald joined Carlisle United on a two-year deal. He was released by the club at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Crewe Alexandra

On 27 June 2022, McDonald agreed to join

upon the expiration of his Carlisle United contract. He started in Crewe's opening game of the 2022–23 season, a 2–1 victory over

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

Spotland Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. The Rochdale ward name is Spotland and Falinge. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 10,805. It lies on the River Spodden, and is the home of Spotland Stadium ...

on 30 July 2022.

Personal life

His father Rodney was a professional footballer for Partick Thistle as well as many other clubs, as is his older brother Clayton.

Career statistics

Honours

Coventry City *

EFL League Two play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engl ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Rod 1992 births Living people Stoke City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players English Football League players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Nantwich Town F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players AFC Telford United players Hereford United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Carlisle United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Association football defenders English footballers