Ian Clifford McDonald (born 10 May 1953) is an English former

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 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, McDonald began his career with his hometown club Barrow before joining

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Locat ...

. A move to

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 ...

followed but he did not break into the first team, and was loaned to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

before joining

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

in July 1975, with whom he won the Third Division title in 1976–77. He moved to

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

where he became a regular in midfield before joining

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

in November 1981, in exchange for Malcolm Crosby. At Aldershot he gained renown as a skilful midfielder and captained the side to promotion to the Third Division under Len Walker in 1987. After leaving League football in 1989 to join

Farnborough Town Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at Cherrywood Road. H ...

, he returned to Aldershot as caretaker manager following the resignation of

Brian Talbot Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team. Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albio ...

in November 1991. However, the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

club was now deep in debt and struggling back in the Fourth Division, having narrowly avoided going out of business the previous year. Staff wages regularly went unpaid, and many players moved elsewhere just to seek a guaranteed wage. McDonald often had to resort to recruiting amateur footballers just to be able to field a full side. McDonald stayed with Aldershot until the club finally went out of business and left the Football League on 25 March 1992. His assistant Steve Wignall was appointed manager of the new

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

club which was formed several weeks later, and that summer McDonald made his own football comeback as a reserve team coach at

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. Later in 1992, McDonald had his own testimonial with the new Aldershot side at the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. He later worked part-time in schools support in the Barrow-in-Furness area. On 16 December 2013, McDonald returned to football management when he was appointed manager of Workington, the club he played for forty years earlier.

Honours

Mansfield Town *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

winner: 1976–77 Aldershot * Football League Fourth Division playoff winner: 1986–87

Individual

* York City Clubman of the Year: 1979–80

References

External links

Ian McDonald stats
at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Ian 1953 births Living people Footballers from Barrow-in-Furness English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Barrow A.F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players York City F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players English Football League players Aldershot F.C. managers English Football League managers English football managers