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 lea ...

who plays as a defender for club

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

Career

Stoke City

McDonald joined

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

's academy from

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

'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 on loan to gain some first team experience. However Stoke recalled McDonald after just one substitute appearance after academy manager Adrian Pennock wanted him to start on his debut.

Oldham Athletic

McDonald signed for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

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, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier 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 Nantwich Town 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 by Oldham 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 () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

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 Carlisle United. In his 20-year playing career, he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, h ...

, 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 F.C., founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the and play at ...

, 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 competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

on a trial, and impressed manager

Chris Wilder Christopher John Wilder (born 23 September 1967) is an English professional football manager who formerly played as a right-back. He is the manager of club Sheffield United. Wilder's extensive professional playing career saw spells at Sheff ...

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 level 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. 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, 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 Manager (association football), football manager and Association football, footballer who played as a left back. He played in the Premier League for Totten ...

, alongside three other players.

Coventry City

On 19 May 2017, McDonald was signed by

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

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

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

AFC Wimbledon

On 2 August 2018, McDonald joined League One side

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

for an undisclosed fee.

Carlisle United

On 3 August 2020, McDonald joined

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

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

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

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 town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Spotland Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseysi ...

on 30 July 2022. Five weeks later, on 3 September 2023, he scored his first Crewe goal in a 2–1 League Two defeat by

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History C ...

. At the end of the season, he was offered a new contract by the club.

Harrogate Town

On 9 June 2023, it was announced that McDonald had declined the contract extension from Crewe Alexandra, in order to sign for Harrogate Town upon expiry of his contract. He made his Harrogate debut in the club's opening game of the season, a 1–0 win at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

on 5 August 2023, and scored his first Harrogate goal on 4 November 2023, in Harrogate's 5–1 FA Cup first round win at Marine.

Notts County

On 24 June 2024, McDonald signed for fellow League Two side

on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Personal life

His father, Rodney, was a professional footballer for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

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 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Rod 1992 births Living people Stoke City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 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 Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English Football League players Men's association football defenders English men's footballers Footballers from Liverpool 21st-century English sportsmen