Malcolm MacDonald (26 October 1913 – 26 September 1999) was a Scottish 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 ...

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 ...

, best remembered for his time as a utility player with Celtic and as a manager with Kilmarnock and Brentford. MacDonald managed the Scotland national team on a

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

basis in 1966. He is a member of the Brentford Hall of Fame.

Club career

Celtic

MacDonald began his career in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

with junior clubs St Roch's and St Anthony's, before signing for

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...

club Celtic on 19 March 1932. Playing as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, he had a dream debut, scoring both of Celtic's goals in a 2–0 victory over Partick Thistle in the final league match of the 1931–32 season. Though he built on his appearance record year-by-year to make 38 appearances during the 1934–35 season, the arrival of Willie Lyon and a cartilage problem saw MacDonald's chances limited in 1935–36, making just 11 appearances during a season in which Celtic won the First Division title for the first time in 10 years. MacDonald didn't fully break into the team on a regular basis until the departure of

Willie Buchan William Ralston Murray Buchan (17 October 1914 – 6 July 2003) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. He played for Celtic, Blackpool, Hull City, Gateshead, Coleraine and East Stirlingshire. Buchan signed professional fo ...

to Blackpool in November 1937. He made 34 appearances and scored 13 goals during the 1937–38 season, helping the ''Bhoys'' to the league title and the Empire Exhibition Trophy. MacDonald's best season came in 1938–39, scoring 20 goals in 40 games and 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 ...

in the

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

match on 10 September 1938. The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in September 1939 saw competitive football suspended for the duration of the conflict, but MacDonald remained with Celtic, making 199 wartime appearances (18 goals) before the official leagues and cups resumed in 1946. MacDonald departed Celtic after the war, having made 156 appearances in major competitions and scored 38 goals during his time with the club. He played in every position bar

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

during his years at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

Kilmarnock

MacDonald returned to Southern League 'A' club Kilmarnock in 1945, after a period guesting in 1940 during the Second World War. He remained at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for co ...

until October 1946. MacDonald would later play for the club again while manager during the 1951–52 season. He made 10 appearances and scored one goal across his two spells with the club.

Brentford

MacDonald moved to

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 ...

to join First Division club Brentford for a £1,500 fee in October 1946. Manager Harry Curtis played him as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, but a broken jaw hampered his progress and the Bees were relegated to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

at the end of the 1946–47 season. Injury to Bill Gorman saw MacDonald take up a position at full back in September 1947 and he kept the position until his retirement at the end of the 1948–49 season. He made 93 appearances and scored one goal during his time at Griffin Park.

International and representative career

MacDonald's first taste of international football came with the Scotland schoolboy team in 1928. In 1939, he made 8 appearances for the

Scottish FA The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for ...

XI on its tour of

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and the

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. He later won three wartime caps for the full

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

team during 1941. MacDonald represented the

Scottish Football League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

against their English counterparts on 11 October 1941.

Management and coaching career

Scotland

MacDonald briefly coached the Scotland national football team for wartime internationals played in 1945.

Brentford

MacDonald's

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

career began while still a player at Brentford and he held a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

role during the 1948–49 season.

Kilmarnock

MacDonald took up his first managerial appointment with former club Kilmarnock in May 1950. He turned the ailing club into a competitive force in the

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

and took the club to fifth, fourth and second-place finishes by the end of the 1953–54 season, which won Killie promotion to the First Division. MacDonald also brought the club further success in the cups, reaching the 1952 Scottish League Cup Final and the 1957 Scottish Cup Final. He departed the club at the end of the 1956–57 season.

Return to Brentford

MacDonald returned to Brentford, then having fallen to the

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

, as manager prior to the beginning of the 1957–58 season. He instantly turned around the club's fortunes, using a largely home-grown squad to push for promotion to the Second Division during the season, though an injury to Len Newcombe would ultimately contribute to a second-place finish. With an ageing squad, MacDonald third and sixth-place finished in 1958–59 and 1959–60, before toying with relegation during the 1960–61 season. The Brentford board's decision to shrink the playing squad (which included selling prolific twin forwards

Jim Towers Edwin James Towers (15 April 1933 – 16 September 2010) was an English professional footballer, best remembered for his time as a centre forward in the Football League with Brentford. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer and in 2013 wa ...

and George Francis) and to retain a number of players on a part-time basis contributed to the club's relegation at the end of the 1961–62 season. New chairman

Jack Dunnett John Jacob Dunnett (24 June 1922 – 26 October 2019) was a British Labour Party politician, solicitor, and football club chairman. He died in London in October 2019 at the age of 97. Early life and politics Dunnett was educated at Whitgift ...

pumped money into the club in 1961 and MacDonald's signings of Johnny Brooks, John Dick and Billy McAdams in 1962 saw Brentford win the 1962–63 Fourth Division title at a canter. MacDonald remained with Brentford until January 1965, when he announced he would be departing Griffin Park. He intended to carry on in his position until the end of the 1964–65 season, but was given a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

on 2 February 1965 by chairman Dunnett. For his achievements with the Bees, MacDonald was later inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.

Return to Kilmarnock

On 26 January 1965, MacDonald agreed a £4,000-a-year contract to return to Kilmarnock as manager on 1 July 1965. The club had finished the 1964–65 season as First Division champions for the first time in the club's history, but MacDonald could not build on that and accumulated a third and two seventh-place finishes, though he took Killie to the semi-finals of the

1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The ninth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1966–67 season. The competition was won by Dinamo Zagreb over two legs in the final against Leeds United. For the first time in the history of the cup, replays were scrapped, with sides going ...

. He was sacked on 2 April 1968.

Scotland caretaker

MacDonald briefly managed the Scotland team on a

basis in late 1966 and presided over two 1966–67 British Home Championship matches: a 1–1 draw with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and a 2–1 victory over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Scouting career

MacDonald scouted for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

from the late 1960s until the mid 1970s, working for friend Bill Nicholson.

Personal life

MacDonald was born in Glasgow to parents from

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

and was known as 'Calum' to his friends and teammates. After his retirement from football management, MacDonald went into business as a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

and

chiropodist Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare ...

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

. MacDonald died on 26 September 1999.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

Celtic *

Scottish League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

: 1935–36, 1937–38 * Empire Exhibition Trophy: 1938

As a manager

Kilmarnock * Scottish League Second Division second-place promotion: 1953–54 Brentford * Football League Fourth Division: 1962–63

As an individual

* Brentford Hall of Fame

References

External links

* *
Malky MacDonald
at scottishfa.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Malky 1913 births 1999 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish footballers Association football utility players Celtic F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League managers English Football League players Scottish football managers Kilmarnock F.C. managers Scottish Football League representative players St Anthony's F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland national football team managers Scotland wartime international footballers Brentford F.C. managers English Football League managers St Roch's F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. wartime guest players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff Association football defenders Association football midfielders Association football forwards People associated with Scottish islands