Aidan McCaffery (born 30 August 1957) 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 ...

and football club manager. As player, he made 370 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, playing as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, Exeter City,

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartl ...

and

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park ...

. As manager, he spent the 1991–92 season in charge of Carlisle United.

Career

McCaffery was born in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the ...

. He began his career as an apprentice with

and went on to captain the

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 ...

Youth side. He turned professional in January 1974 and made his league debut against

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 professio ...

in March 1975. His first senior goal for the club came in an

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 competit ...

replay against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

in January 1977. After 59 league games for the Magpies (scoring four goals) he moved to

in August 1978 for a fee of £60,000, making his Rams' debut on 15 September in a 3–2 win against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

at the

Baseball Ground The Baseball Ground (sometimes referred to as the BBG) was a stadium in Derby, England. It was first used for baseball as the home of Derby Baseball Club from 1890 until 1898 and then for football as the home of Derby County from 1895 until 199 ...

. In August 1980, after Derby's

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

, he moved to

for a fee of £70,000, having scored four times in 37 games for Derby. The following season, he scored the only goal of the game as Rovers beat local rivals

for the first time in ten meetings. He was loaned by Rovers to their local rivals

in February 1982, when City were in a financial crisis that saw them come very close to extinction and lose many of their players. He returned to Bristol Rovers and became a regular in their side, playing 184 times and scoring 11 goals in five seasons. In March 1985 he joined

on loan and in July that year moved to Exeter City on a free transfer. He made 58 league appearances for the Grecians before a £3,000 move back to his native north-east, joining

in February 1987. He was released after only six games and was playing for

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

when he was appointed youth coach at

in January 1988. He played 14 times for the Cumbrians that season before retiring to concentrate on his coaching duties under manager Clive Middlemass. When Middlemass was sacked in April 1991, McCaffery took over as manager, Carlisle ending the season in 20th place in the Fourth Division. The following season saw Carlisle struggle financially and finish bottom of the league, only saved from relegation to the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called th ...

by the unfortunate demise of

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 Alde ...

. A new owner,

Michael Knighton Michael Knighton (born 4 October 1951) is an English businessman, best known for his involvement in Manchester United and Carlisle United football clubs. Knighton first came to prominence in 1989 for his aborted £20 million bid to buy Manc ...

, took over the club the following summer and McCaffery left in September 1992, having expressed doubts about Knighton's plans.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCaffery, Aidan 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from Jarrow Footballers from Tyne and Wear Association football defenders English footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Whitley Bay F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Carlisle United F.C. managers English Football League managers