Alexander MacFarlane (1878 – 22 December 1945) was a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager. As a player, he won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in 1910. As a manager, he won 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 on ...

with

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

in 1929.

Playing career

MacFarlane first played in Scotland for

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Club ...

before moving south to join Woolwich Arsenal in 1896. He only made seven appearances for Arsenal, his debut coming against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

on 28 November 1896, and returned to Airdrie the following year. His second move south of the border was more successful, joining

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and becoming their first-choice inside-left. In three seasons in the north-east, MacFarlane made eighty-four

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

appearances, scoring seventeen goals in three consecutive top six finishes, as well as two

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

appearances. He returned to Scotland to play for

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in 1901. During his twelve years there, he won a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1909–10 and made five appearances for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

between 1904 and 1911, scoring once in a 5–0 victory over

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on 15 March 1909 in the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

. He moved to Chelsea in 1913, but only played sporadically and retired from playing in 1914.

Managerial career

MacFarlane returned to Dundee in 1919 and spent six years in charge of the club, during which time they reached another Scottish Cup final in 1924–25. That summer,

tempted him to move south. In January 1928 he returned to Dundee, but only lasted seven months before returning to Charlton. In his first full season back at the club, he led Charlton to the 1928–29

title. He ledt Charlton in 1932 and a year later joined

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on a two-year contract. At Blackpool, he dismantled ''the Seasiders'' squad, allowing nine players to leave

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

as he brought in fresh faces. One player he signed, Peter Doherty, cost £1,000 but was sold on to

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 ...

in 1936 for ten times that amount. At the end of the 1934–35 season, Blackpool sat in fourth position in the Division Two table, just missing out on a return to the top flight. Blackpool was MacFarlane's last appointment, and he drifted out of football at the age of 57. He died in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

, in December 1945.

Honours

As a player

Dundee *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

As manager

Charlton Athletic *

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

Individual

*Dundee FC Heritage Award: 2015 *Dundee FC Hall of Fame: 2015

References

* *

External links

Photo of Dundee F.C. Scottish Cup winning team of 1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfarlane, Sandy Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Arsenal F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Dundee F.C. managers Charlton Athletic F.C. managers Blackpool F.C. managers 1878 births 1945 deaths Scottish Football League representative players Footballers from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Scottish Football League managers Men's association football inside forwards Date of birth missing Scottish football managers