Christian Alphonso McClean 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 ...

who played as a striker 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 ...

for

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 ...

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ...

and

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...

Biography

Born in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in 1963, McClean turned professional in 1987 after signing for

from Essex non-League club Clacton Town. During his time at Rovers he played 51 league matches, scoring six goals. He also played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

when Rovers reached the final of the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

,Bristol Rovers legend Christian McClean left with head injury after Essex hit and run
Bristol Post, 20 May 2016 losing 2–1 to

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

. In 1991, he was transferred to

, but after making only four league appearances for the club, he moved to

. In 1992, he returned to non-League football with Essex club

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

. He later played for Sudbury Town, scoring the goal that put them ahead against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

in the club's first appearance in the second round of the

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 ...

. A popular player with Bristol Rovers supporters, he continues to regularly attend Rovers games. In May 2016 he was knocked unconscious in a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

attack in

Marks Tey Marks Tey is a large village and electoral ward in Essex, England; it is located six miles west of Colchester. Facilities Marks Tey is one of a group of villages called the Teys, also including Great Tey and Little Tey. Its main features inc ...

in Essex.Former Sudbury and Clacton footballer Christian McClean victim of hit and run in Marks Tey
Green 'Un, 21 May 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClean, Christian 1963 births Sportspeople from Colchester English footballers F.C. Clacton players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Sudbury Town F.C. players Heybridge Swifts F.C. players English Football League players Living people Association football forwards