David McCreery (born 16 September 1957) is a Northern

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former international

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 professionally 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 ...

and many other clubs during his long career. He mostly played in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

, but was very versatile, and during his career 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 ...

. McCreery made 67 appearances for the

Northern Ireland national football team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Foo ...

, and played in the World Cup finals of

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. He was named in the All Star Select XI at the World Cup 1982 for his continuous high quality performances. McCreery started his career with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, where he was a used substitute as they won the 1977

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 ...

and

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...

. After scoring eight goals for the club, he transferred to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

for £200,000 in 1979. In 1981, he joined

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: * Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. * Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the te ...

of the North American Soccer League playing both the 1981 and 1982 summer seasons in the United States. He also played in the 1981–82 winter

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

league for Tulsa, netting two goals.
/sup> In 1982, he was transferred to

where he gained promotion in the 1983–84 season, before shorter spells at Heart of Midlothian F.C., Heart of Midlothian and

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 ...

. He would later manage

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 ...

and Hartlepool, in the English Division 2. His greatest success at these clubs came in 1993–94, when he guided Carlisle to a place in the

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

playoffs, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

. He won Manager of the Month Award twice within his tenure at the club. He then joined

but was unable to win promotion and resigned after one season to initiate

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

in America. Within the MLS role, McCreery worked with Bruce Arena, Dave Sarachan and Rinus Michels, coaching and then selecting suitable players to raise the profile of the MLS in its inaugural season and beyond. His knowledge of global soccer and networks led McCreery to join a United States-based soccer management company, then he became European Consultant for

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

and scouted for a number of Premier and Championship League clubs in England. McCreery was named head coach of Myanmar National League club

Magway FC Magwe Football Club ( my, မကွေးဘောလုံးအသင်း) is a Myanmar Professional football club, based at Magwe, Myanmar. The club represents the Magway Region of Central Myanmar. At the founded time, the name of club is M ...

in late 2010. Straight away, he established a strong youth development programme at the club, and this resulted in five squad players being called up to the Myanmar U22 squad. After two years in Burma, McCreery moved to Malaysia to take charge of the

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

state team in the Malaysian Premier League. After leading the club to a Malaysia Cup playoff spot, he resigned from the role in July 2013.

Honours

Club

Manchester United *

: 1976–77 *

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

References

External links

* *
Northern Ireland Footballing Greats profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccreery, David 1957 births 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Association footballers from Northern Ireland Association football utility players British expatriates in Sweden Carlisle United F.C. managers Carlisle United F.C. players Expatriate association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Sweden Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Sweden Football managers from Northern Ireland GIF Sundsvall players Hartlepool United F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Living people Manchester United F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Northern Ireland international footballers Sabah F.C. (Malaysia) managers Association footballers from Belfast Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League managers English Football League players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players People educated at Ashfield Boys' High School Allsvenskan players Association football midfielders Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Malaysia Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Myanmar FA Cup Final players