Donald Sanderson Masson (born 26 August 1946) is a Scottish former

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 lea ...

. A midfielder, Masson began his career with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

in 1964. He stayed there for six years before moving to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, followed by

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

and Notts County, then player-manager of Kettering Town, before he retired. Masson was voted Notts best player of all time by supporters. He played 17 caps 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 ...

, including winning the British Home International Championship in 1976 and playing in the

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...

. After his retirement, Masson went into the hotel business with his wife.

Club career

Masson began his career with

in 1964. He was signed by

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

manager Billy Gray in 1968 in a joint deal for £7000 along with Bob Worthington. He stayed there for six years before moving to

in December 1974 for £100,000. Masson made his debut in the 1–0 home win versus Sheffield United on 14 December 1974. Although approaching 29 years of age before he played top-level football, his was a signing that underlined the quality of then manager

Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sexton, he st ...

's judgement. A stylish and creative

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he came to be seen as the final piece in the jigsaw of an exciting and attacking QPR team. The following 1975/76 season saw QPR come close to winning the League title, being pipped by a point by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. After three years at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

he moved to

in October 1977 in exchange for Leighton James. After a further spell at Notts County he played for a time in the United States. Don was voted Notts best player of all time by Notts County supporters and also has a lounge at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane is a football (soccer), football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County F.C., Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 201 ...

named in his honour. On returning to England he became the player-manager of Kettering Town, before retiring from the game.

International career

Masson won 17 caps for

. He scored five goals including Scotland's first goal in the 2–1 victory over England in 1976 which clinched their first British Home International Championship since 1967.Don Masson Statistics

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

; Retrieved 4 February 2010 He missed a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in the 3–1 defeat against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in the

Retirement

In retirement he turned his hand in to the hotel business, having bought ''The Gallery'' at

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, which he later sold. He and his wife now run The Grange, a guest house in Elton on the Hill.

Career Statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Masson goal.''

References

External links

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Best & Worst: Don Masson
Sunday Times, 20 September 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Masson, Don 1946 births Living people People from Banchory Men's association football midfielders Scottish men's footballers Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players Middlesbrough F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Minnesota Kicks players Bulova SA players Kettering Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Scottish football managers Kettering Town F.C. managers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers from Aberdeenshire