Where Are They Now?                                   Profiles of ex-Luton players

Malcolm MacDonald

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Height: 5 ft 10". Weight: 13 st 05lbs. Born: Fulham, 07.01.1950. Nationality: England. International Honours: England 14 full caps, 4 U-23 caps.

Born in Fulham on January 7th 1950, MacDonald started his career as a full-back with The Cottagers, but in 1969 he was persuaded to join the Hatters by manager Alec Stock.  With Luton just missing out on promotion from Division Three during the previous season, Stock felt that he needed to bring in a new striker that could score the goals to fire Luton to promotion this time around - and boy did he get it right when he signed Malcolm for £17,500! 

In only his second game for the club, Malcolm scored the winner in a 1-0 victory at AFC Bournemouth, and he netted again in the following 4 matches, which included goals in home matches against Leyton Orient, Halifax Town and Bristol Rovers.  In fact, he never really stopped scoring during the season, and he netted two hat-tricks during the campaign in a 5-0 home win over Bradford City and a 5-0 home victory over Reading.  He also showed Fulham exactly why they shouldn’t have sold him when he netted the winner in both of the matches against the Cottagers. 

Malcolm MacDonald for Luton.

His 25 goals in 46 League matches were a huge factor in Luton finishing second in Division Three and gaining promotion to Division Two – the Hatters’ first season back in Division Two for 7 years. 

He took his fantastic form into the following season as Luton did extremely well in their first campaign in Division Two, finishing 6^th and just 7 points off of promotion to Division One.  Malcolm was absolutely on fire again and he was consistently scoring goals, his strength in the box and deadly finishing and heading prowess striking fear into every defence he came up against. 

Malcolm MacDonald in action for Luton Town.

He netted on the opening day of the season, in a 4-2 loss at Bolton Wanderers, and it spurred a rich run of goal scoring as he bagged 10 goals in the following 10 League matches, which included 2 goals in a 4-0 home win over Oxford United, another 2 goals in a 4-0 home win over Leyton Orient, 2 goals in a 3-0 home victory over Bristol City and a hat-trick in a 5-1 demolition of Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 

He netted hat-tricks in 2 other matches during that season in a 3-4 home defeat to Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup 3^rd Round replay and in a 3-0 home win over Cardiff City on the final day of the season. 

However, with clubs from higher divisions sniffing around Malcolm, it was always going to be hard for Luton to keep hold of their prize asset – and so it proved when in the summer of 1971, he was sold to Newcastle United for £180,000 as the Magpies’ manager Joe Harvey sought to revamp a Newcastle outfit, one that had failed to build on the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph.  Malcolm's departure was a bitter pill to swallow for the Luton fans, his goal scoring record had spoke for itself – 49 goals in 88 League matches.

With "Supermac" set to lead the line, Geordie fans eagerly awaited the start of the 1971-72 season. However, with no goals from the opening 2 games, it wasn't until August 21st when Newcastle United's season ignited before a large St James Park crowd. 39,720 gathered to see Malcolm Malcolm make his home debut against unbeaten Liverpool, with a newcomer by the name of Kevin Keegan drawing rave reviews… Yet the day belonged to "Supermac", a magnificent hat-trick securing a rousing 3-2 win for the home side.

MacDonald at Newcastle.

Inevitably, Malcolm continued to score goals in international football. During the space of 5 special weeks in the spring of 1975, the fast and powerful striker had his finest moments in an England shirt. Firstly, he scored one of the goals that helped his country to an excellent 2-0 Wembley win over reigning World Cup holders, West Germany. Then, in a home European Championship qualifier against Cyprus, Malcolm wrote his name into footballing history, equalling the England individual scoring record by notching all 5 goals in a 5-0 triumph.

Malcolm made a total of 187 appearances for Newcastle, scoring a phenomenal 95 goals, before he was sold to Arsenal for a then record transfer fee of £333,333.33p – exactly a third of a million pounds.  He continued to blast the goals for the Gunners, bagging 42 goals in 84 matches before injury curtailed his time at Highbury.  His England record also spoke for itself – 4 goals in 4 appearances at U-23 level and 6 goals in 14 matches at senior level.

Malcolm spoke about his time at Kenilworth Road, as well as other highlights of his career.  He said, "I've always been able to set up a very good rapport with supporters.  I was one myself as a lad, and I think I never forgot my original football roots of watching football from the terraces.  I tried to go out and make every game as exciting as I could - and scoring goals helped!

"I was turned down by every club in London as a schoolboy, but I thought I won't let that affect me, I am going to make it - and make it I did.  As a boy, Chelsea said I was too small, and I was, but I was a late developer.  I ended up as 5 ft 10" and weighing 13 stone!  I didn't like what I was hearing at the time, but I wasn't going to let it deter me.

MacDonald as he is now.

"When I was at school and I had just turned 14 and I was elevated into the school's first-team and so I was playing with and against much bigger lads.  I had the ability but not the physical size and so when that elevation came I choose to play at full-back because you don't need height there and so I could forge my way and be successful at that age.  when I played with the bigger lads, I found that playing at full-back it covered everything I would lack in inches and pounds and so I came to people's attention as a full-back and I was developing through 16, 17, 18 and 19 and I was starting to develop a physique.  I had always been quick and I was just getting quicker as I got fitter and more mature and I always looked at rarity value and here I was now developing into a 5 ft 10, 13 and a half stone lad of 18 and 19 who could do even time on a hundred yards.  You don't lose something like that.  And also I was left-footed, which was even greater rarity value.  I had a determination I needed to score goals.

"Alec Stock was a very, very shrewd man. What he did was he gave me the absolute freedom to just go and develop my game.  He didn't in any way seek to restrict me to not doing this and that -  he just said: 'Be intelligent out there' and there were experienced guys around me who were talking to me all the time and they were giving me vital lessons and information, and I was like a sponge - I just soaked everything up.

"Alec Stock gave me that freedom to be able to do that and he would encourage me all the time to keep shooting.  He taught me that if you want to score goals, you have to miss them first.  Eventually the goals will start to come and so every year my shooting became more and more accurate and more and more powerful.  You realise to progress in the game, that to have a powerful shot you knock the leather off the ball.  What it means is timing is everything and feeling relaxed at the time of shooting.

"Alec Stock always encouraged people to play the pass to my strengths and not my weaknesses and he would play wingers, so it was great for me as I had supply coming from all around me.  Never once would he criticise me for missing.

"My time at Luton was wonderful.  The season before I joined Luton I had had a pretty good start at Fulham.  Bobby Robson signed me, put me in the first-team - then he was sacked.  and then I was dropped never to return!  Alec Stock came in, took a gamble on me, but football like life is all about gambles, and this was one that came off for him.  He gave me the opportunity and the freedom to learn and it was a wonderfully friendly atmosphere and it was almost like a family.  There was no segregated players bar, for example, as you find at most clubs.  The players went into the Hatters Club for a drink after the game with all of the supporters.  That made it very special and supporters felt an integral part of the club.

"I bump into players from that team all the time.  In fact, not so long ago I sat and had a couple of drinks with Laurie Sheffield.  He was the first of my centre-forward partners and I will always remember Alec Stock prior to the first game of the season, he said to Laurie you look after this young man next to you.  One time, we were in the tunnel and Laurie looked very seriously around at all of us as we were preparing to go out onto the field, and he said: 'Well boyos, today I am going to get carried off.  Yes, shoulder high!'

"I left Luton in 1969 and went to Newcastle and then left them in 1971. I scored a hat-trick on my home debut.  My last home game for Luton I scored a hat-trick as well!  But Alec Stock, he was a very fair man and he treated his players like men and when promotion was a bit beyond us, around about Easter time, he said to me well we're not going up and we need a few quid in the coffers so it looks like you'll be going at the end of the season, so I knew it was going to be my last game and I think the players did as well.  we needed to beat Cardiff on the day to go into the cup instead of Cardiff and we needed to win by two clear goals and everyone kept a constant supply coming into the area, we won 3-0 and I scored a hat-trick knowing it was my last game.  it was a great way to say farewell.

"Luton meant a huge amount to me.  It was a great learning place for me and it was a place that many, many friendships were created, but I was given that freedom to stamp my identity on the world of football and I shall always be eternally grateful for having that opportunity, so it was good for everybody, and I was sent off in style, so its nice when you can leave a club without any animosity whatsoever.  Luton continued with their efforts and had success come their way in later years, which was marvellous and I was delighted for them when they won the league cup final and I was going to be there at Wembley, but it was just a wonderful day for Luton Town and I only wish I could have been playing for them again!

"I am equal highest for England, but I am the only person to have scored 5 a Wembley and I scored the second goal previously against West Germany and we beat them 2-0, so I have another record which is I am the only person to have scored 6 consecutive goals for England, but I wasn't really Don Revie's type of player, I just solved a problem in the short-term for him.  I was never going to be a long-0term player for him for England.

"I am very philosophical to not get despondent at what never was.  I had a wonderful time in football playing the game and I had great fans at Luton, Newcastle and Arsenal.  I would have loved to play until I was 34/35, but that wasn't for me, I packed as much into the years that I was allowed, but the knee condition took its tool and sadly I had to retire, but I didn't get down in the mouth - I am an onwards and upwards type of bloke.

"The high point for me out of my whole career would have to be the 5 goals against Cyprus at Wembley.  I think we all have the dream at night of playing for your country and scoring, I had certainly had it and it was the day I made all my boyhood dreams come true."

To listen to the full interview with Malcolm MacDonald in full audio using Real Player, please click HERE.

After management spells at Fulham and Huddersfield Town, Malcolm moved to Milan in 1991 and worked for Audiotel, setting up the Italian equivalent of our 0891 service, until the government made such lines illegal.  Malcolm now lives in the Newcastle superb of Jesmond earning a crust After Dinner Speaking and from the Media working for Radio Century and a local newspaper.  He is also taking the time to enjoy life, which obviously includes watching a good deal of football!

Profile By:  James Garley