Robert McLean (footballer)

Robert Craig McLean (17 February 1879 – 24 October 1936) was a Scottish professional footballer. After initially playing youth football in Scotland, McLean moved to Millwall in 1904 and later joined Newcastle United and finally Southampton, before returning to his home country to finish his playing career. He played primarily as a half-back.

Robert McLean
Personal information
Full name Robert Craig McLean[1]
Date of birth (1879-02-17)17 February 1879[1]
Place of birth Bonhill, Scotland[1]
Date of death 24 October 1936(1936-10-24) (aged 57)[1]
Place of death Alexandria, Scotland[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Playing position(s) Half-back
Youth career
Rutherglen Glencairn
Vale of Leven
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1904–1905 Millwall
1905–1906 Newcastle United 0 (0)
1906–1907 Southampton 7 (0)
1907–1908 Dumbarton
1908–1909 Vale of Leven
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Robert McLean was born in Bonhill, West Dunbartonshire and played his youth football with local clubs Rutherglen Glencairn and Vale of Leven.[1] In August 1904 he moved to England to join Southern League side Millwall, and after one season joined First Division club Newcastle United,[2] where he found himself "way down the pecking order".[1]

After making no appearances for United, the following May he returned to the Southern League, this time joining Southampton.[1][2] Described as "a bustling, vigorous half-back"[1] who liked to launch long balls into the opponent's goal area,[2] McLean made his debut in the Western League on 10 September 1906 in a 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.[1] His final appearance came in a 5–1 Southern League defeat at the hands of Reading on 25 March 1907.[1] In his one season with the club, McLean made seven first-team appearances for the Saints – four in the Southern League and three in the Western League – before in March 1907 he "fell foul of the club's strict disciplinary code" and was suspended sine die for drunkenness.[1]

After his dismissal from Southampton, McLean returned to the Second Division and played for Dumbarton and former club Vale of Leven before retiring from the game.[1]

Later life

During World War I, McLean served with The Royal Scots Fusiliers and was awarded the British War Medal, the British Victory Medal and the 1914-15 Star, irreverently referred to as "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred". [3]

He died in 1936 in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire.[1]

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References
  1. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-9926864-0-6.
  2. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 228. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  3. "British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920: Robert Craig McLean (Subscription required)". Ancestry.co uk. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
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