David McGhee
English footballer (born 1976)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Christopher McGhee (born 19 June 1976) is an English retired professional footballer, who made over 230 appearances as a utility player in the Football League for Brentford and Leyton Orient.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Christopher McGhee[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 June 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Worthing, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Utility player | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Plymouth Argyle | |||
| St Austell | |||
| 1993–1995 | Brentford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Brentford | 124 | (9) |
| 1999 | Stevenage Borough | 2 | (0) |
| 1999–2004 | Leyton Orient | 114 | (7) |
| 2004–2006 | Canvey Island | 42 | (1) |
| 2006 | Chelmsford City | 7 | (0) |
| 2006 | Wivenhoe Town | 6 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Falmouth Town | 24 | (4) |
| 2007–2015 | Lanreath | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014–2015 | Lanreath (player-manager) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Early years
McGhee was born in Worthing. Starting out as a defender, he began his career in the youth system at Plymouth Argyle.[3] He was not taken on as a scholar by first team manager Peter Shilton and dropped into non-League football to sign for local South Western League club St Austell.[3]
Brentford
McGhee joined Second Division club Brentford on trial in 1993, after the club responded to a contact request from his father.[3] He signed a professional contract with the Bees in April 1994 and received his maiden call into the first team squad for a Football League Trophy first round match versus Brighton & Hove Albion on 19 October that year.[4][5] He remained on the bench for the 1–0 victory.[5] McGhee's professional debut came on 21 January 1995, when he replaced Darren Annon during a 2–1 league win over Hull City.[5] He was largely an unused substitute during the rest of the 1994–95 season, finishing with seven appearances and scored one goal.[6]
McGhee established himself in the first team during the 1995–96 season, wearing five different shirt numbers and proving to be an able utility player.[7] He made 45 appearances and scored six goals.[6]
McGhee's best season for Brentford came in 1996–97, when he made a season-high 53 appearances and scored two goals.[8] The Bees led the Second Division for much of the first two-thirds of the season, before dropping to fourth position and qualifying for the playoffs.[9] After beating Bristol City 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, the Bees lost 1–0 to Crewe Alexandra at Wembley Stadium in the final.[10]
McGhee was again a regular pick during the 1997–98 season, making 33 appearances and scoring one goal in which Brentford's playoff hangover consigned them to relegation to the Third Division after a final-day defeat to Bristol Rovers.[11] A succession of injuries saw McGhee miss the entire 1998–99 season, and he retired in January 1999.[12] He made 138 appearances and scored 10 goals during his time at Griffin Park.[12]
Stevenage Borough
McGhee came out of retirement to sign for Conference club Stevenage Borough in August 1999.[12] He made two appearances before departing Broadhall Way before the end of the first month of the season.[13]
Leyton Orient
McGhee returned to the Football League to sign for struggling Third Division club Leyton Orient in November 1999.[1] He quickly established himself in the side, making 23 appearances and scoring one goal during the remainder of the 1999–00 season to help the Os retain their league status.[14] McGhee had an excellent 2000–01 season, making 51 appearances and scoring three goals as the Os finished in the playoff positions.[15] As with Brentford in 1997, McGhee suffered heartbreak in his second appearance at Wembley Stadium, with Orient crashing to a 4–2 defeat to Blackpool in the final, after having twice taken the lead.[16]
Orient suffered a hangover in the 2001–02 season, though McGhee again featured in almost all the club's matches, making 45 appearances and scoring two goals.[17] McGhee's run as a mainstay of the team came to an end on 10 September 2002, when he suffered a ruptured achilles tendon after 11 minutes of a 3–2 League Cup first round victory over Queens Park Rangers.[18][19] He returned to match play just over a year later and was named captain, but managed just 12 appearances and one goal during the 2003–04 season,[20] before leaving the club on 25 March 2004.[21] McGhee made 135 appearances and scored seven goals during five years at Brisbane Road.[22] His performances earned him the nickname "Mad Dog".[21]
Return to non-League football
On 25 March 2004, McGhee dropped into non-League football to join high-flying Isthmian League Premier Division club Canvey Island on a contract running until the end of the 2005–06 season.[21] Following the club's promotion to the Conference Premier at the end of the 2003–04 season, McGhee failed to hold down a regular place in the team and made 47 appearances and scored one goal before departing at the end of the 2005–06 season.[23][24][25]
McGhee continued his descent down the pyramid with short spells at Isthmian League clubs Chelmsford City and Wivenhoe Town respectively during the first half of the 2006–07 season.[26] McGhee returned to Cornwall in late 2006 to sign for South Western League club Falmouth Town.[27] He signed for East Cornwall League Premier Division club Lanreath in 2007 and played for the team until 2015.[28][29] He re-emerged with the club's veterans' team 2017, playing as a goalkeeper.[30]
Managerial career
McGhee has held coaching and assistant manager positions in the youth setup at local Cornish club Looe Town.[31] He served as joint-player-manager of East Cornwall League First Division club Lanreath during the 2014–15 season.[28]
Personal life
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 1994–95[6] | Second Division | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 1995–96[6] | Second Division | 36 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3[c] | 0 | 45 | 6 | |
| 1996–97[8] | Second Division | 45 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 53 | 2 | |
| 1997–98[11] | Second Division | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| Total | 117 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 138 | 10 | ||
| Stevenage Borough | 1999–00[14] | Conference | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Leyton Orient | 1999–00[14] | Third Division | 22 | 1 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01[15] | Third Division | 39 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 51 | 3 | |
| 2001–02[17] | Third Division | 40 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 45 | 2 | |
| 2002–03[18] | Third Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2003–04[20] | Third Division | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| Total | 114 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 135 | 7 | ||
| Canvey Island | 2003–04[23] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05[24] | Conference Premier | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[f] | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06[25] | Conference Premier | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[f] | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |||
| Chelmsford City | 2006–07[26] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Wivenhoe Town | 2006–07[26] | Isthmian League First Division North | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 292 | 15 | 18 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 350 | 18 | ||
- Includes League Cup
- Appearances in Football League Trophy
- Appearances in Second Division play-offs
- 3 appearances in Third Division play-offs, 1 appearance in Football League Trophy
