Alan McDonald (Northern Ireland footballer)
Alan McDonald (12 October 1963 – 23 June 2012) was a Northern Irish football manager and former professional footballer.
|
McDonald while manager of Glentoran | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 October 1963 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 23 June 2012 (aged 48) | ||
| Place of death | Lisburn, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1979–1981 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1997 | Queens Park Rangers | 402 | (13) |
| 1983 | → Charlton Athletic (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Swindon Town | 33 | (1) |
| Total | 444 | (14) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1996 | Northern Ireland | 52 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007–2010 | Glentoran | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
As a player, he was a centre back who spent most of his career in England with Queens Park Rangers, notably playing in numerous Premier League seasons. He would play 402 times in the league for the club over a sixteen-year spell at Loftus Road. He also had brief stints in the Football League with both Charlton Athletic and Swindon Town. He was capped 52 times for Northern Ireland and played at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
After retiring as a player, he briefly returned to QPR as a first team coach before going on to manage IFA Premiership side Glentoran from June 2007 until his resignation at the end of February 2010. McDonald collapsed and died whilst playing golf at the Temple Golf Club near Lisburn on 23 June 2012.