Arsenal and Newcastle legend Malcom Macdonald on playing full-back for Tonbridge – who are in FA Cup first round action

MALCOLM MACDONALD was one of the great iconic strikers of English football in the Seventies. Supermac enjoys legendary status at Newcastle, Luton and Arsenal and got capped 14 times by England. But the 70-year-old – who also played for Fulham – would not have had that career without the club that started it. And today […]

MALCOLM MACDONALD was one of the great iconic strikers of English football in the Seventies.

Supermac enjoys legendary status at Newcastle, Luton and Arsenal and got capped 14 times by England.

Tonbridge Angels FC

But the 70-year-old – who also played for Fulham – would not have had that career without the club that started it.

And today he will be watching National League South team Tonbridge on TV as they appear in the FA Cup first round for the first time in 48 years when they host Bradford.

Macdonald was just 17 when the Kent side handed him his first contract in July 1967.

The striker – then a left-back – was running his family’s tobacconist and confectionery shop in the small Sussex village of Forest Row, 17 miles from Tonbridge.

Supermac told SunSport: “My father had died so my mother sold our house in Fulham to move to Forest Row after Christmas in 1966 and we lived above the shop.

“I turned 17 in the New Year and started my driving lessons and the instructor, whose name sadly escapes me, was an ex-pro at Coventry and we got talking about football.

“And I told him I’d been on the books at Barnet as a youth and played for London Grammar Schools but couldn’t find a level good enough for me in Sussex.

“He recommended I join a senior team in Sevenoaks called Knoll Juniors. It was there I got spotted by Harry Haslam, who was Tonbridge manager, and he signed me.”

It seems hard to imagine that Macdonald then was a full-back when you consider he went on to score 58 goals in 101 games for Luton, 138 in 257 outings for Newcastle and 57 in 108 for Arsenal.

Macdonald settled on left-back because in his youth he was on the diminutive side and felt he would get bossed about at centre-half, centre-midfield or centre-forward against the older players – and could instead use his blistering pace on the flank.

And it was by a complete fluke that Haslam stumbled across Macdonald’s potential up front after playing him out of position as a right-back!

Supermac said: “Tonbridge had an accomplished left-back – a certain Vic Akers, who went on to become Arsenal’s first-ever ladies manager where he won everything and got an OBE. Arsene Wenger was so impressed he made him the club’s kit manager.

“But Harry told me, ‘I’m going to teach you how to kick with your right foot if it’s the death of me.’

“I was always happy to use my right peg as I didn’t want to be a one-trick pony.

“But what I found interesting playing at right-back was when I got forward, I cut inside on to my stronger foot. So I started scoring quite a few goals from there.

“Once Harry saw that, he’d play me right-back in a Southern League game on the Saturday then centre-forward in the midweek Floodlight Cup games and I started banging in goals on a serious basis.”

Back then Macdonald was earning £10 a week but the players also got paid appearance money and bonuses for wins and draws.

And the ex-England star remembers: “We ended up getting good money because we were playing Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday so the appearance and bonus money mounted up.

“The club was successful and we were getting crowds up to 1,700 and had a lively bar there as well. It was a great place to be.”

Haslam – who went on to become a legendary Luton manager by leading them into the top flight in 1974 as well as Sheffield United boss – was a jovial character but taught Macdonald a huge lesson one evening that has remained with him to this day.

Supermac said: “He was known as ‘Happy Harry’ because he always had this huge smile on his face. He was telling jokes all the time.

“You’d go inside Tonbridge Football Club and it didn’t matter where you were you’d hear his voice or laugh. It was great to come up in that environment.

“But during that season I was running the shop for my mum during the day and I’d rely on her to come and do the last hour so I could rush off in my old Hillman Minx car for training or an evening game. If we were playing away, I’d have to leave even earlier.

“And I was somewhat on the tardy side and would turn up late sometimes. I kept explaining how I was running this shop for my mum. Harry wouldn’t say anything but you could tell he wasn’t impressed.

“On one occasion I was 10 minutes late for a game on a Thursday and the club secretary came into the dressing room with all our wages, paid in cash then, in brown envelopes.

“I got mine and thought, ‘Bloody hell, this is heavy. I’ve had a real bumper week here.’

“So I opened it up, there was a bit of money in there but I noticed £10 was missing.

“But inside the bottom of the envelope was a wristwatch and as I took it out Harry stood in the middle of the room, looking across at me, and said, ‘You won’t be late from here on, son, will you?’

“It was a lesson learned. In professional football, there is no excuse for being late!”

Another huge lesson he learned in those non-league days was never to react to bullying centre-halves.

Inside the envelope was a wristwatch and, as I took it out, Harry looked across at me, and said, ‘You won’t be late from here on, son, will you?’

Malcolm Macdonald

Macdonald said: “I learned it doesn’t matter how hard you get hit by a challenge, get up and walk away. The centre half is then thinking, ‘I hit him with the best one I could muster and it’s not even shaken him.’

“Just once I reacted. We were at home to Merthyr Tydfil. They had a right rough sod who came over and booted me up in the air and smashed my shoulder up.

“That was one time I couldn’t walk away. I missed a couple of games for that. It was a lesson learned.”

One man Macdonald was indebted to was former Manchester United left-back Joe Carolan, who spent the last six years of his career at the Kent club.

And Supermac said: “I learned so much from him. He would sit down with you and talk through everything – a great fella.”

In total Macdonald scored 11 goals in 74 games for Tonbridge – playing mostly as right-back before being signed by Bobby Robson at Fulham in 1968 for £1,750.

He said: “Harry left Tonbridge to become Fulham chief scout and although Bobby had never seen me play he told him, ‘Trust me, you’ve got to sign this player.’

“One year later and they’ve sold me to Luton for 10 times that amount!”

The rest is history as Macdonald won the Golden Boot with Newcastle in 1976 and Arsenal in 1977 and once famously scored FIVE goals for England against Cyprus in 1975 – a feat that has not been repeated since.

Macdonald, years later while manager of Fulham, returned to Tonbridge after the club went bust and reformed themselves as the now Tonbridge Angels.

He said: “I’ve always followed Tonbridge ever since I left. I look out for their results in the newspaper every Sunday morning.

“The club ran into difficulties and rebooted themselves at Tonbridge Angels in the early 1980s and I contacted them to offer bringing down a Fulham team to lay on a friendly to earn them a few quid. They were delighted.

“I was just so happy to help them get back on their feet.

“It’s great they are back in the first round again and I’ll definitely be watching and hoping they can win.”