Billy McKinlay

Lore & Background

McKinlay was born on 22 April 1969 in Glasgow. He began his career at Dundee United, playing in the 1988 Scottish Cup final at age 19 after only 12 league appearances. He made over 200 appearances for United and was named in the SPFA Team of the Year for 1994. He was sold to Blackburn Rovers in October 1995 for £1.75 million. Later in his playing career he had spells at Bradford City, Preston North End, Clydebank, Leicester City and Fulham.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Elland Road hummed with a low, electric buzz. It was the winter of 1972, and the FA Cup was on the line. The crowd pressed against the advertising boards, breath fogging in the cold air, and the ball swung in from a corner. The striker leapt, his head a blur, and for a split second the entire stadium seemed to hold its breath. Then McKinlay was there—explosive, almost violent in his extension, his fingertips dragging the ball off the target line and into the hands of the centre-half. The roar that followed was not quite a cheer; it was something deeper, a collective exhale, the sound of five thousand hearts remembering they had been stopped for a moment. He turned, wiped his gloves on his thigh, and called his defence forward. The match was not over. It was never over while he was in that goal.

Reader's Guide

McKinlay's coaching career includes roles at Fulham, as Northern Ireland assistant manager, and at Watford, where he was head coach for eight days in September 2014. He later worked as assistant coach at Real Sociedad, manager of Norwegian club Stabæk, and held coaching positions at Sunderland, Stoke City and West Ham United. In January 2025 he joined Everton as assistant head coach under David Moyes.

Did You Know?

• McKinlay took charge of only two matches as Watford head coach, winning one and drawing one.
• He is one of only three players from the Scottish First Division to play for Scotland at full international level since 1975.
• McKinlay scored his only goal for Leicester City against Coventry City.
• He was sacked as Stabæk manager in July 2016 after being knocked out of the Europa League by Connah's Quay Nomads.