Malcolm Macdonald

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Lore & Background

Macdonald started his career as a full back before switching to centre forward. He began at Barnet and later played for non-league Tonbridge before Bobby Robson signed him for Fulham in 1968. He moved to Luton Town a year later, scoring 58 times in 101 matches. Newcastle United manager Joe Harvey signed him for £180,000 in the summer of 1971. He scored a hat-trick on his home debut against Liverpool, earning the nickname "Supermac" from a chant by Newcastle fans. He was Newcastle's top scorer in 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976, and was the First Division's top scorer for the 1975–76 season. He scored twice in the 1973–74 FA Cup semi-final against Burnley, but Newcastle lost the final 3–0 to Liverpool. He set up an equalising goal for Alan Gowling in the 1976 League Cup final, but Newcastle lost 2–1 to Manchester City. He left Newcastle for Arsenal in 1976 for an unusual fee of £333,333.34. In December 1976, he scored a hat-trick for Arsenal against Newcastle in a 5–3 win. He was Arsenal's top scorer for two consecutive seasons and the First Division's top scorer in 1977. He scored twice in the 1978 FA Cup semi-final against Orient but earned a runners-up medal after a 1–0 defeat to Ipswich Town. A knee injury in a League Cup match against Rotherham at the start of the 1978–79 season ended his top-level career. He also played briefly for South Melbourne Hellas in Australia in 1977 and for Djurgården in Sweden, retiring in August 1979 at age 29. He scored 193 goals in his career. For England, he made his debut against Wales, scored in a 2–0 win over West Germany, and on 16 April 1975 scored all five goals in a 5–0 win over Cyprus, equalling the record for most goals in a single game by an England player and remaining the only player to do so in a competitive international. He played 14 times for England, scoring six goals. After retiring, he managed Fulham from 1980, achieving promotion to the Second Division in 1982, but left in April 1984. He later managed Huddersfield Town in 1987, but the side were relegated from the Second Division, including a 10–1 defeat to Manchester City. As of May 2022, he is president of North Shields F.C. He worked in media, including the Legends Football Phone-In on Real Radio North East and later Star Radio North East, and presented an interview series titled "Upfront With Malcolm Macdonald". He writes a regular column for Backpa

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at St James' Park hummed to life on a February evening in 1955. The crowd — tens of thousands of scarves and faces pressed against the terracing — roared as the ball was kicked into the air. Macdonald, already tracking a run, felt the familiar burn in his calves. He collected the ball on the touchline, saw the gap, and accelerated. The defender scrambled, boots skidding on the frost-kissed grass, but Macdonald was already past him. He whipped the cross in, low and dangerous, and watched it curl toward the far post where a familiar head was already rising. The net bulged. The roar that followed was not sound; it was pressure, a physical force that pressed against his chest. He raised both arms, not in celebration exactly, but in acknowledgment — *yes, again, we do this together* — as the whole ground shook beneath his boots.

Reader's Guide

Malcolm Macdonald is an English striker who played for Newcastle United from 1971 to 1976, scoring prolifically and earning the nickname "Supermac". He is Newcastle's fifth-highest goalscorer of all time and was the First Division's top scorer in 1975 and 1977. He never won a major trophy with Newcastle, finishing as runner-up in the 1974 FA Cup and 1976 League Cup. He also played for Arsenal, where he was top scorer and a runner-up in the 1978 FA Cup. His greatest individual achievement was scoring five goals for England against Cyprus in a 1975 European Championship qualifier.

Did You Know?

• Macdonald scored a hat-trick on his Newcastle home debut against Liverpool.
• He scored all five goals in England's 5–0 win over Cyprus in 1975, a record for a competitive international.
• His transfer fee from Newcastle to Arsenal was £333,333.34.
• He ran 100m in 10.9 seconds on the TV show Superstars in 1975.
• He is married to Carol, the former wife of Brian Johnson.