John McAlle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John McAlle | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 31, 1950 | |
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | |
| Playing position | Centre back | |
| Youth clubs | ||
1965-1967 |
Huyton Schoolboys Lancashire Schoolboys Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1967-1981 1981-1982 1982-1984 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers Sheffield United Derby County Total |
406 (0) 18 (0) 58 (1) 482 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
John McAlle (Born January 31, 1950 in Liverpool) is a former professional footballer, who spent the vast majority of his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
McAlle joined Wolves as an apprentice in July 1965, turning professional in February 1967. After a period playing in the reserve league, he made his first team debut on April 29, 1968 in a 0-1 defeat at Chelsea. He only appeared sporadically (mostly as a substitute) in the following years, but became a first team regular in the 1970-71 season.
He was the club's first choice centre-back throughout almost all the 1970s. During this period he won the League Cup in 1974, and played in the 1972 UEFA Cup final. He was also part of the side that won the Second Division championship in 1976/77 to immediately regain their top flight status.
His position at Molineux weakened with the arrival of Emlyn Hughes in 1979, and he was largely only used as a substitute afterward. His career took a further downturn when he broke his leg playing in February 1980, which kept him out for 11 months. He returned for the second half of the 1980/81 season and managed to retain his place in the starting lineup.
The defender's long association with Wolves finally ended in August 1981 when he joined Sheffield United for £10,000 after he was not offered a contract extension. In total, he played 508 games for the Midlanders, the fifth highest-serving player in their history.
After a brief spell at Bramall Lane, where he won the Fourth Division title, he moved to Derby County, where he finished his league career in the second tier. He played out his final playing days at non-league Harrisons FC, based in Wolverhampton.
Once his footballing career ended, he moved into landscape gardening.
