Johnny MacLeod

John Murdoch MacLeod (born 23 November 1938) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a winger.

For other people of the same name, see John MacLeod (disambiguation).

Johnny MacLeod
Personal information
Full name John Murdoch MacLeod[1]
Date of birth (1938-11-23) 23 November 1938
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
1954–1955 Edinburgh Thistle
1955–1957 Armadale Thistle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1961 Hibernian 101 (28)
1961–1964 Arsenal 130 (23)
1964–1968 Aston Villa 125 (16)
1968–1971 KV Mechelen 116 (3)
1971–1972 Raith Rovers 15 (5)
1972–1975 Newtongrange Star
National team
1961–1962[2] SFA trial v SFL 2 (0)
1961[3] Scotland U23 1 (0)
1961[4] Scottish League XI 1 (0)
1961[5] Scotland 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Edinburgh, MacLeod started his career at his local club, Hibernian, and played 85 times for the Edinburgh side between 1957 and 1961, where he made a name for himself as a talented right-Winger. He also earned four caps for Scotland, all in 1961.[5] His debut was in an infamous 9–3 defeat at the hands of England and the last appearance was in a 4–0 defeat by Czechoslovakia in a 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification tie.[5]

In July 1961 MacLeod was signed by Arsenal for £40,000 (then a record fee for a winger) and made his debut against Burnley on 19 August 1961. He became a regular for the next three seasons, playing over thirty games in each. In total, he made 112 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 27 goals, despite manager Billy Wright's policy of usually employing only one winger on the pitch. Arsenal were not particularly successful at this time, usually finishing around mid-table, although they did make their European debut, in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, in 1963–64. MacLeod scored the opening goal in Arsenal's very first European match, a 7–1 thrashing of Stævnet on 25 September 1963.[6]

In September 1964, with the young George Armstrong pushing for a place in the side, Arsenal found MacLeod surplus to requirements and sold him to Aston Villa for £35,000. He spent four seasons at Villa Park making 123 league appearances, before moving to Belgium to play for KV Mechelen in 1968. In 1971, he returned to his native Scotland to see out his career at Raith Rovers. He retired from playing in 1972.

References
  1. John MacLeod, London Hearts.
  2. Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.
  3. Scotland U23 player McLeod, Johnny, FitbaStats
  4. Johnny McLeod, London Hearts Supporters Club
  5. Johnny MacLeod at the Scottish Football Association
  6. Armadale winger hit Arsenal's first goal in Europe, The Scotsman, 29 April 2009.
  • Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony (ed.). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.
  • Johnny MacLeod at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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