.JPG) Mackay in 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Craig Mackay[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1934-11-14)14 November 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 2 March 2015(2015-03-02) (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Nottingham, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2][3][4] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1953–1959 | Heart of Midlothian | 135 | (25) |
| 1959–1968 | Tottenham Hotspur | 268 | (42) |
| 1968–1971 | Derby County | 122 | (5) |
| 1971–1972 | Swindon Town | 26 | (1) |
| Total | 601 | (82) | |
| International career | |||
| 1954–1958[5] | Scotland U23 | 4 | (1) |
| 1957–1965 | Scotland | 22 | (4) |
| 1957–1958 | Scottish League XI | 3 | (0) |
| 1958[6] | SFL trial v SFA | 1 | (0) |
| 1959–1962[7][8] | SFA trial v SFL | 3 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1971–1972 | Swindon Town | ||
| 1972–1973 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| 1973–1976 | Derby County | ||
| 1977–1978 | Walsall | ||
| 1978–1986 | Al-Arabi Kuwait | ||
| 1983 | Al-Shabab | ||
| 1987 | Al-Arabi Kuwait | ||
| 1987–1989 | Doncaster Rovers | ||
| 1989–1991 | Birmingham City | ||
| 1991–1993 | Zamalek | ||
| 1994–1995 | Qatar | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David Craig Mackay (14 November 1934 – 2 March 2015) was a Scottishfootball player andmanager. Mackay was best known for a highly successful playing career withHeart of Midlothian, thedouble-winningTottenham Hotspur side of 1961 andwinning the league withDerby County as a manager. He also representedScotland 22 times and was selected for their1958 FIFA World Cup squad. Mackay tied withTony Book ofManchester City for theFootballer of the Year award in 1969 and was later listed bythe Football League in their "100 Legends", as well as being an inaugural inductee to both theEnglish andScottish Football Halls of Fame. He was described bySpurs as one of their greatest players and was known as 'the heartbeat' of their most successful ever team.
Mackay was born inEdinburgh. His father was a printer who worked forThe Scotsman newspaper.[9] As a young footballer, he was a Scottish Schoolboy international.[2]
Mackay supportedHearts as a boy. He signed as a professional in 1952, initially on a part-time basis as he also worked as joiner. Mackay was given his first team debut in November 1953. He would be paired withJohn Cumming at wing half, which was to become the core of the team. Mackay was a talented all-round player; a strong tackler, physically fit and had good technique with the ball. Cumming'sIron Man nickname says much of his determination. Despite his commitment he retained control of his temper and was never booked in his career. Cumming was the only player to collect medals for all seven of the trophies Hearts won under manager Tommy Walker. "He never had a bad game. It was either a fairly good game or an excellent game," said Mackay later of his former teammate.[10] Both went on to become full Scotland internationals while playing for Hearts.
Mackay was given a regular place in the team in the1954–55 season, with Freddie Glidden now playing at centre-half. Hearts won their first trophy since 1906, 48 years before, as they beatMotherwell 4–2 in the1954 Scottish League Cup Final. This would be the first of seven trophies over nine seasons between 1954 and 1963. After signingAlex Young andBobby Kirk, Walker's side proceeded to win the1955–56 Scottish Cup.[11] They thrashed Rangers 4–0 in the quarter-finals with goals from Crawford, Conn and a Bauld double.[12]
Mackay completed the set of Scottish domestic honours by winning theleague championship in1957–58.Jimmy Wardhaugh was the league's top goalscorer with 28, whileJimmy Murray and Alex Young also scored more than 20. Mackay was fourth in Hearts' league scoring charts, with 12. Hearts won thatLeague title in1957–58 with record-breaking points, goals scored and goal difference totals. Their record from 34 league games of 62 points out of a maximum possible 68 was 13 more than their nearest rival. They scored 132 goals (still the Scottish top tier record) with only 29 against for a record net difference of +103. Murray and Mackay both played for Scotland at the1958 FIFA World Cup, where Murray scored in a 1–1 draw against Yugoslavia. Mackay played in only the third of Scotland's three games at the World Cup.
In the1958–59 Scottish League Cup group stage Hearts eliminated Rangers. That October1958 Scottish League Cup Final was won with a heavy 5–1 defeat ofPartick Thistle. Bauld and Murray each scored two andJohnny Hamilton netted one. This was the fourth and last Hearts trophy for Mackay.
He had some injury issues in what was to be his last year at Hearts. From late March he missed the last five games of the 1957–58 successful league run in. He then missed the first five Hearts games at the start of the 1958–59 season, returning at the end of August. After 6 December he was then eight weeks out the team with the 13 December 1959 crucial 5–0 defeat away to Rangers the first game he missed[13] before returning on 4 February for the 3–1 Scottish Cup victory away atQueen of the South. Just over a month after he regained his place in the first team, Mackay again played Queen of the South this time in a 2–1 home league win on 7 March 1959.[14] The league game against QoS was Mackay's last for Hearts after they accepted a bid of £32,000 fromTottenham Hotspur for their captain. In Hearts' next game Mackay's vacated half back berth was taken by George Thomson, who moved from inside forward. Thomson's inside forward spot was given to debutant Bobby Rankin, who had been signed for £4,000 from Queen of the South two days before Mackay's last Hearts game.[15] Hearts spent £23,000 of the transfer on stadium improvements.[16]
Aged 24, he was signed byTottenham Hotspur for £32,000 in March 1959 making his debut on 21 March in a 3–1 home win againstManchester City.[17][18] During the 1960s his fierce determination and skill contributed to the team which wonthe Double in1960–61. As double winners Spurs played in the1961 FA Charity Shield against an FA XI which Spurs won 3–2. In that1961 FA Cup Final they beatLeicester City 2–0. They retained the trophy when they won the1962 FA Cup Final beatingBurnley 3–1. This put them into a second successive Charity Shield. In that1962 FA Charity Shield they beat Ipswich Town 5–1. This put Spurs into the1962–63 Cup Winners' Cup.[19] However Mackay missed the 5–11963 European Cup Winners' Cup Final victory over the defending championsAtlético Madrid atDe Kuip inRotterdam due to injured stomach muscles.[20] Mackay had scored in the semi-final victory againstOFK Beograd.
Spurs defended theCup Winners' Cup the season after and were drawn to play the then FA Cup-holders,Manchester United, in the second round. Mackay scored the opener in the first leg 2–0 victory atWhite Hart Lane. On 10 December 1963 Mackay broke his left leg in a challenge with United'sNoel Cantwell after eight minutes of the return tie at Old Trafford.[20] Without him his teammates lost 4–1 due to a double strike byBobby Charlton in the last 13 minutes.[21] Mackay had just turned 29 the month before. The break was a serious one, and it took nine months before he attempted a comeback.[22] Playing for Tottenham's reserves at home toShrewsbury Town on 12 September 1964, he broke the same bone a second time, this time in a challenge withPeter Dolby.[23][24] Mackay returned at the start of the 1965–66 season having missed a year and a half of first-team football.[23]
In 1966 Mackay was photographed byDaily Mirror photographerMonte Fresco in an on-pitch confrontation withLeeds United'sBilly Bremner. Mackay's face contorted, he is seen grabbing Bremner's shirt. The image is seen as one of the most iconic in UK football although Mackay hated it as it portrayed him as a bully. Mackay stated he reacted in the manner he did since Bremner targeted Mackay's left leg (the one he had broken twice) even though this leg was furthest away from Bremner.[25]
Tottenham won the1967 FA Cup Final beating Chelsea 2–1 for a third success in that tournament with Mackay.[26] In the subsequentCharity Shield, Spurs drew 3–3 with Manchester United in a match remembered for goalkeeperPat Jennings scoring with a kick from his own penalty area.[27]
Mackay made 268 league appearances for Tottenham.[17][18] With Mackay Spurs won one league championship, three FA Cups, one European Cup Winners' Cup and two FA Charity Shields as well as the 1967 Charity Shield that they shared because of the draw. None of these trophies were won in the two seasons affected by Mackay's lengthy injury due to his leg break.Brian Clough claimed in 2003 that Mackay was Tottenham Hotspur's greatest ever player.[28]
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Aged 33, at the start of the 1968–69 season he transferred toDerby County for £5,000.Brian Clough andPeter Taylor persuaded him to sign. In his first season at theBaseball Ground, in which the club gainedpromotion to theFirst Division, he was chosenFWA Footballer of the Year, jointly withManchester City'sTony Book.[29] When he was a player at Derby County, Clough made Mackay play in a sweeping role and used his influence on the team to encourage them to turn defence into attack through a passing game. He left Derby in 1971, a year before they won the First Division title.
Aged 36, he joinedSwindon Town in 1971 asplayer/manager where he stayed one season before he retired as a player and focused solely on management.[30]
Aged 22, Mackay made his debut for Scotland on 26 May 1957 in a qualifying game for the1958 World Cup, againstSpain at theBernabéu Stadium in Madrid. Scotland qualified for the tournament in Sweden, with Mackay playing a single game, on 15 June 1958, againstFrance; a 2–1 defeat at theEyravallen Stadium inÖrebro. He first captained his country in his third international, on 18 October 1958, in a 3–0 away win againstWales in theBritish Home Championships. The first four of his full caps were when he was with Hearts. The remainder were when he was with Tottenham. The first of his four international goals was in a friendly game at thePrater Stadium in Vienna on 29 May 1960 in a 3–1 away defeat toAustria.[31]
His 15th cap was the disastrous 9–3 defeat at Wembley to England in April 1961;.[32] Mackay then spent two years out of the side, withJim Baxter andPaddy Crerand usually being the preferred half back pairing. Mackay was recalled two years later in April 1963, again versus England at Wembley, but this time Scotland won 2–1. In his two years out the team Mackay missed the entire qualification campaign for the 1962 FIFA World Cup (Scotland were eliminated in a play off by the eventual tournament runners-up,Czechoslovakia). Mackay had been incumbent in the half back line for three straight games leading up to the game for Spurs in December 1963 in which he broke his leg.
He made 22 national appearances, his last coming on 2 October 1965, again in the British Home Championships, a 3–2 away defeat toNorthern Ireland.[32] His last cap was the only one he collected after the leg break.[31]
In 1971 Mackay was appointedplayer-manager ofSwindon Town but left after just one season to take charge ofNottingham Forest. He remained at theCity Ground until October 1973, when he returned to Derby as manager following Clough's resignation. In his first season Derby finished third in the table. In his second season in charge of Derby, he guided the team to the1974–75 league title.[19] Thefollowing season, he managed the club to a respectable fourth-place finish in the league, the semi-finals of the FA Cup,[29] and a second-round exit toReal Madrid in the1975–76 European Cup. Having beaten them 4–1 in the first leg, a weakened Derby side were beaten 5–1 in the return leg.[33] At one stage the side had been in the running for the Double. Mackay was sacked in November 1976 after a poor start to the1976–77 season.
Mackay then had a spell asWalsall manager from March 1977 to August 1978. This was followed by nine years coaching inKuwait. He returned to the UK and was appointed manager ofDoncaster Rovers in 1987,[28] a year after being linked with theScotland manager's job (which ultimately went toAndy Roxburgh).[34] Mackay's reign atBelle Vue lasted until March 1989[35] before he moved toBirmingham City, who had just been relegated to the third tier of the league for the first time in their history. His task was simple – to get Birmingham promoted to the Second Division. But he was unsuccessful in trying to achieve this and resigned in 1991. After that, Mackay headed to Africa to manage Egyptian clubZamalek SC, aCairo based football team, with which he won theEgyptian Premier League two times, in both the seasons he was manager.[35] He then spent a further three years inQatar, managing theQatar national football team, before retiring from football altogether in 1997.[28]
In 2004The Real Mackay was published, an autobiography written withMartin Knight.[36] Mackay had previously publishedSoccer My Spur in the early 1960s.[37]
Mackay was made an inaugural inductee of theEnglish Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as both a player and manager,[18] Two years later, he was an inaugural inductee of theScottish Football Hall of Fame.[38] In 2006, he also became an inaugural inductee of theHeart of Midlothian Hall of Fame in recognition of his success as a player in the 1950s. In 2013, Mackay was one of eleven British football stars chosen byRoyal Mail to feature on a set of stamps marking the 150th anniversary ofThe Football Association.[39]
Mackay appears as a character inDavid Peace's novelThe Damned Utd, a fictionalised account of Brian Clough's time as manager of Derby County andLeeds United. In the film adaptation of the book,The Damned United, Mackay is played byBrian McCardie. Mackay successfully took legal action against the makers of the film over its inaccurate portrayal of the events surrounding Clough's departure from Derby and Mackay's appointment.[40]
George Best (1946–2005), ofManchester United, one of Tottenham's fiercest rivals in the 1960s, described Mackay as "the hardest man I have ever played against – and certainly the bravest".[41]
Mackay died on 2 March 2015 at the age of 80.[42] Heart of Midlothian stated "It is with deep regret that we have to advise of the death of Dave Mackay who was possibly the most complete midfield player that Scotland has ever produced".[43] Tottenham wrote in an obituary "Dave Mackay will certainly always be remembered here as one of our greatest ever players and a man who never failed to inspire those around him. In short, a Spurs legend".[44] His coffin was brought into his funeral byJohn Robertson andGordon Marshall (ex-Hearts),Pat Jennings andCliff Jones (ex-Tottenham) andRoy McFarland andJohn McGovern (ex-Derby). A eulogy was given byAlex Ferguson.[45]
After his sacking at Derby County there was a cutting inNorman Stanley Fletcher's cellMackay Sacked inPorridge which was a joke to Mr. Mackay.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1957 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1959 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1960 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1961 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1963 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1965 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 May 1960 | Prater Stadium, Vienna, Austria | { Austria | 1–4 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 2 | {15 April 1961 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | { England | 1–3 | 3–9 | 1960–61 British Home Championship |
| 3 | {7 November 1963 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | { Norway | 4–1 | 6–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 5–1 |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Swindon Town | 1 November 1971[a] | 1 November 1972 | 45 | 14 | 13 | 18 | 031.1 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2 November 1972 | 23 October 1973 | 44 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 027.3 |
| Derby County | 23 October 1973 | 25 November 1976 | 165 | 74 | 47 | 44 | 044.8 |
| Walsall | 9 March 1977 | 5 August 1978 | 72 | 30 | 27 | 15 | 041.7 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 7 December 1987 | 17 March 1989 | 67 | 15 | 16 | 36 | 022.4 |
| Birmingham City | 26 April 1989 | 23 January 1991 | 91 | 34 | 27 | 30 | 037.4 |
| Total | 484 | 179 | 145 | 160 | 037.0 | ||
Heart of Midlothian
Tottenham Hotspur
Derby County
Scotland national team
Derby County
Zamalek
Al-Arabi
As Mackay moved menacingly into an inside right position on the edge of the penalty area, Peter Dolby, Shrewsbury reserve centre half, swept in to challenge. In came the ball from the right wing. Mackay shaped to play it back... and suddenly he spun out of control, clutching his left leg. ... Spurs players told me afterwards: 'He just sat there holding his leg saying: "It's gone again. It's gone again!"'
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
