| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Hardie McLachlan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1901-09-21)21 September 1901 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | September 1964 (aged 62–63) | ||
| Place of death | Branford, Connecticut, United States | ||
| Position(s) | Outside left Wing half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Crosshill Amateurs | |||
| Parkhead | |||
| Rutherglen Glencairn | |||
| 1921–1922 | Queen's Park | ||
| 1922 | Celtic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1922–1925 | Clyde | 62 | (16) |
| 1923–1924 | →King's Park (loan) | 42 | (3) |
| 1925–1929 | Cardiff City | 140 | (22) |
| 1929–1933 | Manchester United | 110 | (4) |
| 1933–1934 | Chester | 29 | (7) |
| 1934–1935 | Le Havre | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1934–1935 | Le Havre | ||
| 1935–1937 | Queen of the South | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
George Hardie McLachlan (21 September 1901 – September 1964) was a Scottish professionalfootballer andmanager. He played for a number of amateur sides as a youth but began his professional career withClyde in theScottish Football League. He signed forFootball League First Division sideCardiff City in 1925 for a fee of £2,000. He made more than 150 appearances for the side over four seasons in all competitions and was part of the team that won the1927 FA Cup Final.
In 1929, he was sold toManchester United where he was later appointed club captain. He later played forChester in 1933 before being appointed manager of French sideLe Havre in 1934, where he also briefly played. He returned to Scotland in 1935, becoming manager ofQueen of the South. He spent two seasons in charge of the side and also led the team on a1936 overseas tour of France. He left the club in March 1937 and took up employment as adraughtsman before emigrating to the United States.
Born inGlasgow, McLachlan began his football career at Crosshill Amateurs before spending time with junior sidesParkhead andRutherglen Glencairn. He later played for the junior teams ofScottish Football League sidesQueens Park andCeltic. With the latter, he stayed for only two weeks before joiningClyde.[1][2] During his amateur career, McLachlan also worked in a number of different jobs, including as adraughtsman and a sailor.[3] McLachlan spent three years with the thenShawfield Stadium football club, interrupted by a short loan spell atKing's Park Strollers.[1][4]
ManyEnglish Football League clubs were interested in signing McLachlan but, in November 1926, he joined forFootball League First Division sideCardiff City for £2,000 (approximately £125,000 in 1925). He was persuaded to join City as his father was captain of a ship that regularly called at Cardiff docks.[1][5] He was the third Scottish player to join the club in short succession, signing soon afterJoe Cassidy andHughie Ferguson. The trio cost a combined fee of £10,000, with Ferguson accounting for half.[6] McLachlan made his debut for Cardiff alongside Ferguson as the attacking trio combined in a 5–2 victory overLeicester City. His first goal for the club came on 16 January 1926, when he scored Cardiff's goal in a 1–1 draw withEverton. He added abrace three weeks later during a 4–1 win overBlackburn Rovers, while theDaily Herald reported that "he delighted City's supporters with his fine form".[7] However his season was ended when he suffered a broken leg in the return fixture against Leicester in March.[1][8]
McLachlan returned from the injury on the opening day of the1926–27 season, during which his side suffered a 4–3 defeat againstBurnley. He was a regular in the first team for Cardiff, scoring 5 times in 38 league appearances. He also played in 5 of the club's 6 matches en route to reaching the1927 FA Cup Final, scoring in the club's 2–0 victory overDarlington in thefourth round.[9] Ahead of the final, theDaily Herald noted that McLachlan andErnie Curtis had formed one of the "best wings in the First Division".[7] Cardiff went on to win the final on 23 April 1927, defeatingArsenal 1–0 with a goal from Ferguson to become the only team from outside England to have won the competition in its history.[5] McLachlan also helped the side complete a cup double by winning theWelsh Cup final two weeks later. He played in all five of the club's matches, scoring in the sixth and seventh rounds againstEbbw Vale andBarry Town United. In the final, Cardiff defeatedRhyl 2–0.[9]
During the1927–28 season, McLachlan was ever present in the league for Cardiff, appearing in all 42 matches and scoring 11 times. This included playing the final matches of the season as acentre forward in place of the injured Ferguson.[10] McLachlan missed only one senior fixture for the club during the campaign, playing in 50 of the club's 51 matches in all competitions, and helped the side to victory in the1927 FA Charity Shield by defeating amateur sideCorinthian. Cardiff also retained the Welsh Cup by beatingBangor in the final.[10]
The1928–29 season saw a dramatic drop in results for Cardiff as they wererelegated from the First Division after finishing bottom of the league. McLachlan had remained a regular starter during the first half of the campaign, but appeared sporadically in the second half. He was used in several positions, including as ahalf back.[11] In theSecond Division the following year, McLachlan was displaced byFred Warren at the start of the campaign before being restored to the first team in late October 1929. He played in eight consecutive matches, scoring twice. His final match for the club was a 1–0 victory overChelsea on 14 December.[12] At the time of his departure, he had played 139 league games, scoring 22 goals during his time with Cardiff. While with the club, in 1928 he played for theAnglo-Scots against the Home-Scots in an international trial match atFirhill.[1]
Cardiff received an offer from First Division sideManchester United for McLachlan in December 1929 for a fee of around £4,000 (approximately £260,000 in 2020). With the club short of funds, the offer was accepted.[13][14] United's local rivalsManchester City had also submitted a competing bid for McLachlan aftermanagerPeter Hodge had attended his last match for Cardiff.[15] He made his debut for United in a 3–1 win overLeeds United on 21 December before scoring his first goal for the side a week later in a 5–0 victory overNewcastle United. He scored only one further goal during the campaign,[16] but was described as having been "a great success" byThe People.[17] During his first year with United, an injury crisis at the club led McLachlan to switch from his usual outside left position to halfback. His performances resulted in him retaining the position on a regular basis and, at the start of the following season, he was appointed captain of the side.[18]
His captaincy of the side started poorly as the team struggled in the First Division and were described by theSheffield Independent as "the weakest team in the division" in September 1930.[19] TheIndependent's assessment proved telling as United went on to finish bottom of the First Division, nine points behind their nearest rivals.[20] McLachlan was ever-present during the season, appearing in all 42 league and 4 FA Cup matches, scoring twice. Upon the team's return to the Second Division, McLachlan gradually fell out of favour, appearing in 45 matches over the following two seasons.[16] McLachlan scored four goals in 116 games for the Red Devils in his four years with the club.[1]
In June 1933, McLachlan was appointed as aplayer-coach at Football League newcomersChester, who were embarking on only their third Football League season. He left the club after a single year.[1]
McLachlan had a spell as player-manager with French second tier sideLe Havre in 1934–35. He proved relatively successful with the side and led the league during the early stages of the season. Although initially intending only to coach at the club, McLachlan did play for the side during the campaign as acentre-half.[21] He was offered a further contract, but his ambition was to manage aScottish First Division side.[1]
In 1935, McLachlan was the successful applicant out of almost one hundred who applied for the job as manager of top divisionDumfries side,Queen of the South. His appointment was announced on 29 June.[1][4] He was one of two applicants on the final shortlist, beating out Queen's Park trainerBert Manderson who decided to remain with his side.[22] In his first season, McLachlan led the club to a 15th-placed finish.[23] At the end of the campaign, the club undertook an 11-game1936 overseas tour and the Algiers invitational tournament. Queens returned with the trophy after beating Spanish sideRacing Santander in the final.[1][4]
The following season saw further struggles as the club finished in 18th position.[23] On 22 March 1937, with five games remaining of the 1936–37 season, it was announced that McLachlan would be leaving the club on 30 March. The week was intended to allow the outgoing manager to offer advice on team building for the next season. Willie Ferguson was named as McLachlan's successor.[1][4]
McLachlan moved to Glasgow following his departure from Queen of the South and briefly reported on matches forThe Sunday Post. He took up employment as a draughtsman forBabcock & Wilcox until 1947 when he took up a role withFarrel Corporation inDerby, Connecticut. McLachlan later became a French teacher in the Connecticut school system having picked up the language during his time with Le Havre. In 1964, he underwent exploratory surgery due to a persistent stomach complaint. The surgery discovered inoperable cancer and McLachlan died in September the same year at his home inBranford, Connecticut.[1]
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