| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Malcolm Waldron | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-09-06)6 September 1956 (age 68) | ||
| Place of birth | Emsworth, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973–1974 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1983 | Southampton | 178 | (10) |
| 1981 | →Washington Diplomats (loan) | ||
| 1983–1984 | Burnley | 16 | (0) |
| 1984–1986 | Portsmouth | 23 | (1) |
| 1986–1987 | Road-Sea Southampton | ||
| Total | 217 | (11) | |
| International career | |||
| 1979 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Malcolm Waldron (born 6 September 1956) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as acentre back. He spent the majority of his playing career atSouthampton. In the summer of 1981, Waldron was sent on loan toWashington Diplomats. In 1983, he moved toBurnley before joiningPortsmouth a year later where he ended his professional career.
Born inEmsworth,Hampshire, Waldron was initially spotted playing forHavant and Hampshire school teams and was snapped up by Southampton, joining them as an apprentice in July 1973 before signing professional papers on reaching 18 in September 1974.[2]
He made his debut on 12 April 1975 in a 0–0 draw away toNottingham Forest.[2][3] However, he only made a couple of appearances that season and hardly featured the following before establishing himself as a regular member of the Saints' defence in 1976–77.[2] That season, he scored in a 4–0 victory againstMarseille in the first leg of theEuropean Cup first round.[4]
During Southampton's promotion season in1977–78, he wore six different numbers as he played in several different positions to accommodateChris Nicholl andMike Pickering as a pairing in the centre of defence.[2]
He really came to the fore in Saints' first season back in Division 1, playing in all 56 matches including the final of theLeague Cup in 1979 which Southampton lost to Nottingham Forest.[2][5] He was voted Saints'"Player of the Season" for 1978–79 and in the following season he was called up for theEngland B team againstNew Zealand.[6][2][7]
Waldron suffered a career-threatening achilles tendon injury which was overcome by surgery and was sent for rehabilitation in the summer of 1981 to the United States forWashington Diplomats.[2] After they failed to sign him permanently, he returned to Southampton.[2]
In April 1982, Waldron underwent an operation for a routine removal of a cyst on his knee, but the surgery was botched – he made only three appearances over the next 18 months.[2]
Waldron made a total of 218 appearances for Southampton over eight years, scoring 11 goals.[2] Waldron is described in Holley & Chalk'sThe Alphabet of the Saints as being "extememly agile and lithe for a big man, he also packed a thunderbolt of a shot and scored some memorable goals for the club".[8]
He joinedBurnley in 1983, and was surprised to pass the medical.[2] However, he was unhappy during his spell at Burnley, and the following May he moved to his home-town club,Portsmouth.[9] AtFratton Park, Waldron continued to suffer from the knee injury and he eventually retired from professional football in December 1986.[2][9] He turned out for non-league clubRoad-Sea Southampton in their final 1986–87 season.[2][10]
After football, he worked for Abbey Life and latterly as health care adviser forBUPA inPoole.[2] Following his work as a divisional manager for Norwich Union, Waldron started his own business brokering private medical insurance.[2]