Players - Duncan McLean

Duncan McLean
Birthdate: 20 January 1868
Birthplace: Renton, Scotland
Date of death: 17 November 1941
Other clubs: Renton Union, Renton (1888-90), Everton (1890-92), St Bernard's (1895-98)
Signed from: Everton
Signed for LFC: July 1892
International debut: 21.03.1896 vs. Wales
International caps: 2/0 - 27.03.1897
Liverpool debut: 03.09.1892
Last appearance: 20.04.1895
Debut goal: 07.10.1893
Last goal: 28.03.1894
Contract expiry: 04.10.1895
Win ratio: 59.76% W:49 D:16 L:17
Honours: Lancashire league 1892/93; Second Division 1893/94
League games / goals: 51 / 4
Total games / goals: 82 / 4

Player Profile

In 1890 McLean left the famed Scottish amateurs Renton rejoining his former captain Andrew Hannah at Everton in the professional English League. A year later he won the League Championship but followed former Everton President, John Houlding, out of the club in 1892, to join Houlding's new outfit, Liverpool. Strongly-built McLean was a regular in the first team during his distinguished Liverpool career. McLean's adventurous play seemed though to displease the Liverpool directors on account of these programme notes for a Cliftonville game in April 1893: "Why will McLean persist in marring his really brilliant and effective play by getting too far away from his own goal? By all means back up the halves, but a full-back has no business whatever amongst the forwards, except on the defensive. If Mac will get rid of this one fault he will be as good a back as there is in England today."

Liverpool struggled right from the start in their first top division season in 1894/95, winning just one of their first 17 League matches, and were not surprisingly relegated back to the Second Division. This proved to be McLean's final season for the club and he joined Scottish Cup winners St Bernard's from Edinburgh, skippering the side and finally gaining international recognition, probably made easier by the fact that he was playing now on the "right side" of the border.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 51 8 0 0 23 82
1892-1893 0 3 0 0 22 25
1893-1894 27 3 0 0 1 31
1894-1895 24 2 0 0 0 26
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
3 270 Preston North End
3 270 Bolton Wanderers
3 270 Birmingham City
3 270 Northwich Vict.
2 180 Fleetwood Rangers
2 180 Heywood Central
2 180 Higher Walton
2 180 Middlesbrough I.
2 180 Nelson
2 180 South Shore
2 180 West Manchester
2 180 Rossendale
2 180 Grimsby Town
2 180 Notts County
2 180 Crewe
2 180 Southport
2 180 Burton Swifts
2 180 Fairfield
2 180 Port Vale
2 180 Rotherham Town
2 180 Burnley
2 180 Arsenal
2 180 Newcastle United
2 180 Bury
2 180 Walsall
2 180 Blackpool
2 180 Manchester City
2 180 Blackburn Rovers
2 180 Nottingham Forest
2 180 Everton
2 180 Wolves
2 180 Derby
2 180 Stoke City
2 180 Aston Villa
2 180 Lincoln City
1 90 Manchester United
1 90 Sunderland
1 90 WBA
1 90 Sheffield Wednesday
1 90 Sheffield United
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Newtown
1 90 Nantwich
Total Venue
41 Away
40 Home
1 Neutral
Total Competition
51 League
22 Lancashire League
8 FA Cup
1 Test Match
Total W D L Win % Manager
82 49 16 17 59.8% William Edward Barclay
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 4 0 0 0 0 4
1892-1893 0 0 0 0 0 0
1893-1894 4 0 0 0 0 4
1894-1895 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Competition
4 League
Total Goal origin
3 Open play
1 Penalty
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 03.09.1892 Higher Walton Anfield Other
50 17.03.1894 Lincoln City John O' Gaunts League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 5 07.10.1893 Middlesbrough I. Anfield League
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Related Quotes

"Why will McLean persist in marring his really brilliant and effective play by getting too far away from his own goal? By all means back up the halves, but a full-back has no business whatever amongst the forwards, except on the defensive. If Mac will get rid of this one fault he will be as good a back as there is in England today."

Liverpool directors on Duncan McLean in the programme notes against Cliftonville in April 1893

Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Renton Union N/A N/A N/A N/A
Renton 1888-1889 Scotland Division 1 0 0 0 0
Renton 1889-1890 Scotland Division 1 0 0 0 0
Renton 1890-1891 Scotland Division 1 5 0 5 0
Everton 1890-1891 England First Division 5 0 6 0
Everton 1891-1892 England First Division 20 0 20 0
St Bernard's 1895-1896 Scotland Division 1 10 0 10 0
St Bernard's 1896-1897 Scotland Division 1 17 0 17 0
St Bernard's 1897-1898 Scotland 1 14 0 14 0
Total 71 0 72 0