Steve MacLean (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Steven George "Steve" MacLean (born 23 August 1982) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a striker for Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 side Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

.

Early Days

He began his career at Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 and had a successful loan spell at Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

 (where he was given the nickname 'The Loan Ranger') scoring 25 goals but despite this manager Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...

 deemed that he was not "a first team prospect" and placed him on the transfer list.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 7 July 2004, MacLean joined Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £125,000, and signed a three year deal.

He scored 20 goals in his first season, including a hat-trick against Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...

, Wednesday's first away hat-trick for 32 years. He was the first Sheffield Wednesday player to hit the 20 goal mark in one season since Mark Bright
Mark Bright
Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....

 in 1994. He also scored a crucial penalty under pressure in the Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 play-off final in 2005. These exploits lead to him picking up a couple of fan's player of the season awards.

MacLean sustained a broken leg on the eve of the club's Championship campaign in August 2005, but returned in the latter part of the season to score two penalties for Wednesday, first at home to rivals Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 in a 2–1 defeat and then against league champions Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

, which earned the Owls a 1–1 draw.

MacLean sustained another injury setback in August 2006 after scoring in a 1–1 draw against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

, but made a comeback a month later in the defeat to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

.

He finished the 2006–007 season with 13 goals from 22 first team starts and 22 substitute appearances, making him the club's joint top goal scorer for the season with Deon Burton
Deon Burton
Deon John Burton is a Jamaican-British football striker who currently plays for Gabala.-Early career:...

 and showing signs of returning to the form in which he played with in the 2004–05 season.

Cardiff City

On 22 June 2007, it was announced that MacLean had signed for Sheffield Wednesday's Championship rivals Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

, after failing to agree a new contract at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...

. The move was a surprise to many Owls fans as MacLean was rumoured to have declared his willingness and desire to remain at the club. Speculation arose during the prolonged contract-talks with Wednesday that MacLean was demanding a significant pay-rise from that of his previous contract. It is possible that another stumbling block which prevented Sheffield Wednesday renewing MacLean's contract, was a clause in his contract which would grant former club Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 £50,000 if he re-signed.

MacLean began the season as Cardiff's leading striker after Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....

 was deemed not fit enough to play in some of the team's opening games. Famous for having never missed a penalty in his career, he came to Cardiff to miss one on his debut, leaving his new club to lose 1–0 to Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 on the first game of the season. He scored his first goal for the Bluebirds in the next game away to Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

, as Cardiff won 2–0. However, with Fowler soon returning and the arrival of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Jerrel Hasselbaink usually known as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch former football striker who played for various clubs in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, and Spain, as well as the Dutch national team. He scored more than 200 career goals...

, MacLean found himself relegated to the bench. Things continued to get worse for him as he suffered ruptured ankle ligaments in a reserve match against Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

, which was expected to rule him out until December. However, he made an early return coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 loss to Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 on 21 October 2007. After his return, he made mostly late substitute appearances, with just three starts for Cardiff – in a 2–0 defeat against Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

, a 2–2 draw with Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

, and a 3–1 win against Chasetown
Chasetown F.C.
Chasetown Football Club is an English football club based in the Chasetown area of Burntwood, Staffordshire. The club currently plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and is nicknamed The Scholars, having been formed by affiliates of nearby Chase Terrace High School in the Chase...

 in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

.

Plymouth Argyle

After finding himself out of favour at Cardiff, since struggling to find the net at start to the season, MacLean officially signed a three and a half year deal with Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 on 18 January 2008 and reunited himself with former Sheffield Wednesday manager Paul Sturrock
Paul Sturrock
Paul Whitehead Sturrock is a Scottish football manager who, since July 2010, is the manager of Southend United. Until this appointment, Sturrock had most recently been at English League 1 club Plymouth Argyle in a business support role, having been relieved of his managerial duties, until he quit...

. The fee of £500,000 was a record signing for Argyle. He made his debut for the club the next day in a 1–1 draw against Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 and scored his first goal for the club on 12 February in the 6th minute against Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

 in a 3–0 win at Home Park. In October 2009 Maclean was informed by Plymouth manager Paul Sturrock
Paul Sturrock
Paul Whitehead Sturrock is a Scottish football manager who, since July 2010, is the manager of Southend United. Until this appointment, Sturrock had most recently been at English League 1 club Plymouth Argyle in a business support role, having been relieved of his managerial duties, until he quit...

 that he was free to look for a new club. On 28 December, MacLean joined SPL
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 side Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...

 on trial. He swiftly left again as Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ; born 1947 in Tver Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR) is an ethnic Russian businessman who also holds Lithuanian citizenship following that country's independence from the Soviet Union. He is chairman of UBIG Investments which is the majority shareholder in Scottish Premier...

 refused to finance a move.

Aberdeen

After a month of speculation, MacLean finally signed for Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season on 1 February 2010. He scored his first goal for Aberdeen in a 2–2 draw with Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

 on 10 February 2010 and scored a brace in his next match, a 4–4 draw with Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 at Pittodrie on 13 February 2010, bringing his tally to three goals in three league games for the Dons. After his loan at Aberdeen finished, MacLean made 16 appearance and scoring 5 goals.

Oxford United

On 11 November 2010, MacLean signed for Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

 on loan. He scored his first goal for Oxford in a 2–1 win against league leaders at the time Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

 on 23 November. On 19 January 2011, MacLean signed an extension to his current loan deal to play for 'The U's' for the rest of the season. After finished his spell at Oxford United, MacLean made 31 appearancee and scoring 6 goals.

Yeovil Town

Released by Plymouth at the end of the season, MacLean sought out other clubs and went on trial with Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

 in July 2011. On 26 July 2011, MacLean officially joined Yeovil Town on a one year deal. On Yeovil Town first match for 2011-12 season, MacLean made his Yeovil debut in a 2-0 loss against Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

. Also, on his debut, MacLean received a yellow card in the 3rd minute.
On 9 September 2011, MacLean scored 2 goals in a 4-3 loss against Preston
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

.

Career statistics

Season Club League League Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2001–02
2001-02 in Scottish football
The 2001–02 season was the 105th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Key events:Celtic, domestic treble winners a year earlier, retain their Premier League title....

Forres Mechanics
Forres Mechanics F.C.
Forres Mechanics Football Club are a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Highland Football League. They were founded in 1884 and play at Mosset Park in Forres. Their nickname is the Can-Cans. The club is eligible to play in the Scottish Cup.The club were one of the founder...

Highland Football League
Highland Football League
The Press & Journal Highland Football League is a league of football clubs operating not just in the Scottish Highlands, as the name may suggest, but also in the north-east lowlands...

? ? 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2002–03
2002-03 in Scottish football
The 2002–03 season was the 106th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Scottish Premier League:The 2002–03 Scottish Premier League was won on goal difference by Rangers by a single goal over Celtic. Both Rangers and Celtic qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and...

Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2003–04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

Football League Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

42 23 5 0 2 1 3 1 52 25
2004–05
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...

Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

37 19 1 0 2 0 1 1 41 20
2005–06
2005-06 in English football
The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*The rebuilt Wembley Stadium was due to open in time for the FA Cup final in May. However, in August 2005, The Football Association reserved the Millennium Stadium as a backup, as there was some doubt whether...

Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2
2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

41 12 2 1 0 0 0 0 43 13
2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...

Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

15 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 17 1
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

17 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 19 3
2008–09 21 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 24 2
2009–10 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

16 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 18 5
2010–11 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

7 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 9 1
Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

Football League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

31 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 6
2011–12 Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town F.C.
Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

15 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 17 3
Career totals 254 75 16 1 10 1 6 4 286 81

Honours

Rangers:
  • Scottish Cup
    Scottish Cup
    The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

     Winner: 1
2003
Scottish Cup 2002-03
The 2002–03 Scottish Cup was the 118th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Tennent's Scottish Cup...



Sheffield Wednesday:
  • Football League One
    Football League One
    Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

     Play-off Winner: 1
2005


Cardiff City:
  • FA Cup
    FA Cup
    The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

     Runner-up: 1
2008
2008 FA Cup Final
The 2008 FA Cup Final was a football match held at Wembley Stadium on 17 May 2008 and was the final match of the 2007–08 FA Cup competition. The match was the 127th FA Cup Final, and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium since its redevelopment. The match was contested by Portsmouth and...


External links

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