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BRIAN McCLAIR |
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Full
Name
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Brian
McClair
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Date
of Birth
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8th
Dec 1963
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Place
of Birth
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Airdrie
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Position
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Forward
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Height
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5ft
9
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United debut
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15/8/1987
vs So'ton (A)
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.....
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McClair's
United Record 1987-1998
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Appearances |
Goals |
| League |
296 (59) |
88 |
| FA
Cup |
38 (7) |
14 |
| League
Cup |
44 (1) |
19 |
| Europe |
17 (6) |
5 |
| Other games |
3 |
1 |
| Total |
398 (73) |
127 |
McClair's
International Record
1985-1993
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27
Caps for Scotland - 2 Goals
1997
F.A. Premier League
1996
F.A. Premier League
1996
F.A. Cup
1994
F.A. Cup
1994
F.A. Premier League
1993
F.A. Premier League
1992
League Cup
1991
European Cup Winners Cup
1990
F.A. Cup
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Brian
McClair was a devoted servant of
Manchester United for 11 years. Born
in Airdrie on 8th December 1963, he began his career with Aston
Villa as an apprentice, but after
only 12 months he moved to Motherwell
in August 1981. There he combined
his football with studying mathematics
at Glasgow University (where he obtained a degree) and in June
1983 he signed for Celtic in a £75,000
deal.
At Celtic he won a Scottish
Cup medal in 1985 and the League
Championship in 1986. The following
year he was voted Scotland's Player
of the Year. His 99 goals in 145
League games had caught the attention of
United manager Alex Ferguson, who
brought him to Old Trafford in the
summer of 1987 for a fee of £850,000.
Brian McClair was an instant success
at Old Trafford which, after previous failures like Gary Birtles, had gained a reputation
for being a striker's grave yard. McClair scored 24 goals in his
first season becoming the first
player since George Best to score
over 20 League goals in one season.
With a ruthless eye for goal and
great awareness of opposing defenders
The Scotsman was a potent force
in English football and alongside
Mark Hughes he paved the way
for much of United's early success
in the 1990's.
McClair won two FA Cup winners'
medals, four League Championships,
the European Cup Winners' Cup, and
a League Cup winners' medal - scoring
the only goal in the final in the
1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
He also scored the last goal in
the 4-0 win over Chelsea in the
1994 Final. Brian was also a full international and
was a part of the Scotland squad
which went to the European Championships
in Sweden in 1992.
With the arrival of Eric Cantona McClair was frequently preferred in an attacking midfield position
just behind the forwards, but he still never lost his scoring touch.
He took a back seat over the last couple of seasons
what with the youth players and Andy Cole taking centre stage but Alex Ferguson no doubt valued having
a fellow Scot to confide in - as well
as a great player who was willing
to sit out games on the bench.
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After he left United in 1998, McClair had a spell back in Scotland with
Motherwell and then became a coach with Brian Kidd at Blackburn Rovers. That didn't work out as Rovers were relegated and both were eventually sacked. However, in 2001 McClair returned to the Old Trafford fold in the role of Manchester United Reserve team manager.
At the start of the 2006 - 2007 season the he became the new Director of Manchester United's youth academy.
In his playing career, Brian McClair's biggest contribution was probably that he was able to lay to rest claims that high profile
strikers were doomed to fail at
United. "Choccy" (McClair sounds
like a chocolate eclair) was a cult
figure because he was such a nice
bloke and was the fans admired his long standing loyalty to
the club. He will be remembered as one of the modern greats at the club.
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