Roy McDonough
Encyclopedia
Roy McDonough is a former professional football player and manager
in the English football league
. His surname is occasionally misspelt in the media as Roy McDonagh.
, England
, was dubbed Donut or Big Roy by his fans. He clocked up some 150 goals
in over 650 appearances in the professional and semi-professional (or "non-league"
) competitions in England. While he turned out for a handful of national clubs, he spent the majority of his career in the county of Essex
.
A tall, imposing forward
(though he played as an orthodox centre-half on a number of occasions) he had a reputation as one of football's "hard men" and rarely shied away from the physical aspects of the game. As a result he is the record holder for the most dismissals
in a career, 22, and for red cards in the Football League
, 13, an unenviable mark that he holds jointly with Steve Walsh
He began his career at Birmingham City in 1977 making 2 appearances. Roy went on to Colchester to make some 88 appearances, scoring 24 goals in his first spell at Layer Road
before moving to local rivals Southend United
in 1983. In 22 appearances for the "Shrimpers" between 1984 and 1985 he scored 4 times.
Between 1985 and 1986 Roy moved first to Exeter City
(21 appearances, 1 goal) and then Cambridge United
(32 appearances, 5 goals) before returning to Roots Hall
and Southend. In his second spell at Southend, Roy became to some fans a cult hero. In around 186 appearances he scored 30 times, however certain sections of the crowd were not always enamoured with his playing style.
In September 1990 he returned to Colchester United, who had been relegated to the GM Vauxhall Conference, as a player. In his second season, he top scored with 29 goals in a Conference and FA Trophy Double-winning campaign as player-manager (see below), before making another 63 Football League appearances and scoring 16 times. He was sacked as manager in 1994 and joined Dagenham & Redbridge
, moving on to Chelmsford City
amongst others.
Daily Mirror and Sunday People sports journalist Bernie Friend is currently writing a biography of McDonough's life, Red Card Roy, which is due to be published in 2012.
' departure in the Summer of 1991 and achieved legendary status at the North Essex club by guiding them to a Football Conference
and FA Trophy
'double
' , promoting them back into the full Football League.
During his period in charge, McDonough stoked the bitter rivalry
with Martin O'Neill
's Wycombe Wanderers
that had developed during both clubs' time in non-league's 'top flight', culminating in the dramatic promotion
season of 1991–1992 when Colchester advanced into Division Four
on the last day via a superior goal difference
. While Wycombe and Colchester played out a mini-league of their own (both clubs finished some 21 points ahead of their nearest rivals) Big Roy had on occasions taunt
ed the Wycombe players and staff and antagonised them by un-sportsmanlike tactics.
Commenting on an incident where Colchester United hooligans attacked home supporters during a Conference championship deciding match in 1992 at Adams Park
, he was quoted as saying, "It takes two to fight, one to punch, the other to stand there and be punched."
Arguably it was his confrontational style, carried over from his playing days, that ultimately saw him leave Colchester and move through the non-league ranks with Dagenham & Redbridge, Chelmsford, Canvey Island
, Heybridge Swifts
, Bishop's Stortford, Braintree Town and Harwich and Parkeston amongst others.
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
in the English football league
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. His surname is occasionally misspelt in the media as Roy McDonagh.
Playing career
McDonough, a native of SolihullSolihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was dubbed Donut or Big Roy by his fans. He clocked up some 150 goals
Goal (sport)
Goal refers to a method of scoring in many sports. It can also refer to the physical structure or area of the playing surface where scoring occurs....
in over 650 appearances in the professional and semi-professional (or "non-league"
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
) competitions in England. While he turned out for a handful of national clubs, he spent the majority of his career in the county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
A tall, imposing forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
(though he played as an orthodox centre-half on a number of occasions) he had a reputation as one of football's "hard men" and rarely shied away from the physical aspects of the game. As a result he is the record holder for the most dismissals
Misconduct (football)
Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
in a career, 22, and for red cards in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, 13, an unenviable mark that he holds jointly with Steve Walsh
Steve Walsh (footballer)
Steven Walsh is a former professional footballer, who spent most of his career at Leicester City. He also played for Wigan, Norwich, Tamworth and Coventry City, over a career lasting 21 years. He was a defender and an occasional striker...
He began his career at Birmingham City in 1977 making 2 appearances. Roy went on to Colchester to make some 88 appearances, scoring 24 goals in his first spell at Layer Road
Layer Road
Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Weston Homes Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was built in 1907, originally for use by Colchester Town...
before moving to local rivals Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
in 1983. In 22 appearances for the "Shrimpers" between 1984 and 1985 he scored 4 times.
Between 1985 and 1986 Roy moved first to Exeter City
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...
(21 appearances, 1 goal) and then Cambridge United
Cambridge United F.C.
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They are currently playing the 2011-2012 season in the Conference National, the fifth tier of the English league system, where they have competed since 2005 following their relegation from the Football League...
(32 appearances, 5 goals) before returning to Roots Hall
Roots Hall
Roots Hall is a multi-use sports stadium in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, primarily used for football games and is the home of the Football League Two club Southend United. With a capacity of 12,392 Roots Hall is the largest football stadium in Essex, and is the current venue for the final of...
and Southend. In his second spell at Southend, Roy became to some fans a cult hero. In around 186 appearances he scored 30 times, however certain sections of the crowd were not always enamoured with his playing style.
In September 1990 he returned to Colchester United, who had been relegated to the GM Vauxhall Conference, as a player. In his second season, he top scored with 29 goals in a Conference and FA Trophy Double-winning campaign as player-manager (see below), before making another 63 Football League appearances and scoring 16 times. He was sacked as manager in 1994 and joined Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club , informally known as Daggers, is an English association football club based in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, East London. It was formed in 1992 after a merger between Redbridge Forest and Dagenham...
, moving on to Chelmsford City
Chelmsford City F.C.
Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...
amongst others.
Daily Mirror and Sunday People sports journalist Bernie Friend is currently writing a biography of McDonough's life, Red Card Roy, which is due to be published in 2012.
Managerial career
Roy took the managerial position at Colchester United for the 1991–1992 season, following Ian AtkinsIan Atkins
Ian Leslie Atkins is a former English professional footballer who became a manager later in his career, and now works as a coach with Sunderland. During a 20-year playing career he had eight clubs, including two spells with Sunderland and Birmingham City and playing more than 200 games with his...
' departure in the Summer of 1991 and achieved legendary status at the North Essex club by guiding them to a Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
and FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
'double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
' , promoting them back into the full Football League.
During his period in charge, McDonough stoked the bitter rivalry
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
with Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham...
's Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
that had developed during both clubs' time in non-league's 'top flight', culminating in the dramatic promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
season of 1991–1992 when Colchester advanced into Division Four
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
on the last day via a superior goal difference
Goal difference
In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
. While Wycombe and Colchester played out a mini-league of their own (both clubs finished some 21 points ahead of their nearest rivals) Big Roy had on occasions taunt
Taunt
A taunt is a battle cry, a method in hand-to-hand combat, sarcastic remark, or insult intended to demoralize the recipient, or to anger them and encourage reactionary behaviors without thinking. Taunting can exist as a form of social competition to gain control of the target's cultural capital...
ed the Wycombe players and staff and antagonised them by un-sportsmanlike tactics.
Commenting on an incident where Colchester United hooligans attacked home supporters during a Conference championship deciding match in 1992 at Adams Park
Adams Park
Adams Park is a football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home ground of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. and the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club London Wasps...
, he was quoted as saying, "It takes two to fight, one to punch, the other to stand there and be punched."
Arguably it was his confrontational style, carried over from his playing days, that ultimately saw him leave Colchester and move through the non-league ranks with Dagenham & Redbridge, Chelmsford, Canvey Island
Canvey Island F.C.
Canvey Island F.C, known as the Gulls or Yellow Army, are an English football club founded in 1926 that play in the Isthmian League Premier Division....
, Heybridge Swifts
Heybridge Swifts F.C.
Heybridge Swifts are a non-league football club based in Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex. They were established in 1880 and were founding members of the Essex Senior League in 1971...
, Bishop's Stortford, Braintree Town and Harwich and Parkeston amongst others.