Steve McCall
Encyclopedia
Stephen Harold "Steve" McCall (born 15 October 1960) is a retired English footballer who now works as a scout
for Ipswich Town
.
A defensive midfielder during his playing days, McCall built a reputation as a cultured midfield player, with immaculate passing ability. He began his career with Ipswich Town and quickly progressed to the first team under the management of Bobby Robson
. McCall helped the club win the UEFA Cup
in 1981, and he went on to win six England U21
caps during the next year. He left Portman Road
in 1987, having made more than 300 appearances for the club, to join Sheffield Wednesday
. His time with them was blighted by injury, and he spent time on loan with his home town club, Carlisle United
in 1990. Two years later, he joined Plymouth Argyle
and became a key player for Peter Shilton
's side. He won the clubs Player of the Year
award in his first two full seasons at Home Park
, reflecting his impact on the team.
He briefly managed the club in 1995 following the departure of Shilton and stayed on as a member of the playing squad when Neil Warnock
was appointed. He then moved to Torquay United
in 1996 as a player-coach for Kevin Hodges
and returned to Home Park two years later with Hodges. He went into non-league football
in 2000 with Workington
, where he finished his playing career. Following retirement, he returned to Ipswich Town, initially as a scout and then as a coach. Under the management of Roy Keane
, he is now their chief scout.
, where his greatest achievement was winning the UEFA Cup
in the 1980/81 season, beating AZ Alkmaar 5-4 on aggregate, with Steve playing an influential part in his team's victory. He joined Ipswich Town in 1978 as an apprentice, being scouted from the north-west where Town legend Kevin Beattie
was also born and went on to make 329 appearances for Town, standing as a record of consecutive appearances until 2001, being beaten by Goalkeeper Richard Wright. During this time he received one B cap
against New Zealand. Never a goalscorer, Steve scored 11 goals in his 9 seasons at Ipswich before he was sold for £300,000 to Yorkshire side Sheffield Wednesday
.
, where he spent only a few months making 6 appearances without a goal.
for £25,000, where he would go on to become one of Argyle's greatest ever players, winning player of the season two years in a row in 1993 and 1994, only the second player in Argyle's history to achieve such a title (the other being Paul Mariner
, one of Steve's ex-team mates). As if given a new lease of life, Steve enjoyed a period of rich form in his two occasions at Plymouth Argyle, making 275 appearances in a total of 6 years at the club. In 1995 Steve enjoyed a short rein as caretaker manager at Plymouth, being replaced by Neil Warnock
.
for free from 12/07/1996 to 24/06/1998, joining former Plymouth team mate and manager Kevin Hodges
as Torquay United's management team. In the 1997-98 season, Steve lived another childhood ambition - to play at Wembley, when Torquay played out a close fought match against Colchester United
. The dream of playoff glory was short lived however, as the favourites for promotion were beaten 1-0 by a Colchester penalty. The close season saw Mick Jones - manager of Plymouth lose his job, and Hodges and McCall took the position at their former club, in a reign that lasted a further two years.
game against Carlisle, in which the goalkeeper scored in the 94th minute to keep Carlisle United
in the Football League.
as European scouting Co-Ordinator at Ipswich Town, and progressed through the ranks as initially Scout, and when Joe Royle
took over, became Reserve Team Manager and First Team Coach. It is here that Steve McCall is currently working, now under the management of Roy Keane, as Chief Scout, enjoying life back at the club his career started with almost 30 years ago.
In 2006 he took part in Masters football
.
Individual
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
for Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
.
A defensive midfielder during his playing days, McCall built a reputation as a cultured midfield player, with immaculate passing ability. He began his career with Ipswich Town and quickly progressed to the first team under the management of Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
. McCall helped the club win the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in 1981, and he went on to win six England U21
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
caps during the next year. He left Portman Road
Portman Road
Portman Road is an association football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted a number of England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly international match, against Croatia in 2003...
in 1987, having made more than 300 appearances for the club, to join 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...
. His time with them was blighted by injury, and he spent time on loan with his home town club, Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
in 1990. Two years later, he joined 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...
and became a key player for Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
's side. He won the clubs Player of the Year
Plymouth Argyle F.C. Player of the Year
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English association football club based in Plymouth, Devon. Founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, they became a professional club in January 1903, and were elected to the Southern League ahead of the 1903–04 season...
award in his first two full seasons at Home Park
Home Park
Home Park is an all-seater football stadium in the Central Park area of Plymouth, England, and is the home of Football League Two club Plymouth Argyle. The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Greens by the club's supporters, has been Argyle's permanent residence since 1901...
, reflecting his impact on the team.
He briefly managed the club in 1995 following the departure of Shilton and stayed on as a member of the playing squad when Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
was appointed. He then moved to Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
in 1996 as a player-coach for Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges is a retired English footballer and manager who played as a midfielder, and now works as a coach. He spent the majority of his playing career with Plymouth Argyle of the Football League, where he is the club's all-time appearance record holder...
and returned to Home Park two years later with Hodges. He went into non-league football
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...
in 2000 with Workington
Workington A.F.C.
Workington A.F.C. is an English football club from Workington, Cumbria. They are in the Conference North, and play their home matches at Borough Park, which has a capacity of 3,101 . The club play in red, and are known locally as the Reds...
, where he finished his playing career. Following retirement, he returned to Ipswich Town, initially as a scout and then as a coach. Under the management of Roy Keane
Roy Keane
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....
, he is now their chief scout.
Ipswich Town
He made his name at Ipswich TownIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, where his greatest achievement was winning the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in the 1980/81 season, beating AZ Alkmaar 5-4 on aggregate, with Steve playing an influential part in his team's victory. He joined Ipswich Town in 1978 as an apprentice, being scouted from the north-west where Town legend Kevin Beattie
Kevin Beattie
Kevin Beattie is an English former footballer, playing at central defence for both Ipswich Town and England in the 1970s and early 1980s.- Through the ranks :...
was also born and went on to make 329 appearances for Town, standing as a record of consecutive appearances until 2001, being beaten by Goalkeeper Richard Wright. During this time he received one B cap
England B national football team
England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations...
against New Zealand. Never a goalscorer, Steve scored 11 goals in his 9 seasons at Ipswich before he was sold for £300,000 to Yorkshire side 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...
.
Sheffield Wednesday
His time at Sheffield Wednesday was unfortunately not so successful, as he spent much of his 4 seasons sidelined with a range of injuries, limiting his collection of appearances to only 36, scoring only 2 goals. In the midst of an unfortunate run at Wednesday, Steve achieved a childhood dream by being loaned to his home team and life long supported Carlisle UnitedCarlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
, where he spent only a few months making 6 appearances without a goal.
Plymouth Argyle
Towards the end of the 1991-92 season, Steve was sent down south, being sold to Plymouth ArgylePlymouth 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...
for £25,000, where he would go on to become one of Argyle's greatest ever players, winning player of the season two years in a row in 1993 and 1994, only the second player in Argyle's history to achieve such a title (the other being Paul Mariner
Paul Mariner
Paul Mariner is an English football coach, manager, and retired player, who is currently with Toronto FC.A striker during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored 61 goals in 155 appearances and is...
, one of Steve's ex-team mates). As if given a new lease of life, Steve enjoyed a period of rich form in his two occasions at Plymouth Argyle, making 275 appearances in a total of 6 years at the club. In 1995 Steve enjoyed a short rein as caretaker manager at Plymouth, being replaced by Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
.
Torquay United
Sandwiched between his two spells at Plymouth, Steve joined Torquay UnitedTorquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
for free from 12/07/1996 to 24/06/1998, joining former Plymouth team mate and manager Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges
Kevin Hodges is a retired English footballer and manager who played as a midfielder, and now works as a coach. He spent the majority of his playing career with Plymouth Argyle of the Football League, where he is the club's all-time appearance record holder...
as Torquay United's management team. In the 1997-98 season, Steve lived another childhood ambition - to play at Wembley, when Torquay played out a close fought match against Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....
. The dream of playoff glory was short lived however, as the favourites for promotion were beaten 1-0 by a Colchester penalty. The close season saw Mick Jones - manager of Plymouth lose his job, and Hodges and McCall took the position at their former club, in a reign that lasted a further two years.
Return to Plymouth Argyle
Steve's playing career ended in 2000 at Plymouth Argyle, also seeing him lose his job at the hands of a low league position, which turned out to be another turn in his career. He appeared in the famous Jimmy GlassJimmy Glass
James "Jimmy" Glass is a former football goalkeeper. Glass is remembered for scoring the last-minute goal which kept Carlisle United in the Football League in 1999...
game against Carlisle, in which the goalkeeper scored in the 94th minute to keep Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
in the Football League.
Coaching career
In 2001, Steve hooked up with former team mate and close friend George BurleyGeorge Burley
George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...
as European scouting Co-Ordinator at Ipswich Town, and progressed through the ranks as initially Scout, and when Joe Royle
Joe Royle
Joseph "Joe" Royle is an English football manager. In his club career, he played for Everton , Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the England national team...
took over, became Reserve Team Manager and First Team Coach. It is here that Steve McCall is currently working, now under the management of Roy Keane, as Chief Scout, enjoying life back at the club his career started with almost 30 years ago.
In 2006 he took part in Masters football
Masters football
Masters football is a 6 a-side indoor football competition in the United Kingdom, where players over the age of 35 are chosen by the Masters Football Selection Committee to represent a senior club which they played for. Regional heats are held, and the winners of each go forward to a national...
.
Career statistics
| Club | Date Joined | Date Left | Joining Fee |
| Ipswich Town | 05/10/1978 | 03/06/1987 | Apprentice |
| League Appearances: 249(8) | Goals: 7 | ||
| FA Cup Appearances: 23 (1) | Goals: 1 | ||
| League Cup Appearances: 29 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| Other Appearances: 18 (1) | Goals: 3 |
| Club | Date Joined | Date Left | Joining Fee |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 03/06/1987 | 26/03/1992 | £300,000 |
| League Appearances: 21 (8) | Goals: 2 | ||
| FA Cup Appearances: 1 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| League Cup Appearances: 2 (3) | Goals: 0 | ||
| Other Appearances: 0 (1) | Goals: 0 |
| Club | Date Joined | Date Left | Joining Fee |
| Carlisle United | 08/02/1990 | LOAN | |
| League Appearances: 6 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| FA Cup Appearances: 0 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| League Cup Appearances: 0 (3) | Goals: 0 | ||
| Other Appearances: 0 (1) | Goals: 0 |
| Club | Date Joined | Date Left | Joining Fee |
| Plymouth Argyle | 26/03/1992 | 12/07/1996 | £25,000 |
| League Appearances: 97 (3) | Goals: 4 | ||
| FA Cup Appearances: 6 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| League Cup Appearances: 5 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| Other Appearances: 6 (0) | Goals: 0 |
| Club | Date Joined | Date Left | Joining Fee |
| Torquay United | 12/07/1996 | 24/06/1998 | Free |
| League Appearances: 32 (7) | Goals: 1 | ||
| FA Cup Appearances: 0 (0) | Goals: 0 | ||
| League Cup Appearances: 3 (1) | Goals: 0 | ||
| Other Appearances: 2 (0) | Goals: 1 |
| Club | Date Joined | Date Left | Joining Fee |
| Plymouth Argyle | 24/06/1998 | 04/10/2000 | Free |
| League Appearances: 125 (8) | Goals: 5 | ||
| FA Cup Appearances: 10 (2) | Goals: 0 | ||
| League Cup Appearances: 8 (1) | Goals: 0 | ||
| Other Appearances: 6 (0) | Goals: 1 |
International
| GAME | DATE | VENUE | TYPE |
| England U21 vs Switzerland | 31/05/1981 | Neuenburg, Switzerland | EC Qualifier |
| England U21 vs Hungary | 05/06/1981 | Keszthely, Hungary | Friendly |
| England U21 vs Hungary | 17/11/1981 | City Ground, Nottingham | EC Qualifier |
| England U21 vs Scotland | 28/04/1982 | Maine Round, Manchester | EC Qualifier |
| England U21 vs West Germany | 21/09/1982 | Bramall Lane, Sheffield | EC Qualifier |
| England U21 vs West Germany | 12/10/1982 | Weser Stadium, Bremen | EC Qualifier |
| England B vs New Zealand | 13/11/1984 | City Ground City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 .... , Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
As a player
Ipswich Town- UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
: 19811981 UEFA Cup FinalThe 1981 UEFA Cup Final was the two-legged final of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup, the tenth season of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The matches were contested between Ipswich Town of England and AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands; despite losing the second leg of the final 4–2,...
Individual
- Plymouth Argyle Player of the YearPlymouth Argyle F.C. Player of the YearPlymouth Argyle Football Club is an English association football club based in Plymouth, Devon. Founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, they became a professional club in January 1903, and were elected to the Southern League ahead of the 1903–04 season...
: 1992–93, 1993–94