Gary MacDonald

Biography

Gary MacDonald was little stranger to non-league football when he first came to us from Peterborough United – initially on a one-month loan deal. Before his time at London Road, he’d turned out for Dr Martens’ League outfit Havant & Waterlooville. But 2001 saw him go up the ladder and into the league with his move to Posh.

A former Portsmouth player too, MacDonald arrived during the early stages of the 2002-3 campaign. Wayne Turner was under the kosh with a raft of injuries and the defender came in to give us some respite. But his talent and youth seemed more than enough for Posh to keep him. So, it looked as if he was gone for good after his one-month spell ended. But it turned out that Turner had a surprise in store for us; signing the defender on a permanent deal for £10,000.

It went pear-shaped for Turner soon after, however. And that meant that MacDonald had to prove his worth to a new boss in the form of Graham Westley. For GW, there wasn’t a role for the defender in his new-look Boro’ side. So, MacDonald – like more than one or two others – was put in a taxi and sent on his way to the Woking Home for Ex-Stevenage Players. And, within a matter of months, the excitement of his arrival had evaporated into thin air with his move to Kingfield.

Gary MacDonald: After Boro’

After around four years at Woking, he moved onto Ebbsfleet United and embarked on a run of moves around southern non-league circles. Among clubs to sign him after his time in Kent were Hayes and Yeading, Farnborough, Staines Town and Slough Town. Towards the end of his long playing career, he made the move into management too – all the while still pulling on his football boots well into his late 30s.