Willie McLaren
 |
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (July 2011) |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William McLaren | ||
| Date of birth | 6 November 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Airdrie United |
||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2006 | Airdrie United | 85 | (22) |
| 2006–2008 | St. Johnstone | 33 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | Clyde | 24 | (6) |
| 2009–2011 | Queen of the South | 60 | (15) |
| 2011 | Hamilton Academical | 0 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Airdrie United (loan) | 6 | (3) |
| 2012– | Airdrie United | 4 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:14, 28 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
William "Willie" McLaren (born 6 November 1984 in Glasgow) is a Scottish professional footballer who usually plays as a creative attacking player. He is currently playing for Airdrie United.
Contents |
[edit] Airdrie United
Mclaren had been at Benburb Juniors and Hamilton Accies u19s before signing professional at Airdrie in 2003.
[edit] St Johnstone
After catching the eye of many clubs, he signed for St Johnstone, in a reported five-figure deal in August 2006. He scored his first league goal for the Perth club in a 3–2 league defeat at Livingston on 13 January 2007.[1] A week later, he scored the winner against his former club.[2] On 30 January 2008, McLaren was released by St. Johnstone.[3]
[edit] Clyde
McLaren signed for Clyde on 2 June 2008, after impressing in a trial period at the tail end of the 2007–08 season, including when he scored against former club St Johnstone in a reserve cup semi final, and was on the winning side in the final.[4] He made his Clyde debut in July 2008, in a 2–0 victory over Annan Athletic in the Scottish Challenge Cup.[5] McLaren was named Scottish Football League player of the month in January 2009, after scoring 3 goals in consecutive games.[6] McLaren's contract was terminated in June 2009, following Clyde's relegation and financial troubles.[7]
[edit] Queen of the South
McLaren was signed by manager Gordon Chisholm for Dumfries club Queen of the South in June 2009 from Clyde,[8] as was his fellow team mate, goalkeeper David Hutton.
McLaren's first goal for Queens came in the 2–0 home win against Ayr United on 29 August 2009. He also set up Rocco Quinn for Queens second goal of the game.[9]
The departure of Chisholm and strikers' coach Billy Dodds from Queens on 22 March 2010, along with the promotion of Kenny Brannigan to the manager's position, coincided with the beginning of a surge in form from McLaren.[10] McLaren's second goal for Queens was at Palmerston on 27 March 2010 against Dunfermline in another 2–0 home win, when he scored in first half injury time. David Weatherston scored Queens second goal of the match in the second half.[11] McLaren's third goal for Queens was at Palmerston Park on 10 April 2010 against Inverness Caley Thistle, when he gave Queens the lead after 10 minutes.[12] McLaren's fourth goal for Queens was at the Excelsior Stadium on 12 April 2010 against Airdrie United, when he scored the only goal of the match after 88 minutes to give Queens a 1–0 win.[13] McLaren's fifth goal for Queens was in the 3–0 home win against Raith Rovers on 17 April 2010. McLaren scored in the 80th minute and also crossed for Derek Holmes (22 mins) and Paul Burns (25 mins) to score and was rewarded with the man of the match award.[10][14]
McLaren's sixth goal for Queens arrived after 54 minutes in the 1–0 home win against Ross County on 20 April 2010.[15] This gave McLaren a tally of five goals in a seven game spell.
After missing much of the early 2010/11 season McLaren returned to the first team on 22 August for the club's third league game of the season, the 3-1 away at Cowdenbeath. This was Queens' first league win of the season.[16] He scored in his next game, the 4-1 League Cup win against Forfar Athletic on 25 August.[17] His excellent form under Brannigan continued in his next game, the 3-0 home league win against Ross County. Collecting the ball at the half way line, McLaren set off on a dribble and run before scooping the ball over the keeper's head to score.[18]
McLaren was announced by the club on 19 May 2011 as having been released.[19]
On 26 May 2011 McLaren was awarded divisional goal of the season for his counter against Dunfermline Athletic in October.[20]
[edit] Hamilton
McLaren joined relegated SPL club Hamilton Academical on 27 May 2011.[21]
In November it was announced that McLaren was joining Scottish League Second Division side Airdrie United on loan until January 2012.[22]. In December Airdrie United signed him on a deal until the end of season 2011-2012.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Soccerbase match report
- ^ Soccerbase match report
- ^ "Saints part company with two" – St. Johnstone's official website
- ^ Clyde give McLaren fresh chance BBC Sport – Retrieved June 4, 2008
- ^ Clyde 2–0 Annan Athletic BBC Sport – Retrieved July 26, 2008
- ^ McLaren reward for triple strike BBC Sport – Retrieved March 20, 2009
- ^ "Club Statement – Players Contracts". clydefc.co.uk. http://www.clydefc.co.uk/news/2009/06/10/3182/. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ "Willie McLaren joins Queens". Queen of the South Official Website. 2009-06-13. http://www.qosfc.com/ClubNews/ViewFullStory/tabid/151/selectmoduleid/498/ArticleID/618/reftab/36/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-13.[dead link]
- ^ Queen of the South 2–0 Ayr United on www.qosfc.com
- ^ a b "QoS vs Raith Rovers" on www.qosfc.com
- ^ "Queen of South 2-0 Dunfermline". BBC News. 27 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/8587799.stm.
- ^ "Queen of South 1-3 Inverness CT". BBC News. 10 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/8611005.stm.
- ^ "Airdrie 0-1 Queen of the South". BBC News. 12 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/8616131.stm.
- ^ "Queen of South 3-0 Raith Rovers". BBC News. 17 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/8624008.stm.
- ^ QoS v Ross County match report on www.qosfc.com
- ^ "Cowdenbeath 1 - 3 Queen of the South" Queen of the South official website
- ^ "Queen of the South 4 - 1 Forfar Athletic" on the official Queen of the South website
- ^ "Queen of the South 3 - 0 Ross County" www.qosfc.com
- ^ "Three players released" www.qosfc.com 19 May 2011
- ^ "News in brief" www.qosfc.com 27 May 2011
- ^ "Hamilton Accies sign winger Willie McLaren". BBC Sport. 27 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13575573.stm. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- ^ "Airdrie United sign McLaren on loan; Malone out". Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser. 14 November 2011. http://www.acadvertiser.co.uk/coatbridge-airdrie-sport/2011/11/10/airdrie-united-sign-willie-mclaren-on-loan-65864-29747576/. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
|
|||||
