Dave Donaldson (footballer, born 1954)

David John Donaldson (born 12 November 1954) is an English former professional football right back who made 348 appearances in the Football League playing for Millwall and Cambridge United.[1] He also played for the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League and for non-league club Royston Town, and was on the books of Arsenal without making a first-team appearance.

Dave Donaldson
Personal information
Full name David John Donaldson[1]
Date of birth (1954-11-12) 12 November 1954 (age 70)[1]
Place of birth Islington,[1] England
Position(s) Right back
Youth career
Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1973 Arsenal 0 (0)
1973–1979 Millwall 216 (1)
1979Los Angeles Skyhawks (loan)
1980–1984 Cambridge United 132 (0)
1984–19?? Royston Town
International career
1970 England Schoolboys 8 (0)
1972 England Youth 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

edit

Donaldson was born in Islington, London, and was an England schoolboy international before beginning his football career with Arsenal.[1] He was a member of their 1971 FA Youth Cup-winning side,[2] but never broke through to the first team. In June 1973, he transferred to Second Division club Millwall for £5,000.[3] The team were relegated in 1975, and Donaldson helped them achieve promotion back to the Second Division in 1975–76,[4][5] and made 258 appearances in all competitions over a six-and-a-half-year period.[6] He acted as an emergency goalkeeper three times during his Millwall career.[7] He spent the summer of 1979 with the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League,[8] and on 5 February 1980, signed for Second Division Cambridge United for a fee of £50,000.[6] He made 132 league appearances for Cambridge[1] and was featured in a 2002 book, Cambridge United: 101 Golden Greats.[9] In 1984, he moved on to Royston Town of the Isthmian League.[10]

Personal life

edit

After retiring from football, Donaldson ran a fish and chip shop and then worked for a food company as sales manager.[5]

Honours

edit

Arsenal

Millwall

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Dave Donaldson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b Attwood, Tony (8 May 2017). "8 May 1971 Arsenal win the Double for the first time". WoolwichArsenal.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Millwall: Transfer In". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Tonight's Lions Live show". Millwall F.C. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Fissler, Neil (18 December 2015). "Where are they now? Millwall's Division Three promotion winners 1976". The League Paper. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. ^ a b "A to Z of Millwall players: A to D". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Emergency measures". Goalkeepers are Different. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  8. ^ "American Soccer League Players: Los Angeles Skyhawks". NASLjerseys.com. Dave Morrison. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Cambridge United: 101 Golden Greats". Desert Island Books. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  10. ^ "UK A–Z Transfers". Neil Brown. Retrieved 6 June 2017.