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Brian McClair

Brian McClair

Brian John McClair, born Airdrie, Scotland, December 8, 1963. Brian McClair was on the books of Aston Villa, Motherwell, and Celtic before he joined Manchester United in 1987. After hitting 88 goals in 355 Division One games for United, he returned to old club Motherwell where he retired in 1998.

Hailing from Airdrie, Brian McClair started out with First Division side Aston Villa in 1980, but after failing to establish himself at Villa Park the youngster returned to his native Scotland where he teamed up with Motherwell for whom he notched up 15 goals in 40 Scottish Football League appearances for The Steelmen between 1981 and 1983. While with the North Lanarkshire club, McClair combined his goal scoring career with studying at Glasgow University where he took took a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics. A free scoring centre-forward, he was transferred to Celtic for a fee of around £100,000 at the end of the 1982-83 season and made his first team debut for The Bhoys in a comfortable 2-0 Glasgow Cup Semi-Final victory against Scottish First Division side Partick Thistle at Firhill on the 9th of August 1983, scoring one of the goals. He would become a huge hit at Celtic and grossed 99 goals in 145 Premier Division matches under Parkhead boss David Hay before joining Manchester United for an estimated transfer fee of £850,000 in the summer of 1987.

McClair went on to make his First Division debut for Manchester United in a 2-2 draw with Southampton at The Dell on the opening day of the 1987-88 campaign and scored his first Division One goal in a 2-0 win over Watford at Old Trafford on the 22nd of August. He then found the back of the net in a 3-1 triumph against First Division new comers Charlton Athletic at Selhurst Park on the 29th of the same month and followed up by scoring in a 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford two days later. On the 12th of September, he scored a penalty goal in a 2-2 home draw with Newcastle United and he also netted from the spot in a 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight later. After scoring twice in a 4–2 triumph over Sheffield Wednesday Hillsborough on the 10th of October 1987, he hit the winner in a 2-1 victory over newly promoted Portsmouth at Fratton Park on the 19th of December and another brace in a 2-1 win against defending First Division Champions Everton at Old Trafford on the 28th of the same month. Then came goals against Watford, Arsenal, and Tottenham as Alex Ferguson´s Manchester United started to close in on the upper reaches of the top-flight table. On the 12th of March, he registered his third brace of the season in a 4-1 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday and scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory against Derby County on home soil on the 2nd of April before hitting the opener in a 3-0 home win over Luton Town on the 12th of the same month. His high level of finishing continued as he recorded a brace in a 4-1 home triumph over Portsmouth on the 7th of May and another one in a 2-1 win at home against Wimbledon  two days later. Proving his worth, McClair found the net on 24 occasions in 40 First Division appearances for Manchester United in 1987-88, thus becoming the first Old Trafford player to surpass 20 Football League goals in one season since the legendary George Best in 1967–68. All in all, the determined and industrious striker amassed 31 goals in 48 first team matches during his inaugural season as United finished runners-up to Liverpool and went out of both domestic cups in the 5th round.

Brian McClair was tireless in attack and scored a number of important goals for Manchester United during his time at Old Trafford, including two late strikes in a nerve wrecking 3-3 draw with Manchester City at Maine Road on the 27th of October 1990. David White gave City the lead from close range on 21 minutes, and the winger added his second  goal of the game with a well placed shot seven minutes later to hand the home side a 2-0 advantage. Mark Hughes reduced the deficit for United when he converted a free-kick from Denis Irwin eight minutes before the sound of the half time signal, only for Colin Hendry to make it 3-1 to Manchester City in the 78th minute of the clash. But with ten minutes left of the tie, McClair stormed forward from midfield and hammered a powerful effort past City goalkeeper Tony Coton and into the net, and three minutes later Choccy flicked home a header from Steve Bruce to make it 3-3. As a Manchester United player, Brian McClair recorded an impressive total of 126 goals in 468 first class appearances during an extremely successful spell at the club. The Scot won every domestic honour available with United and, in recognition of his eleven years of service, an attendance of 44,000 spectators turned up for his testimonial match between The Reds and Celtic at Old Trafford on the 15th of April 1997. After he was granted a free transfer by Alex Ferguson at the end of the 1997–98 campaign, he would finish his playing days with former team Motherwell where he made just eleven Scottish Premier League appearances. An international for Scotland, he collected a total of 30 full caps for his nation and was a part of the squad which headed for the European Championships in Sweden in 1992. Brian McClair Playing Career: Aston Villa, Motherwell, Glasgow Celtic, Manchester United, Motherwell. Playing Honours: Scottish Premier Division 1986, Scottish FA Cup 1985, English Premier League 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, English FA Cup 1990, 1994, English Football League Cup 1992, English FA Charity Shield 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup 1991, UEFA European Super Cup 1991.