Mark McGregor

Mark McGregor

Personal information
Full name	Mark Dale Thomas McGregor
Date of birth	16 February 1977
Place of birth	Chester, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Cefn Druids
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1995–2001	Wrexham	244	(11)
2001–2004	Burnley	54	(2)
2004–2006	Blackpool	59	(0)
2006–2008	Port Vale	66	(0)
2008–2009	Altrincham	42	(1)
2009–2015	Gap Connah's Quay	147	(15)
2015–	Cefn Druids	11	(0)
Total		598	(29)
Teams managed
2009–2015	Gap Connah's Quay (player-manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Mark Dale Thomas McGregor (born 16 February 1977) is an English football defender who plays for Welsh Premier League team Cefn Druids. He played 498 games in a 13-year career in the Football League, mostly in the third tier.

He started his career at Wrexham in 1995, and made 288 league and cup appearances in his six years for the Welsh club, before he signed with Burnley. In July 2004 he moved from Burnley to Blackpool. In January 2006 he transferred to Port Vale, before joining Conference side Altrincham in August 2008. He stayed in Altrincham for one season, before becoming player-manager at Gap Connah's Quay. He led the club to the Cymru Alliance title for two consecutive seasons. He returned to just playing football with Cefn Druids in January 2015.

Playing career

McGregor started off as a trainee for Wrexham, signing a professional contract for the first time in July 1995. He first came to prominence in the 1995–96 season, making 33 appearances in the Second Division. He continued to be a regular feature at the Racecourse Ground, making 44 appearances in 1996–97. The youngster was a consistent first team player for the "Dragons" by 1997–98, hitting 48 appearances in league and cup competitions. He missed just a handful of games in 1998–99, making a total of 56 appearances. On the last day of the 1999–2000 season he put a speculative long range effort past Gillingham's Vince Bartram, costing the "Gills" an automatic promotion place, to the benefit of Burnley; this was the only goal of his 52 appearances that season. He was voted Wrexham's Player of the Year in 2000–01 for his performances during his 47 appearances over the course of the campaign. In total, he played 288 league and cup games for Brian Flynn's side.

Despite verbally agreeing a new contract with Wrexham,^[1] he moved to First Division club Burnley on a free transfer in July 2001.^[2] He made just two appearances in the 2001–02 season under Stan Ternent, though he went on to play 37 games in 2002–03. He had surgery on his knee at the start of the 2003–04 campaign, before recovering to post 26 appearances^[3]

He moved on to League One side Blackpool in July 2004, after manager Colin Hendry offered him a twelve-month deal.^[4] He played 44 games in 2004–05 and made 25 appearances in 2005–06, scoring once in the Football League Trophy against former club Wrexham,^[5] before leaving Bloomfield Road after Simon Grayson took charge.

In January 2006 McGregor decided to move on to Martin Foyle's Port Vale.^[6] He played 14 League One games throughout the rest of the season, before featuring 35 times in an unsettled defence in 2006–07. He featured just 23 times in 2007–08, and was transfer listed by new manager Lee Sinnott in January 2008,^[7] before Sinnott released him from the club three months later, as the "Valiants" were relegated into League Two.^[8]

McGregor had an unsuccessful trial with Mansfield Town in July 2008, before he eventually dropped out of the Football League to sign for Conference club Altrincham on 27 July.^[9] Handed the number four shirt at the club, he found himself a key feature of the back four and an occasional captain, featuring 44 times for the Robins" in the 2008–09 campaign.

In January 2015, McGregor left as manager of the Nomads and just a few days later joined Welsh Premier League side Cefn Druids as a player. The "Druids" were relegated out of the division at the end of the 2014–15 season.

Management career

In August 2009, he was appointed player-manager at Welsh Premier League side Gap Connah's Quay.^[10] The 2009–10 season ended in relegation to the Cymru Alliance in 14th place, as a restructuring of the Welsh league meant six places were cut from the Premier League from 18 to 12. They finished level on points with Newtown (who avoided relegation), who finished above them on goal difference. Making 26 league and 6 cup appearances in the 2010–11 season,^[11] he managed his side to the Cymru Alliance title. However they were not granted promotion back into the top-flight. They retained their title in 2011–12 and were promoted into the Welsh Premier League. The following season saw the "Nomads" finish eighth in the Welsh Premier League, losing out in the UEFA Europa League play-off to eventual qualifiers Bala Town. The "Nomads" finished tenth in 2013–14.

Statistics

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other[12]		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1995–96	Wrexham	Second Division	33	1	6	0	0	0	3	0	42	1
1996–97[13]			38	1	5	0	1	0	0	0	44	1
1997–98[14]			42	2	3	0	2	0	1	0	48	2
1998–99[15]			43	1	5	0	2	0	6	0	56	1
1999–2000[16]			45	1	5	0	2	0	0	0	52	1
2000–01[17]			43	5	1	0	2	0	1	0	47	5
Total			244	11	25	0	9	0	11	0	289	11
2001–02[18]	Burnley	First Division	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	1
2002–03[19]			30	1	4	0	3	0	0	0	37	1
2003–04[20]			23	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	26	1
Total			54	2	7	0	4	1	0	0	65	3
2004–05[21]	Blackpool	League One	38	0	4	0	1	0	1	0	44	0
2005–06[22]			21	0	1	0	2	0	1	1	25	1
Total			59	0	5	0	3	0	2	1	69	1
2005–06[22]	Port Vale	League One	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
2006–07[23]			32	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	35	0
2007–08[24]			20	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	23	0
Total			66	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	72	0
2008–09[25]	Altrincham	Conference National	42	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	44	1
Total			42	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	44	1
Career total			465	14	42	0	19	1	13	1	539	16

Notes

• Statistics in Welsh football not included.

Honours

with Wrexham

• Wrexham F.C. Player of the Year: 2001

with Connah's Quay Nomads

• Cymru Alliance champion: 2010–11 & 2011–12

References

1. "Wrexham wait on McGregor". BBC Sport. 5 July 2001. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
2. "McGregor completes Burnley move". BBC Sport. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
3. "McGregor blow for Clarets". BBC Sport. 21 August 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
4. "Seasiders sign McGregor". BBC Sport. 27 July 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
5. "Blackpool 4–3 Wrexham (aet)". BBC. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
6. "McGregor set for Port Vale switch". BBC Sport. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
7. "Birmingham youngster joins Vale". BBC Sport. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
8. "McGregor latest to leave Valiants". BBC Sport. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
9. "Facebook helps McGregor find Alty". BBC Sport. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
10. Bergin, David (6 August 2009). "Football: Former Wrexham star Mark McGregor fills Nomads hotseat". Flintshire Chronicle. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
11. "Mark McGregor". the-nomads.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
12. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Trophy.
13. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
14. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
15. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
16. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
17. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
18. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
19. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
20. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
21. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
22. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
23. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
24. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
25. "Games played by Mark McGregor in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.

External links

• Mark McGregor career statistics at Soccerbase