O'Neill Donaldson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | O'Neill McKay Donaldson | ||
| Date of birth | 24 November 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1990–1991 | Hinckley United | ||
| 1991–1994 | Shrewsbury Town | 28 | (4) |
| 1994–1995 | Doncaster Rovers | 9 | (2) |
| 1994 | → Mansfield Town (loan) | 4 | (6) |
| 1995–1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | 14 | (3) |
| 1998 | → Oxford United (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 1998 | Stoke City | 2 | (0) |
| 1998–2001 | Torquay United | 27 | (1) |
| 2001 | Halesowen Town | ||
| Total | 90 | (18) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
O'Neill McKay Donaldson (born 24 November 1969) is an English former footballer.
Career
Donaldson began his career at non-league Hinckley United where his form attracted the attention of Football League scouts, leading to him ultimately signing for Shrewsbury Town in November 1991. Donaldson did not gain a regular first team spot at the club, most often appearing as a substitute and was given a free transfer to Doncaster Rovers in 1994. Although he did not gain a regular first team place at Rovers either, Donaldson's reputation grew from a brief but goal-heavy spell on loan at Mansfield Town and it was his form at that club which convinced Sheffield Wednesday to sign him for £50,000.[1]
Donaldson made his debut for the Owls as a sub against Manchester City on 18 March 1995.[2] However he quickly faded from the first team picture at a time when Wednesday boasted the likes of Mark Bright and David Hirst up front and Donaldson was forced to settle for a reserve role at the Hillsborough club. He largely imprssed during a loan spell at Oxford United, although then manager Malcolm Shotton blamed the player's agent for blocking a deal that would have brought Donaldson to the Manor Ground on a permanent basis.[3] Indeed, such was the desire to see Donaldson remain at the club full-time that a local fanzine editor even wrote to the player in an attempt to convince him to reconsider.[4]
Ultimately Donaldson was released by Wednesday in March 1998 for a frustrating two-month spell at Stoke City, before he spent a further three years at Torquay United where injury and a lack of form once again denied him a regular first team place. He left the league in 2001 for a brief spell at Halesowen Town in the Western Division of the Southern Football League before retiring from football.
Career statistics
- Sourced from The English National Football Archive
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shrewsbury Town | 1991–92 | Third Division | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| 1992–93 | Fourth Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | Third Division | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| Doncaster Rovers | 1994–95 | Third Division | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| Mansfield Town (loan) | 1994–95 | Third Division | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1994–95 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Oxford United (loan) | 1997–98 | First Division | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Stoke City | 1997–98 | First Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Torquay United | 1998–99 | Third Division | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | Third Division | 15 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 2 | |
| Career Total | 90 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 100 | 21 | ||
- A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy.