Mark McLeod (English footballer)

Mark McLeod
Personal information
Full name Mark McLeod[1]
Date of birth (1986-12-15)15 December 1986[1]
Place of birth Sunderland,[1] England
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Darlington
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2007 Darlington 6 (0)
2005 → Harrogate Town (loan)
2005 → Durham City (loan)
2006–2007 → Workington (loan)
2007 Östavalls IF
2007–2008 Newcastle Blue Star
2008–201? Sunderland RCA[a] 37 (3)
201?–2013 Walton & Hersham
2013–2015 Chipstead
2015–2019 Harrow Borough 96 (0)
2016 → Aylesbury (loan) 2 (0)
2018 → Northwood (dual reg.) 1 (0)
2019 → Uxbridge (loan) 6 (0)
2019–2021 Uxbridge 23 (1)
2021–2022 Hebburn Town 18 (0)
2021–2022 → Seaham Red Star (loan) 13 (0)
2022– Consett 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 October 2022

Mark McLeod (born 15 December 1986) is an English football midfielder who plays for Northern Premier League Division One East club Consett.

He made six appearances for Darlington in the Football League,[2] played in Sweden for Östavalls IF, and his other non-league clubs include Harrogate Town, Durham City, Workington, Newcastle Blue Star, Sunderland RCA, Walton & Hersham, Chipstead, Harrow Borough, Aylesbury, Northwood, Uxbridge, Hebburn Town and Seaham Red Star.

Life and career

McLeod was born in Sunderland. He began his football career with Darlington, and captained their youth team.[3] He spent time on loan to Harrogate Town of the Conference North[4] and to Northern League club Durham City[5] before making his first-team debut for Darlington on 18 March 2006, replacing Jonjo Dickman after 80 minutes of a 5–0 home defeat against Carlisle United in League Two.[6] He made what the Evening Gazette described as "an impressive full debut" two weeks later as Darlington beat Lincoln City 4–2.[7] He signed a professional contract at the end of the season.[8] He played four matches in the first couple of months of the 2006–07 season,[9] and then spent time on loan with another Conference North club, Workington.[10]

McLeod was not retained for 2007–08,[11] and he and former Darlington teammate Richard Logan played in Sweden for lower-league club Östavalls IF.[12] On his return, he joined Newcastle Blue Star, managed by Tommy Cassidy for whom he had played at Workington,[13] while completing his A-Levels at South Tyneside College.[14] He went on to take a degree in economics at the University of York,[15] and played for the university football team,[16] and for Sunderland RCA of the Northern League when his studies allowed.[17]

After graduating, McLeod worked in London as a civil servant in the Cabinet Office. A friend suggested he resume playing football on a part-time basis, and he joined Walton & Hersham of the Isthmian League Division One South.[15] He moved on to Isthmian League clubs Chipstead and Harrow Borough,[18] from where he spent brief spells on loan at Aylesbury, while recovering from injury in September 2016,[19][20] and at Northwood.[18] He then spent two pandemic-interrupted seasons with another Isthmian League club, Uxbridge,[21] before returning to the north-east of England.

McLeod signed for Northern Premier League Division One East club Hebburn Town for the 2021–22 season.[22] He made nine league appearances before joining Northern League club Seaham Red Star on a month's loan,[23] later extended to three months,[24] after which he made a further nine appearances before his Hebburn contract expired.[25] McLeod returned to the Northern Premier League with Consett for the 2022–23 season.[26]

Style of play

McLeod described himself in 2015 as "a sitting midfielder, not really a box-to-box type. I'm good at breaking up play, but I don't play football just to run around and make tackles. I do like to get on the ball and play a bit as well, so the part where we actually have the ball is my favourite bit." In contrast, his Harrow Borough manager, Steve Baker, signed him to "bring physicality. He can play, too, which is great, but he can put his foot in, he's physical and every other team seems to have one like that, so we want one here."[15] Six years later, he assessed his style as "simple: keeping the ball, battling for headers and winning tackles in the middle. I'm not too fussed about the attacking side of the game, as long I can help prevent opposition goals as much as possible."[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 11 October 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Darlington 2005–06[6] League Two 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2006–07[27] League Two 2 0 0 0 1 0 1[b] 0 4 0
Total 6 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 8 0
Sunderland RCA 2008–09[28] Northern League Division Two 11 1 0 0 — 2[c] 0 13 1
2009–10[29] Northern League Division Two 14 2 0 0 — 1[d] 0 15 2
2010–11[30] Northern League Division One 12 0 0 0 — 2[e] 0 14 0
Total 37 3 0 0 — 5 0 42 3
Harrow Borough 2015–16[31] Isthmian League Premier Division 30 0 1 0 — 6[f] 0 37 0
2016–17[32] Isthmian Premier Division 5 0 2 0 — 7[g] 0 14 0
2017–18[33] Isthmian Premier Division 29 0 1 0 — 2[h] 0 32 0
2018–19[18] Southern League (SFL)
Premier Division South 		31 0 0 0 — 8[i] 0 39 0
2018–19[18] SFL Premier Division South 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
Total 96 0 4 0 — 23 0 123 0
Aylesbury (loan) 2015–16[34] SFL Division One Central 2 0 — — — 2 0
Northwood (dual reg.) 2017–18[35] SFL Division One East 1 0 — — — 1 0
Uxbridge 2019–20[21] Isthmian South Central Division 25 1 0 0 — 5[j] 0 30 1
2020–21[21] Isthmian South Central Division 4 0 1 0 — 3[k] 0 8 0
Total 29 1 1 0 — 8 0 38 1
Hebburn Town 2021–22[25] NPL Division One East 18 1 1 0 — 0 0 19 1
Seaham Red Star (loan) 2021–22[36] Northern League Division One 13 0 — — 0 0 13 0
Consett 2021–22[26] NPL Division One East 7 0 0 0 — 2[l] 0 9 0
Career total 209 5 6 0 1 0 39 0 255 5
  1. ^ The Sunderland RCA website has detailed statistics up to and including the 2010–11 season, but not thereafter. Consequently, if subject played for the club after that season, his statistics are missing from the infobox.
  2. ^ Appearance in Football League Trophy
  3. ^ One appearance in FA Vase, one in Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup
  4. ^ Appearance in FA Vase
  5. ^ One appearance in FA Vase, one in Durham Challenge Cup
  6. ^ One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Alan Turvey Trophy, two in Middlesex Senior Cup, one in London Senior Cup, one in 2014–15 Middlesex Charity Cup
  7. ^ Four appearances in FA Trophy, one in Alan Turvey Trophy, two in Middlesex Senior Cup
  8. ^ One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Alan Turvey Trophy
  9. ^ One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Southern League Cup, two in London Senior Cup, four in Middlesex Senior Cup
  10. ^ Two appearances in FA Trophy, two in Alan Turvey Trophy, one in Middlesex Senior Cup
  11. ^ Appearances in FA Trophy
  12. ^ One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Durham Challenge Cup

References

  1. ^ a b c "Mark McLeod". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Darlington: 1946/47–1988/89 & 1990/91–2009/10". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Players tackle treatment". Evening Gazette. Middlesbrough. 25 April 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Altrincham FC Archived News 28 March to 2 April 2005". Altrincham F.C. 2 April 2005. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Arngrove Northern League". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne. 17 December 2005. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Games played by Mark McLeod in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  7. ^ Wilkinson, Andrew (3 April 2006). "Strikers revive Quaker hopes". Evening Gazette. Middlesbrough. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Youngsters handed Quakers deals". BBC Sport. 30 March 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Games played by Mark McLeod in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  10. ^ Walsh, John (24 November 2006). "Reds sign Darlington teenager". News and Star. Carlisle. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Quakers release retained list". Darlington F.C. 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  12. ^ "På slutsignalen: Östavalls IF–Ånge IF" [At the final whistle: Östavalls IF–Ånge IF]. Sundsvalls Tidning (in Swedish). 8 August 2007. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  13. ^ Pratt, Malcolm (22 September 2007). "Football: UniBond League". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne. p. 108. Retrieved 21 July 2021 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  14. ^ "Future looking bright as students make the grade". Shields Gazette. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  15. ^ a b c Batham, Jon (29 July 2015). "New Harrow Borough signing is more than a 'midfield enforcer'". Brent & Kilburn Times. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Roses 2011: Sunday – As it happened". Nouse: the University of York student newspaper. 15 May 2011. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  17. ^ "SkillTrainingLtd Northern League". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  18. ^ a b c d "Mark McLeod". aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Aylesbury United FC and Luke Buckingham Brown. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  19. ^ Grigor, Simon (10 September 2016). "Match report: Harrow Borough 0 Needham Market 3". Harrow Borough F.C. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  20. ^ "FC victorious in Oxfordshire". Aylesbury Vale Dynamos F.C. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  21. ^ a b c "Uxbridge – Appearances – Mark McLeod – 2019–2020". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
    "Uxbridge – Appearances – Mark McLeod – 2020–2021". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  22. ^ a b Youll, Josh (20 July 2021). "McLeod relishing a new challenge upon Hebburn switch". Hebburn Town F.C. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  23. ^ Youll, Josh (5 November 2021). "McLeod joins Seaham on loan". Hebburn Town F.C. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  24. ^ "First Team 1 Guisborough Town 1". Seaham Red Star F.C. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Hebburn Town – Appearances – Mark McLeod – 2021–2022". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Consett AFC – Appearances – Mark McLeod". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Games played by Mark McLeod in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Sunderland RCA FC – 2008–09 appearances summary" (PDF) and "goals scored" (PDF). Sunderland RCA F.C. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  29. ^ "Sunderland RCA FC – 2009–10 appearances summary" (PDF) and "goals scored" (PDF). Sunderland RCA F.C. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Sunderland RCA FC – 2010–11 appearances summary" (PDF) and "goals scored" (PDF). Sunderland RCA F.C. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  31. ^ "First team – the team: Mark McLeod: 2015/16 season". Harrow Borough F.C. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  32. ^ "First team – the team: Mark McLeod: 2016/17 season". Harrow Borough F.C. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Harrow Borough – Appearances – Mark McLeod – 2017–2018". Football Web Pages. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  34. ^ "AVDFC 1st XI: Mark McLeod: 2016/17". Aylesbury Vale Dynamos F.C. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Woods squad and Fixtures/Results 2017–18" (PDF). Woods: the Official Northwood Match Programme 2017–18. Northwood F.C. 24 April 2018. pp. 18, 30–31.
  36. ^ "2021/22 player stats". Seaham Red Star F.C. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022.
    "2021/22 fixtures". Seaham Red Star F.C. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022.
    Snowdon, Mike (15 December 2021). "A swing of the boot". The Northern League. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.