Neil McNab (born 4 June 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who played in the midfield position.

Neil McNab
Personal information
Full name Neil McNab[1]
Date of birth (1957-06-04) 4 June 1957 (age 67)[1]
Place of birth Greenock,[1] Scotland
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder[1]
Youth career
Greenock Morton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1974 Greenock Morton 14 (0)
1974–1978 Tottenham Hotspur 72 (3)
1978–1980 Bolton Wanderers 35 (4)
1980–1983 Brighton and Hove Albion 103 (4)
1982–1983Leeds United (loan) 5 (0)
1983Portsmouth (loan) 0 (0)
1983–1990 Manchester City 221 (16)
1990–1992 Tranmere Rovers 105 (6)
1992Huddersfield Town (loan) 11 (0)
1992–1993 Ayr United 4 (0)
1993 Darlington 4 (0)
1993 Derry City 13 (0)
1994 Witton Albion 12 (0)
1994 Long Island Rough Riders
Total 599 (33)
International career
1978 Scotland U21[3] 1 (0)
Managerial career
2002-2003 Exeter City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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McNab began his career in 1972 with Greenock Morton where he made 14 appearances before 1974, becoming the club's youngest ever professional. He was signed by Tottenham Hotspur and became their youngest ever first team player at age 16. He made 72 appearances for Spurs, scoring 3 goals. He played for the Scotland national team at the U-15, U-18 and U-21 levels.

In November 1978 he was transferred to Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £250,000, making 35 appearances and scoring 4 goals, before Brighton and Hove Albion acquired his services for the fee of £220,000 in February 1980. During 1982 he played in loan spells at Leeds United and Portsmouth.

Then in 1983 he signed for £35,000 for Manchester City with whom he stayed until 1990. He was arguably City's player of the eighties, being voted Player of the Year in both the 1986–87 and 1988–89 seasons. A skilful and very combative defensive midfielder, Neil inspired a young team to promotion from the Second Division in 1989. He played 221 league matches for City and scored 16 goals.

He left for Tranmere Rovers in January 1990 for £125,000, the third six-figure move of his career, and played over 100 first-team games for them, including two Associate Members' Cup finals at Wembley; winning one of them in 1990.[4]

He subsequently also enjoyed spells playing for Huddersfield Town, Ayr United, Darlington, Derry City, Witton Albion, and the Long Island Rough Riders in the USA.

Made his Derry debut in October 1993.[5]

Coaching and management career

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In the summer of 1994 he rejoined Manchester City as Youth Team Coach but lost his job in the managerial upheaval in 1997. He then coached at Portsmouth in their youth development programme. In October 2002 he was appointed manager of Exeter City, a position he held for just four months.

From 2008 through 2013, he coached several teams at Chiefs Futbol Club soccer association.

Honours

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Tottenham Hotspur

Tranmere Rovers

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Neil McNab". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ "Scotland U21 Player Neil McNab Details". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  4. ^ "BRISTOL ROVERS 1 V TRANMERE ROVERS 2". trscireland.info. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Monday, October 18, 1993 – Page 027". The Irish Times. 18 October 1993. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Roger Gibbins". ambroseflemingfootballclub.co.uk. Ambrose Fleming F.C. 12 April 2021.
  7. ^ Wallison, Larne (10 March 2021). "12 months on... by Larne Wallisson". tranmererovers.co.uk. Tranmere Rovers.
  8. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 147.
  9. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 148.
  10. ^ Clayton, David (21 June 2017). "50 YEARS OF MCFC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: PART 3". mancity.com. Manchester City F.C.
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