Lou Macari Explained

Lou Macari
Fullname:Luigi Macari
Birth Date:7 June 1949
Birth Place:Edinburgh, Scotland
Position:Midfielder
Youthyears1:1964–1965
Youthclubs1:Kilmarnock Amateurs
Youthyears2:1965–1966
Youthclubs2:St Michael's Kilwinning
Youthyears3:1966–1968
Youthclubs3:Celtic
Years1:1966–1973
Clubs1:Celtic
Caps1:58
Goals1:26
Years2:1973–1984
Caps2:329
Goals2:78
Years3:1984–1986
Clubs3:Swindon Town
Caps3:36
Goals3:3
Totalcaps:423
Totalgoals:107
Nationalyears1:1972
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:1972–1978
Nationalteam2:Scotland
Nationalcaps2:24
Nationalgoals2:5
Manageryears1:1984–1989
Managerclubs1:Swindon Town
Manageryears2:1989–1990
Managerclubs2:West Ham United
Manageryears3:1991
Managerclubs3:Birmingham City
Manageryears4:1991–1993
Managerclubs4:Stoke City
Manageryears5:1993–1994
Managerclubs5:Celtic
Manageryears6:1994–1997
Managerclubs6:Stoke City
Manageryears7:2000–2002
Managerclubs7:Huddersfield Town

Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain. He is best known for his time at Manchester United, where he played over 400 games. He helped them win promotion back to the First Division and then played in their FA Cup win of 1977. He then finished his playing career at Swindon Town.

Macari was the manager of Swindon, West Ham United, Birmingham City, Stoke City (two spells), Celtic and Huddersfield Town.[1] [2]

Playing career

Celtic

Lou Macari was the only child of Margaret and Albert; he was born in Edinburgh, and spent the first year of his life with his family in the village of Newtongrange, before the family moved to London. His father was in the catering industry, and had represented the British Army at football. The family moved to Largs in North Ayrshire when Macari was aged nine. He was spotted playing for Ayrshire county by Celtic, and signed schoolboy forms for the club at the age of 16.[3] He turned professional at the club in 1968, on wages of £15 a week.

Macari quickly became part of the renowned reserve side known as the Quality Street Gang that also included Kenny Dalglish, Danny McGrain and David Hay.[4] In August 1968, Celtic Reserves needed to defeat Partick Thistle Reserves by at least seven goals to win their Reserve League Cup section over Rangers Reserves. Celtic won 12–0, with Macari scoring four goals. Macari scored 91 goals in two seasons for the reserves and in occasional first team games, having broken through into the Celtic first team in 1970. In 1971, he replaced Willie Wallace in the starting line up for the replay of the 1971 Scottish Cup Final, and scored for Celtic in a 2–1 win over Rangers.[5]

Manchester United

After a promising start to his playing career with Celtic, he moved south of the border in 1973 for £200,000 to sign for Manchester United, where he spent the bulk of his playing career. During his time with Celtic he had scored 57 goals in 100 appearances since making his first team debut in 1970. He won three League titles and two Scottish Cups in his time at Celtic.[6]

His first game for Manchester United came in January 1973 against West Ham United in which he scored a point-saving goal in a 2–2 draw. In 1977, his deflected shot off teammate Jimmy Greenhoff won Manchester United the FA Cup final against Liverpool (and ultimately denied Liverpool the European treble). He made 400 appearances for the club, scoring 98 goals.

Macari's early career at Old Trafford was spent trying to lead an attack that struggled to achieve anything. Relegation to the Second division in 1974 was the low point but Macari blossomed as a midfielder in the following seasons under Tommy Docherty, as United began to win back a large following with attacking football in which Macari enjoyed popularity alongside players such as Gordon Hill, Steve Coppell and the Greenhoff brothers.

Macari helped United win the Second Division title in 1975. They finished third on their return to the top flight and were runners-up in the FA Cup before going one better and lifting the trophy a year later. He was on the losing side in the 1979 final against Arsenal, and also played in a string of European campaigns during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Scotland

Macari won two Scotland Under 23 caps in early 1972,[7] before making his debut for the full Scotland national team in May 1972 against Wales.[8] He was a member of the Scotland squad for the 1978 World Cup tournament in Argentina. However, he attracted widespread criticism when it emerged that he had led complaints that the £20,000 bonuses the players would receive if they won the World Cup were too low, then made extra money by selling stories to the press[9] about the disarray and tensions within the Scottish camp. As it turned out, the Scotland team lost their first match to Peru, and drew with Iran. They beat the Netherlands 3–2 but this was insufficient to proceed in the tournament and the Scotland squad returned home without qualifying for the knock-out stage. Macari and his team-mates did not receive the bonuses which were the subject of contention. He won a total of 24 senior caps, scoring five international goals.[10]

Management career

After leaving Manchester United in 1984, he managed Swindon Town, West Ham United, Stoke City (twice), Celtic, Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town. As a manager Macari insisted upon a strict fitness regime, which included extra sessions in the players' free time and the banning of alcohol in and around the club.[11]

Swindon Town

His successes in management came with two promotions at Swindon Town (Fourth Division champions in 1986 and Third Division play-off winners in 1987). Harry Gregg, Swindon's assistant manager, did not like the style of play implemented by Macari. The divide between Macari and Gregg became more noticeable, so the board chaired by Maurice Earle sacked both of them on Good Friday, 5 April 1985. Macari was then reinstated as manager on 10 April 1985 after a fan-led protest,[12] Swindon then went unbeaten for their next six games, winning, four, and Macari won the Manager of the Month award. The following season, 1985–86 saw Macari collect four Manager of the Month awards as he led Swindon to the Division 4 title with a record-breaking 102-point tally. A second consecutive promotion was achieved in 1987 with a play-off final victory over Gillingham at Selhurst Park.[12] In 1989, Macari was fined £1,000 by the Football Association after he bet on Swindon to lose an FA Cup tie against Newcastle United.[12] In 1992, he was tried and acquitted for tax fraud which took place while he was Swindon's manager; the club's then chairman was found guilty.[13]

West Ham United

His achievements at Swindon earned Macari a move to West Ham United in 1989–90, becoming the first manager there never to have worked for the club in a previous capacity.[14] Macari was given the job on 3 July 1989.[15] He had a reputation for discipline and tried to change the training and dietary habits of the players.[16] This met with some disapproval within the playing ranks.[16] Macari bought in new recruits in future regular players, Luděk Mikloško,[17] Trevor Morley,[18] Martin Allen,[19] and Ian Bishop.[18] His team struggled to make much headway towards promotion and by the end of 1989 were in tenth place in The Second Division. They were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Torquay United on 6 January 1990 in the Third Round. Shortly after this it emerged that Macari was being investigated for betting irregularities whilst at his former club, Swindon Town.[12] He left on 18 February 1990.[15]

Birmingham City

Macari was appointed as manager at Birmingham City in February 1991. He guided the Blues to a 3–2 victory over Tranmere Rovers in the 1991 Football League Trophy Final.

Stoke City

On 18 June 1991 Macari was appointed manager at Stoke City. Stoke at the time had just finished in their lowest league position and Macari had the task to turn around the fortunes of the club. He brought in Steve Foley (£50,000 from Swindon Town), Vince Overson (£55,000 from Birmingham City), Ronnie Sinclair (£25,000 from Bristol City) and forward Mark Stein from Oxford United for what turned out to be a bargain £100,000.[1]

Stoke in 1991–92 were in the hunt for automatic promotion all season eventually having to settle for a play-off place where they came up against Stockport County.[1] The first leg at Edgeley Park saw County win 1–0 thanks to a free-kick from Lee Todd after Carl Beeston had been sent-off and in the second leg Stoke went behind in the first minute and despite Stein pulling one back Stoke went out 2–1 on aggregate.[1] Just days after losing to Stockport in the play-offs, they met again in the 1992 Football League Trophy Final where Stoke won 1–0.[20] The 1992–93 season saw Stoke win the Second Division title after amassing 93 points and also went on a club record unbeaten run of 25 games.[21]

Celtic

In October 1993, Macari left Stoke City and returned to Scotland to manage Celtic.[1] Despite defeating Rangers 2–1 at Ibrox in his first match, his time at Celtic Park was unsuccessful.[22] [23] Macari made several moves in the transfer market – none of them particularly successful. Gerry Creaney, one of the few consistent goalscorers at Celtic at that time, was played out of position on the right-wing for several weeks before being sold to Portsmouth for £600,000. Striker Willie Falconer was signed from Sheffield United, right-back Lee Martin and goalkeeper Carl Muggleton came north from England, and in what is considered one of Macari's poorest moves, Andy Payton moved to Barnsley in a part-exchange deal for journeyman striker Wayne Biggins. A miserable 4–2 defeat by Rangers in the New Year fixture at Parkhead left Celtic languishing in the league. An early Scottish Cup exit in January 1994 at Motherwell sealed another dismal season for Celtic.[24] Fergus McCann took over as owner of Celtic in March 1994 and duly sacked Macari three months later.

Return to Stoke City

Macari returned to Stoke in September 1994. Stoke finished in a mid-table position of 11th in 1994–95 before the partnership of Mike Sheron and Simon Sturridge in 1995–96 produced 29 goals and earned Stoke a place in the play-offs.[2] Stoke's opponents in the play-offs were Martin O'Neill's Leicester City whom Stoke had already beaten twice in the league.[2] The first leg at Filbert Street ended 0–0.[2] In the second leg, Stoke produced a poor performance and Leicester scored the only goal, Garry Parker's left-foot volley ended Stoke's hopes of promotion.[2] The 1996–97 campaign saw Stoke play their final season at the Victoria Ground which ended with a mid-table finish of 12th. Macari announced he was leaving at the end of the season which was a surprise but he was 'stripped of his duties' before he left and later launched a lawsuit against Peter Coates for wrongful dismissal.[2]

Huddersfield Town

Macari returned to management in 2000 with Huddersfield Town who were in relegation trouble after a poor start to the season. He could not prevent them from being relegated from Division One at the end of the 2000–01 campaign. Macari managed to steady the ship in 2001–02 and lead the club into the Second Division play-offs as the Terriers looked to bounce straight back up. However they were defeated by Brentford in the semi-finals. Macari's contract was not renewed for the next season with Huddersfield's board stating his defensive style of football as the reason. This was to be Macari's last managerial role and despite being linked with various positions since has not ventured back into management.

Post-retirement

Macari currently lives in Stoke-on-Trent and works as a pundit for MUTV on several shows. He is a regular guest on Match Day Live before Manchester United home and away games. As well as phone-in shows such as Wednesday Night Phone-in he occasionally does punditry for Sky Sports, and also writes regular comment pieces for the Stoke-on-Trent newspaper The Sentinel. He has given several guest talks at Staffordshire University on the Sports Journalism courses. Macari also owns the "Lou Macari Chip Shop" on Chester Road, near Old Trafford. He wrote his autobiography in October 2009 called Football, My Life.

Macari was portrayed by Scottish actor Tony Curran in the 2014 television film Marvellous, based on the life of former Stoke City kitman Neil Baldwin.[25]

Personal life

His mother died just before the 1978 World Cup in strange circumstances, overdosing on tablets, her son was to find out. "My mum had been on her own, and in the conversation I'd had with her she said she had some friends up there. Putting the pieces together after she died, I just wasn't convinced that the friends were good friends. Some money had gone missing."[26]

His sons Michael and Paul have played professionally with Stoke, when Macari was manager of the club. His youngest son Jonathan died by suicide in 1999 after being released from his contract at Nottingham Forest.[27] Family friend and former manager Dave Bassett said that Jonathan could not handle the pressure of living up to his father's greatness. There was also talk of drugs affecting his son's life and leading to his suicide,[28] but Macari later discounted that theory, admitting that much like the death of his mother, the complete story behind the tragedy may never be known.[26] Years later he said that "money in a young man's pocket is a recipe for disaster and we had that disaster. Only when you go through something like that do you understand the hell of it."[29]

His grandson Lewis plays for Notts County, on loan from Stoke City.[30] [31]

Macari worked with Stoke-on-Trent council to set up The Macari Centre, a street retreat to house the homeless sleeping rough, which opened in February 2016.[32] [33] In the COVID-19 pandemic, following the closure of the crowded premises of The Macari Centre, Macari rented a warehouse and filled it with glamping pods for homeless people, giving them socially distanced places of their own and their own individual addresses.[34]

Career statistics

As a player

Club

Source:

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Celtic1967–68Scottish Division One000010000010
1968–69Scottish Division One110030000041
1969–70Scottish Division One157220000211910
1970–71Scottish Division One115118512002113
1971–72Scottish Division One2010556584314225
1972–73Scottish Division One11300643230239
Total58268824141288211058
Manchester United1972–73First Division16500000030195
1973–74First Division35521100000386
1974–75Second Division3811207700004718
1975–76First Division3612613200004515
1976–77First Division389734141005314
1977–78First Division328431020104011
1978–79First Division32650100000386
1979–80First Division39920300000449
1980–81First Division38920201000439
1981–82First Division11220000000132
1982–83First Division9210301000142
1983–84First Division5010202000100
Total3297834827101014040497
Swindon Town1984–85Fourth Division27310100021314
1985–86Fourth Division9000300000120
Total36310400021434
Career total42310743165524229143557159

A.  The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Anglo-Italian Cup, Drybrough Cup, FA Charity Shield, Football League Trophy and Glasgow Cup.

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland[35] 197263
197340
197550
197762
197830
Total245

As a manager

Source:

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecord
Swindon Town23 July 19843 July 1989
West Ham United3 July 198918 February 1990
Birmingham City7 February 199118 June 1991
Stoke City18 June 199126 October 1993
Celtic[36] 27 October 199314 June 1994
Stoke City29 September 19941 July 1997
Huddersfield Town16 October 200014 June 2002
Total

Honours

As a player

Celtic

1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73

1970–71, 1971–72

Manchester United

1974–75

1976–77; runner-up: 1975–76,[37] 1978–79

1977 (shared),[38] 1983[39]

As a manager

Swindon Town

1985–86

1987

Birmingham City

1990–91

Stoke City

1992–93

Individual

December 2000[40]

References

General

Specific

Notes and References

  1. Book: Matthews, Tony. The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. 1994. Lion Press. 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. Book: Lowe, Simon. Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record. 2000. Desert Island Books. 1-874287-39-2.
  3. Web site: Burdett. Daniel. Lou Macari. Stretford End. 12 October 2015.
  4. Web site: Burns. Will. The Quality Street Gang; The greatest Celtic team that never was. World Football Weekly. 12 October 2015. 20 March 2014.
  5. Web site: The Boy in the Picture – Lou Macari. The Celtic Underground. 14 October 2013 . 12 October 2015.
  6. Web site: Lou Macari. LMA. 30 October 2015.
  7. Web site: Macari, Lou. FitbaStats. 3 November 2015.
  8. Web site: Macari, Lou. FitbaStats. 3 November 2015.
  9. Web site: How our man in Argentina put boot into Ally's World Cup flops. Stephen McGinty. The Scotsman. 30 December 2008. 24 January 2009.
  10. http://www.londonhearts.com/scotland/players/luigi(lou)macari.html Lou Macari's Scotland record
  11. Web site: Lou Macari: Vale fans must be realistic. https://archive.today/20120912145855/http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/portvale/Lou-Macari-Vale-fans-realistic/article-1061686-detail/article.html. dead. 12 September 2012. Macaari. Lou. 9 June 2009. The Sentinel. 2009-06-09.
  12. Web site: Manager profile – Lou MACARI . Swindon Town FC . 31 October 2015.
  13. Web site: Macari cleared of tax fraud in running football club. Independent.co.uk. 29 July 1992.
  14. Web site: Managers – Lou Macari. West Ham United FC. 3 November 2015.
  15. Web site: Lou Macari – Managerial Statistics . soccerbase.com . 4 November 2015.
  16. Book: Sharratt. Ben. Blows. Kirk. Bring me the head of Trevor Brooking : three decades of East End soap opera at West Ham United. 2010. Mainstream. Edinburgh. 978-1845966614. 154.
  17. News: Ludo: 'we Must Be Mad!'. 26 September 2016. whufc.com. 19 March 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150128111825/http://www.whufc.com/articles/20010630/ludo-we-must-be-mad_2236884_1139506. 28 January 2015.
  18. News: MANCHESTER City yesterday signed West Ham's highly rated midfielder Mark Ward. 26 September 2016. Herald Scotland. 29 December 1989.
  19. News: Banks. Robert. Stop! Hammer Time. 26 September 2016. Sabotage Times. 1 September 2010.
  20. News: Lou Macari: Trophy bid can lead to unforgettable memories. 3 November 2015. The Stoke Sentinel. 4 September 2012.
  21. News: A Less Than 'Spooktacular' Record. 3 November 2015. Stoke City FC. 31 October 2012.
  22. News: Cuddihy. Paul. Ronny Deila is Celtic's No.17. 15 September 2015. Celtic FC. 6 June 2014.
  23. Web site: Celtic – Managers. Soccerbase. 28 August 2015.
  24. News: James. Traynor. Scottish Cup: Coyne spins out Celtic – Sport . The Independent . 30 January 1994 . 6 August 2013.
  25. News: McIver. Brian. I loved playing Celtic icon Lou Macari in new film.. it made a change to play a human, says Scots actor Tony Curran. 12 October 2015. Daily Record. 16 September 2014.
  26. News: Only a game: Lou Macari talks about the tragedy that changed his world. Deveney. Catherine. 10 August 2008. Scotland on Sunday. 20 July 2010.
  27. News: Football manager's son found hanged. BBC News. 29 April 1999. 24 January 2009.
  28. News: 'Real world' too much for Macari's son . Aston . Paul . 1 October 1999 . Birmingham Post . reprint . The Free Library (Farlex) . 1 October 2010.
  29. News: Lou Macari faces his son's suicide. Buckland. Simon. 19 October 2008. The Times. 20 July 2010.
  30. Web site: Lewis Macari is from a famous footballing family but wants to make his own name. Paul. O'Hehir. 27 May 2022. Irish Mirror.
  31. News: Lewis Macari: Stoke City defender joins Notts County on loan until January . BBC Sport . 1 September 2023 . 2 September 2023 .
  32. News: What can YOU do to help the homeless in Stoke-on-Trent?. Ault. Richard. Stoke Sentinel . 24 November 2017 . 20 February 2021.
  33. News: So how did Lou Macari find a home for 43 people? . The Times . Matt . Dickinson . 24 December 2020 . 24 December 2020.
  34. News: Celtic legend Lou Macari sets up street of glamping pods at warehouse to help homeless people. Hebditch. Jon. The Daily Record. 17 February 2021. 20 February 2021.
  35. Web site: Macari, Lou. National Football Teams. 3 November 2015.
  36. Web site: Manager details – Macari, Lou. FitbaStats. 3 November 2015.
  37. Book: Leslie . Jack . Vernon . Rollin . Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 . 1977 . Brickfield Publications Ltd . London . 0354 09018 6 . 491.
  38. Web site: Saturday 13th August 1977 – Charity Shield. MUFC Info. 30 October 2015.
  39. Web site: 1983 Charity Shield line-up. MUFC Info. 31 October 2015.
  40. News: Manager of the Month . League Managers Association . 6 July 2009.
  41. Web site: 30 May 2023 . Pep Guardiola wins the Sir Alex Ferguson Trophy for the LMA Manager of the Year . 3 June 2023 . League Managers Association.