 Wednesday, 26th Jan 2011 15:05 by Forgotten Heroes This week we look at a man who played for both Saints & Man Utd When Ted Macdougall arrived at the Dell in September 1976 it would be fair to say that the then 29 year old had been around the block a bit, indeed Saints were his 7th professional club. He had initially made his name at York City after being released by Liverpool without playing a game. a move to Bournemouth then followed and his success there prompted Man Utd to pay £200,000 for him in Sept 1972, then a record for a third division player, however United were in decline and he would not even see the season out before being sold on to West Ham, his record of 5 goals in 18 games was still a pretty good ratio for the time, but not for United who still had delusions of grandeur. At Upton park his stay was just as short with a similar scoring ratio, but his next move, this time to Norwich would reignite his career, especially as it would once again link him up with Phil Boyer, his record with the Canaries was good, virtually a goal every other game, so it was a surprise that Norwich were willing to sell him to Saints for only £50k, given that the previous year he had netted 23 goals, making him the top scorer in the top flight. In his first season at the Dell he scored 23 league goals in only 36 appearances to prove that he still had the touch as Lawrie McMenemy built his side for promotion. In the summer of 1977, Mick Channon left the club but McMenemy pulled out a master stroke by buying the man who Ted had worked so well with not only at Norwich but Bournemouth & York, Phil Boyer. It was a success as Saints went up as runners up to Bolton, MacDougall hit 14 league goals in his 40 games and Boyer outscored him with 17 in 41, this may not sound a lot but the difference in Saints was that they had shored up at the other end, in this season the deadly duo contibuted almost half of the 70 goals scored, butthis was down on the previous season when in finishing 9th they scored 72, however the 39 goals conceded in 77/78 was 28 less than the previous year. So SuperMac found himself back in the top flight as he approached his 31st birthdday, in 78/79 Saints didnt exactly struggle early on, but they were once again in a transitional stage, MacDougal played 10 league games out of the first 11 scoring 5 goals, bearing in mind Boyer only maged 7 in 42, this was no mean feat, but Ted felt that the pace was a bit much and crossed the New Forest back to Bournemouth. At Dean Court things werent as they were when he left, and he managed only 16 goals in 52 appearances although he was to join former team mate Alan Ball at Blackpool for a short spell as asst manager as well as a stint in the USA. After leaving Blackpool in October 1980, Macdougal became mine host of the Mill Arms in Dunbridge even turning out for the pub's sunday morning side where he put a late equaliser for this then teenaged writer playing in goal for Bishop's Blaize in the Commercial Houses league in what was a hotly disputed incident. MacDougall then became a bit of a soccer nomad again, playing for various non league sides as well as scouting positions, since leaving Portsmouth in 1999 where he again had linked up with Ball, he has coached youth sides in Atlanta Georgia, perhaps still feeling a bit guilty about that incident at Romsey Sports Centre when I can say categorically I had both hands on the ball. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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