Malcolm Shotton (born 16 February 1957) is an English former professional footballer and manager. He was on the books of Leicester City as an apprentice but failed to make the break into senior football there. He played for Atherstone United and Nuneaton Borough in non-league football before signing for Oxford United in 1980. He formed a notable defensive partnership with Gary Briggs and went on to become captain of the side as they rose from Division Three to Division One. His finest moment as captain was lifting the Milk Cup at Wembley Stadium in April 1986. At the end of the following season he was transferred to Portsmouth.[3] He later played for Huddersfield Town, Barnsley, Hull City and Ayr United and, after his playing career ended, served as assistant manager at Barnsley.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Malcolm Shotton[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 February 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1975 | Leicester City | 0 | (0) |
| 1975–1979 | Atherstone Town | ||
| 1979–1980 | Nuneaton Borough | 50 | (5) |
| 1980–1987 | Oxford United | 263 | (12) |
| 1987 | Portsmouth | 10 | (0) |
| 1987–1989 | Huddersfield Town | 16 | (1) |
| 1989–1990 | Barnsley | 66 | (6) |
| 1990–1992 | Hull City | 59 | (2) |
| 1992–1994 | Ayr United | 73 | (3) |
| 1994–1996 | Barnsley | 10 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Oxford United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
In 1998 he returned to Oxford as manager, replacing Malcolm Crosby. His appointment was popular[4] and initially successful, as he led the team out of relegation danger to a creditable 12th-place finish in Division One. However, United were relegated to Division Two at the end of the following season, and Shotton resigned in October 1999, with the club in serious danger of a second successive relegation.
In 2021, it was revealed on the Football Cliches[5] podcast that three early teenagers impersonated Shotton to make fake transfer enquiries directly to club managers. This led to Roy Evans, Martin O’Neill, Barry Fry and others to speculate on transfer dealings directly to the impersonators who ran their scam from a payphone. It is unclear whether Shotton was aware of this during his Oxford United tenure.
Shotton later served as assistant manager at Bradford City Director of Football at Loughborough University[6] and manager of Barnsley College Academy Team.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Malcolm Shotton". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ Howland, Andy and Roger (2001) Oxford United: the Headington Years. Perfitt-Bayliss, Marlow. ISBN 0-9541797-0-6
- ^ "SOS – Shotton Our Saviour, Sod Off Smith". Rage on: 6–7. April 1998.
- ^ Football Cliches Podcast Episode 98
- ^ Loughborough Sport website Archived 14 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Where Are They Now? Oxford United 1986 Milk Cup Winners". The Football League Paper. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2017.