David McGhee

David Christopher McGhee (born 19 June 1976) is an English retired professional footballer, who made over 230 appearances as a utility player in the Football League for Brentford and Leyton Orient.

Playing career

Early years McGhee was born in Worthing. Starting out as a defender, he began his career in the youth system at Plymouth Argyle. He was not taken on as a scholar by first team manager Peter Shilton and dropped into non-League football to sign for local South Western League club St Austell. He remained on the bench for the 1–0 victory. He made 45 appearances and scored six goals.

McGhee's best season for Brentford came in 1996–97, when he made a season-high 53 appearances and scored two goals. The Bees led the Second Division for much of the first two-thirds of the season, before dropping to fourth position and qualifying for the playoffs. After beating Bristol City 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, the Bees lost 1–0 to Crewe Alexandra at Wembley Stadium in the final.

McGhee was again a regular pick during the 1997–98 season, making 33 appearances and scoring one goal in which Brentford's playoff hangover consigned them to relegation to the Third Division after a final-day defeat to Bristol Rovers. A succession of injuries saw McGhee miss the entire 1998–99 season, and he retired in January 1999. He made 138 appearances and scored 10 goals during his time at Griffin Park.

Leyton Orient McGhee returned to the Football League to sign for struggling Third Division club Leyton Orient in November 1999. He quickly established himself in the side, making 23 appearances and scoring one goal during the remainder of the 1999–00 season to help the Os retain their league status. McGhee had an excellent 2000–01 season, making 51 appearances and scoring three goals as the Os finished in the playoff positions. As with Brentford in 1997, McGhee suffered heartbreak in his second appearance at Wembley Stadium, with Orient crashing to a 4–2 defeat to Blackpool in the final, after having twice taken the lead.

Orient suffered a hangover in the 2001–02 season, though McGhee again featured in almost all the club's matches, making 45 appearances and scoring two goals. McGhee's run as a mainstay of the team came to an end on 10 September 2002, when he suffered a ruptured achilles tendon after 11 minutes of a 3–2 League Cup first round victory over Queens Park Rangers. He returned to match play just over a year later and was named captain, but managed just 12 appearances and one goal during the 2003–04 season, before leaving the club on 25 March 2004. McGhee made 135 appearances and scored seven goals during five years at Brisbane Road. His performances earned him the nickname "Mad Dog".

McGhee continued his descent down the pyramid with short spells at Isthmian League clubs Chelmsford City and Wivenhoe Town respectively during the first half of the 2006–07 season. McGhee returned to Cornwall in late 2006 to sign for South Western League club Falmouth Town. He signed for East Cornwall League Premier Division club Lanreath in 2007 and played for the team until 2015. He re-emerged with the club's veterans' team 2017, playing as a goalkeeper.

Managerial career McGhee has held coaching and assistant manager positions in the youth setup at local Cornish club Looe Town. He served as joint-player-manager of East Cornwall League First Division club Lanreath during the 2014–15 season. In March 2015, McGhee was diagnosed with a brain tumour. 0 45 6 1996–97 0 53 2 1997–98 0 51 3 2001–02 Isthmian League Premier Division 4 0

4 0 2004–05 0 25 1 2005–06 Conference Premier 20 0 0 0

2 0 22 0

46!!1!!0

Chelmsford City 2006–07 Isthmian League Premier Division 7 0 0 0

7 0 Wivenhoe Town 2006–07 Isthmian League First Division North 6 0

6 0

292!!15!!18!!1!!12!!1!!17!!0!!350!!18