And fourth in our series – a personal favourte of mine.
Mal Donaghy is one of a unique group, the Northern Irish international is one of those few Hatters players to have a League Cup Winners medal in their possession whilst also having made in excess of 400 appearances for Luton over a ten year period.
Donaghy was loyalty personified whilst at Luton, a player who could operate in defence or in midfield and a player that only left Kenilworth Road to join his boyhood idols of Manchester United.
In his early days Donaghy made a name for himself in Irish minor league football, playing for such little-known teams as St Agnes and Cromac Albion. He was to play a mere
His stay at Luton was a hugely successful one. Always a dependable performer he was part of the Luton side that won the Second Division title in 1982, ensuring a return to top-flight football, before playing in part in Luton retaining their top-flight status.
During his spell with Luton, the golden years were obviously during the period 1986 to 1988 during which time Donaghy helped Luton to a high of 7th place in the top-flight whilst also playing a huge part in helping Luton to that memorable 3-2 victory over Arsenal in the 1988 League Cup Final.
October of 1988 saw Donaghy, now thirty-one, move to Manchester united, with Sir Alex Ferguson coughing up £800,000 for his services, giving Luton a huge profit on the £20,000 they`d initially paid.
Following a spell at Old Trafford, Donaghy moved to Chelsea in August 1992, with the West London club paying £100,000 for his services and stayed with the Stamford Bridge until he announced his retirement from football at the end of the 1993/1994 season.
These days, Donaghy is coaching the Northern Ireland U19 squad whilst his son Ciaran, is currently on the books of Cliftonville FC.
