Played For Luton And Chelsea – Mal Donaghy

With expectation levels rising relating to the FA Cup clash with Chelsea, this weekend, I thought I would take time out to focus on those players who have played for both clubs.

In the first of what I hope will see four or five players covered, I have selected Malachy Martin Donaghy, a Northern Ireland international who went on to have a career many of those who play today would be envious of.

Born in Belfast, in September 1957, not many people know that Mal started his career, in Ireland, as a goalkeeper.

But it was not long before he switched to playing outfield and showed just what he was capable of.

After playing for the Irish sides, Cromac Albion and Lame, Luton Town, aware that Donaghy had played just 20 games for the latter, decided to offer a fee of £20,000 for the player.

Donaghy put pen-to-paper on his Luton contract in June 1978 and was to go on to become a mainstay of the Hatters side, making more than 400 league appearances.

Although only five feet nine inches tall, Donaghy was a more than capable centre-back but was also able to play more than competently at full-back, if required.

While with Luton Town, Donaghy was part of the side that won the old Second Division title in 1982 and also part of the side that beat Arsenal to win the League Cup in 1988, on a glorious afternoon at Wembley Stadium.

But just as it looked as if Mal would spend his career at Kenilworth Road, an offer came in for the player from a Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United.

The chance to join the team he supported as a boy provided Donaghy with the perfect opportunity to have, at 31-years-of-age, a glorious swansong to his career and in October 1988 a deal was done with Luton receiving a transfer fee of £650,000.

While at Old Trafford, Donaghy was to go on to make almost a 100 league appearances before, in August 1992, just days short of his 35th birthday, he joined Chelsea for a fee of £100,000.

Donaghy stayed at Stamford Bridge for two seasons bringing defensive experience to a side that were to finish 11th in the first ever Premier League season.

In his second season with Chelsea, the Irishman was denied the chance to play in the FA Cup Final against his former club, Manchester United, by not being selected and chose to retire from club football at the end of the season.

But Donaghy was not finished with the game and continued to play for Northern Ireland, for whom he won 91 caps, the last of which came against Mexico in 1994 with Mal just three months short of his 37th birthday.

The Hatters favourite had enjoyed a remarkable career and the £20,000 Luton Town had invested in the player had proven to be money well spent.

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