Aaron McLean

Aaron McLean

Playing for Ipswich Town in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Aaron McLean [1]
Date of birth	(1983-05-25) 25 May 1983 (age 40) [1]
Place of birth	Hammersmith, England
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) [2]
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1998–1999	Leyton Orient
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2003	Leyton Orient	40	(2)
2002	→ Grays Athletic (loan)	6	(3)
2003–2005	Aldershot Town	72	(12)
2005–2007	Grays Athletic	57	(25)
2006–2007	→ Peterborough United (loan)	9	(4)
2007–2011	Peterborough United	148	(67)
2011–2014	Hull City	77	(9)
2013	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	7	(1)
2013–2014	→ Birmingham City (loan)	7	(0)
2014–2015	Bradford City	33	(6)
2014–2015	→ Peterborough United (loan)	18	(1)
2015–2016	Barnet	20	(5)
2016–2018	Ebbsfleet United	35	(9)
Total		529	(144)
International career
2003–2006	England C	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aaron McLean (born 25 May 1983) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. ^[3] At international level he gained five caps for the England C team during his time in the non-league.

McLean began his senior career with Leyton Orient in 1999, having graduated from the club's youth ranks. Never really breaking into the first team, he made 40 league appearances in a four-year spell, which also included a brief loan to Grays Athletic. He switched to Aldershot Town in 2003, and, after making 68 league appearances, moved again to Grays Athletic in 2005. He quickly became a regular player for Grays, making 59 league appearances before switching to Peterborough United in 2006; initially on loan, which became permanent the following year. He was a regular for Peterborough, and made 148 league appearances before moving to Hull City in January 2011. Initially a regular player for Hull, he fell out of favour following the club's promotion to the Premier League, and moved on loan to Ipswich Town and then Birmingham City in 2013. In January 2014 McLean completed a move to Bradford City.

Career

Early career

Born in Hammersmith, ^[4] London, McLean attended Robert Clack School in Dagenham.^{[ citation needed ]} He started his career with the Leyton Orient youth system in 1998. ^[5] He then played for Aldershot Town.

He then played for Grays Athletic before joining League Two side, Peterborough on loan, on 31 October 2006. McLean then joined Peterborough permanently, for £150,000, when the transfer window opened on 1 January 2007.

Peterborough United

2006–07

McLean was initially signed by Peterborough on loan from Grays Athletic, however was then signed permanently for £150,000 in the following January transfer window. During this period he made 20 appearances and scored 10 times in both the FA Cup and League Two.

2007–08

McLean had his best statistical year in Peterborough's 2007–08 campaign,^{[ citation needed ]} which resulted in promotion to League One. McLean scored 29 goals in the league in 45 appearances that season, which made him the League's leading scorer and earned him the League Two Golden Boot. ^[6] He also scored three goals in four FA Cup appearances that year.

2008–09

Following promotion to League One, Peterborough were off to a slow start, having won only one game and lost three, leaving them in 20th place in the league, and out of the relegation spots solely on goal difference. In this early period McLean had only one league goal to his name. However whilst Peterborough's luck changed for the better starting with a 5–4 win against Bristol Rovers in which McLean scored one of Peterborough's five goals, he suffered an elbow injury in the game and had to miss several of the following games. ^[7] Following three substitute appearances, McLean was back in the starting line-up replacing Scott Rendell. McLean went on to start for the remainder of the season, which saw Peterborough secure second position in the league and with it promotion to the Championship. Despite suffering injury, McLean finished the season with a total of 18 league goals in 39 appearances and was Peterborough's highest scorer behind Craig Mackail-Smith.

2009–10

McLean had a written transfer request accepted by Peterborough in December 2009. ^[8]

Hull City

McLean playing for Hull City in 2012

2010–11

On 30 December 2010, it was confirmed on the official website that McLean would transfer to Hull City at the start of the January 2011 transfer window. ^[9] He made his debut in the New Year's Day game with Leicester City coming on as a first-half substitute to replace Jamie Devitt. ^[10] On 5 February 2011, in the Humber derby against Scunthorpe United, he got his first two goals for Hull. ^[11]

2011–12

McLean scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season, on 10 September, against his old club, Peterborough United at London Road Stadium. ^[12] On 22 October 2011 against Watford at the KC Stadium, Liam Rosenior's first low ball was blocked, but he made sure he got a second chance to cross and McLean was on hand to fire home his first goal at the KC Stadium. ^[13] On 29 October 2011 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, a ball over the top sent Mclean racing away from his marker and he kept his cool to smash home a shot into the bottom corner from 10 yards. ^[14] On 7 December 2011 against Birmingham City at the KC Stadium, a Birmingham attack was broken up and Corry Evans played the ball to Robert Koren in the centre circle. Koren waited patiently before sliding a perfect ball inside the Birmingham left back for McLean, who advanced to the edge of the box before beating Boaz Myhill with a low shot inside the near post. ^[15]

2012–13

On 11 August 2012, McLean scored Hull's first competitive goal of the season against Rotherham United at the KC Stadium in the League Cup. ^[16] In January 2013, he joined Ipswich Town on loan for the remainder of the season. ^[17] Upon arrival McLean made negative remarks about Ipswich town centre, a reaction which disappointed the leader of the local council. ^[18]

2013–14

He made his Premier League debut as a late substitute in a 1–0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on 27 October 2013. ^[19] McLean then joined Championship club Birmingham City on 21 November 2013, on loan until 1 January 2014. ^[20] He made his debut two days later, as a second-half substitute as Birmingham drew with Blackpool, ^[21] and then scored both goals as the club's development squad beat their Newcastle United counterparts in the U21 Premier League Cup. ^[22] When it came to light that McLean had been ineligible, having played for his parent club in an earlier round, Birmingham withdrew from the competition. ^[23] He made seven first-team appearances, mainly as a substitute, without scoring, before missing the last two games of his loan spell with a hamstring injury. ^[24]

Upon his return to Hull he scored his first goal of the season against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on 4 January 2014. ^[25]

Bradford City

On 16 January 2014 McLean signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with League One club Bradford City for an undisclosed fee. ^[26] He made his debut on 18 January in a 2–2 draw away at Sheffield United. ^[27] On 18 November 2014, McLean rejoined Peterborough United on loan until January 2015. ^[28] He was released by Bradford in June 2015. ^[29]

Barnet

McLean joined Barnet on a short-term deal on 19 August 2015. ^[30] He played 22 times for the Bees in all competitions, scoring five goals, before leaving the club on 14 January 2016.

Ebbsfleet United

McLean joined Ebbsfleet United on a free transfer on 14 January 2016. ^[31] He became striker coach at the club for the 2017–18 season and retired from playing at the end of the season. ^[32]

Coaching career

After leaving his coaching role at Ebbsfleet, McLean became first team coach at Peterborough in May 2019, signing a three-year contract. He left the club a year later. ^[33]

Personal life

He is the younger brother of British singer McLean, and nephew of Bitty McLean. ^[34]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 January 2018

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leyton Orient	1999–2000 [35]	Division Three	3	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
	2000–01 [36]	Division Three	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
	2001–02 [37]	Division Three	27	1	3	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	1	31	2
	2002–03 [38]	Division Three	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	Total		40	2	3	0	0	0	2	1	45	3
Grays Athletic (loan)	2002–03 [39]	Isthmian League Premier	6	3	0	0	—		0	0	6	3
Aldershot Town	2002–03 [40]	Isthmian League Premier	10	4	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 2]	2	11	6
	2003–04 [41]	Conference Premier	37	6	2	1	—		12 [lower-alpha 3]	5	51	12
	2004–05 [42]	Conference Premier	25	2	2	2	—		5 [lower-alpha 4]	4	32	8
	Total		72	12	4	3	—		18	11	94	26
Grays Athletic	2004–05 [43]	Conference South	10	2	0	0	—		0	0	10	2
	2005–06 [43] [44] [45]	Conference Premier	30	10	3	1	—		11 [lower-alpha 5]	2	44	13
	2006–07 [43] [4]	Conference Premier	17	13	0	0	—		0	0	17	13
	Total		57	25	3	1	—		11	2	71	28
Peterborough United (loan)	2006–07 [4]	League Two	9	4	2	1	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	12	5
Peterborough United	2006–07 [4]	League Two	7	3	2	2	0	0	0	0	9	5
	2007–08 [46]	League Two	45	29	4	3	2	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	53	33
	2008–09 [47]	League One	42	17	5	1	1	0	0	0	48	18
	2009–10 [48]	Championship	35	7	0	0	4	1	—		39	8
	2010–11 [49]	League One	19	10	3	2	3	1	1 [lower-alpha 1]	1	26	14
	Total		157	70	16	9	10	2	4	2	187	83
Hull City	2010–11 [49]	Championship	23	3	0	0	0	0	—		23	3
	2011–12 [50]	Championship	39	5	2	1	0	0	—		41	6
	2012–13 [51]	Championship	14	1	0	0	2	2	—		16	3
	2013–14 [21]	Premier League	1	0	1	1	2	0	—		4	1
	Total		77	9	3	2	4	2	—		84	13
Ipswich Town (loan)	2012–13 [51]	Championship	7	1	1	0	0	0	—		8	1
Birmingham City (loan)	2013–14 [21]	Championship	7	0	0	0	0	0	—		7	0
Bradford City	2013–14 [21]	League One	20	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	4
	2014–15 [52]	League One	13	2	0	0	3	1	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	17	3
	Total		33	6	0	0	3	1	1	0	37	7
Peterborough United (loan)	2014–15 [52]	League One	18	1	1	0	0	0	—		19	1
Barnet	2015–16 [52]	League Two	20	5	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 6]	0	22	5
Ebbsfleet United	2015–16 [53]	National League South	15	5	0	0	—		0	0	15	5
	2016–17 [53]	National League South	10	3	0	0	—		3 [lower-alpha 7]	1	13	4
	2017–18 [53]	National League	10	1	1	1	—		1 [lower-alpha 8]	0	12	2
	Total		35	9	1	1	0	0	4	1	40	11
Career total			529	143	32	16	18	5	41	17	620	181

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. Appearance(s) in Hampshire Senior Cup
3. Three appearances one goal in Conference play-offs, seven appearances two goals in FA Trophy, two appearances two goals in Hampshire Senior Cup.
   Soccerbase omit three Conference appearances and the early rounds of the FA Trophy.
4. One appearance in FA Trophy, one in Football League Trophy, and three appearances four goals in Hampshire Senior Cup.
   Soccerbase omit one Conference appearance and the early rounds of the FA Trophy.
5. Nine appearances two goals in FA Trophy, two appearances in Conference play-offs
6. One appearance in Football League Trophy, one appearance in Middlesex Senior Cup
7. Appearances in National League South play-offs
8. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy

Honours

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08 Football League Two ^[54]
• Football League One Player of the Month: February 2009 ^[55]

References

1. Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 402. ISBN   1-85291-665-6.
2. "First Team". Peterborough United F.C. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010.
3. "Peterborough United legend returns to the club". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
4. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
5. "Career History". UpThePosh!. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
6. "McLean wins golden boot". Peterborough United F.C. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
7. "Mclean Tips Strikers to Deliver Goods". Peterborough United F.C. 9 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
8. "Peterborough agree to Aaron Mclean transfer request". BBC Sport. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
9. "Mclean Signed And Sealed". Hull City A.F.C. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
10. "Hull 0–1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
11. "Scunthorpe 1–5 Hull". BBC Sport. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
12. "Peterborough 0–1 Hull". BBC Sport. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
13. "Late Drama As Tigers Win". Hull City A.F.C. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
14. "Mclean Fires Tigers To Win". Hull City A.F.C. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
15. "Second Half Fightback Wins It For City". Hull City A.F.C. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
16. "Hull 1–1 Rotherham (7–6 pens)". BBC Sport. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
17. "David McGoldrick & Aaron McLean join Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
18. "Ipswich Town's Aaron McLean critical of shopping". BBC News. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
19. "Tottenham 1–0 Hull". BBC Sport. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
20. "Blues snap up Tiger". Birmingham City F.C. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
21. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
22. Walker, Andy (26 November 2013). "Blues U21s 2 Newcastle United U21s 1". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
23. Walker, Andy (29 November 2013). "Blues withdraw from U21 Cup". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
24. Tattum, Colin (6 January 2014). "Blues could have seen the last of Fulham loanee Dan Burn". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
25. "Middlesbrough 0-2 Hull". BBC Sport. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
26. "Transfer window: Aaron McLean joins Bradford from Hull City". BBC Sport. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
27. "Sheffield United 2–2 Bradford". BBC Sport. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
28. "Aaron Mclean: Peterborough United re-sign Bradford City striker". BBC Sport. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
29. Bradford City: Aaron Mclean released
30. Aaron McLean signs for Barnet!
31. Fleet fire up forward line with McLean machine
32. Ebbsfleet United forward Aaron McLean on his new role as striker coach
33. First team coach Aaron McLean to leave Peterborough United
34. "Posh star Mclean's brother hopes to score a hit". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010.
35. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
36. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
37. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
38. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
39. "Player Details: Season 2002–2002: Aaron McLean". SoccerFacts UK. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
40. "Club records season 2002–2003". Aldershot Town F.C. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
41. "Club records season 2003–2004". Aldershot Town F.C. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
42. "Club records season 2004–2005". Aldershot Town F.C. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
43. "Profile: Aaron McLean". Grays Athletic F.C.
44. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
45. "Player Details: Season 2005–2006: Aaron McLean". SoccerFacts UK. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
46. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
47. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
48. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
49. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
50. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
51. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
52. "Games played by Aaron McLean in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
53. "A. McLean". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
54. "Ronaldo named player of the year". BBC Sport. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
55. "Player of the Month Awards 2008/09 – League 1". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2012.

External links

• Aaron McLean at Soccerbase