Donnelly: John

1983-1985 (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Glasgow: 08-03-1961

Debut v Blackburn Rovers (h): 05-03-1983

5’10 1/2” 11st 6lb (1983)

Leeds offered Donnelly a second chance at League football when he became one of Eddie Gray’s first signings on 3rd March 1983. He had been rejected by Notts County after being an apprentice with them. He had returned to Scotland played for Motherwell, where he spent eighteen months, scoring twice in the 1979-80 season and playing sixteen games in the League of which two were as a substitute and had made seven starts and two more substitute appearances before he moved to Dumbarton for £25,000, where he scored four goals in sixteen games, of which two were as a substitute in the 1980-81 season. He played regularly for Dumbarton scoring five goals in thirty-one starts and three as a substitute in 1981-82. He had scored another eight in twenty-eight starts in 1982-83 when Eddie Gray and Jimmy Lumsden took him for a week's trial at Elland Road in late February 1983. They returned to Scotland with him on 2nd March 1983 and he signed for Leeds on 3rd March 1983. Leeds paid £10,000 for him plus £5,000 for each League game up to fifteen appearances, a deal which eventually cost United £85,000. He went straight into the first team, and was a regular for much of the next two seasons but inconsistency cost him a place and veteran Peter Lorimer took his place when Lorimer returned to Leeds in December 1983. He regained his place towards the end of the 1983-84 season but fell out of favour in 1984-85 and he was loaned to Partick Thistle in November 1984, joining them permanently in March 1985 for a fee of £15,000. He scored seven goals in ten games for the Jets before the end of the season. He was a regular in 1985-86 scoring ten times in twenty-nine games, of which two were as a substitute. A naturally skillful player at Firhill, but unfortunately he was a lazy player and had a problem with attitude and was eventually allowed to leave. He had played six games in 1986-87 before he was transferred to Dunfermline Athletic and scored seven goals in thirty games as he helped them win promotion to the Scottish Premier Division in his first season. Donnelly was always a bit of a maverick and on 19th April 1988, Dunfirmline announced they had sacked him for breach of contract after he failed to turn up to play or train. He had scored seven goals in thirty-four games, including two as a substitute. He went to East Fife on loan, where he played four games in 1987-88, and later joined Stranraer, where he scored once in seventeen games, of which one was as a substitute in 1988-89. He later played for Vale of Clyde and Pollok. Donnelly failed to live up to Eddie Gray’s early assessment of his talents and after numerous disagreements with his employers he retired from football at the early age of twenty-eight. He worked for the Scotish FA until 1993 and then worked in nurturing the talent of young players in Glasgow. His son was on the books of Partick Thistle and his younger brother, Tommy, played in midfield for Hamilton Academicals.