Hall of Shame #1 Dave Mackay: The man who sold Don Rogers
The Hall of Shame kicks off as we induct former Swindon Town manager Dave Mackay. Mackay’s presence at the club caused instability from the start. His brief reign as manager from 1st November 1971 to 1st November 1972 ripped apart the 1969 League Cup winning side, sending Town on a downward spiral which took fifteen years to recover from.
A legend at Hearts, Spurs and Derby County, Mackay was brought to the club for £20,000 by the Board with the sole intention of being installed as player-manager, however he refused to agree to ousting the incumbant manager Fred Ford.
Mackay remained as a player for the time being, however his presence competing with legend and captain Stan Harland in midfield created friction from the start. Ford tried unsuccessfully to fit both players into the side moving Harland into a midfield role – a move which only resulted in more poor performances. Ford lasted until 1st November 1971, when a home defeat by Middlesbrough two days before sealed his fate – the board perhaps unfairly sacking him and Mackay inevitably replacing him.
While Swindon did survive in Division Two that season it came at a price. Mackay’s first decision was to drop 1969 winning captain Harland, who immediately requested a transfer and left to join Birmingham and became an integral part of their promotion winning side. This decision was to be the start of the dismantling of the magnificent 1969 League Cup winning XI.
The following season was Town’s fourth successive season in the second tier. After the successes of 1969 and 1970 the club had started to settle as a mid table Division Two side however Mackay wanted more, stating he couldn’t win something for Swindon, then he would quit.
While no manager should be criticised for their ambitions it soon became apparent that Mackay’s unrealistic expectations combined with the Board’s financial disregard and aiming to keep their man in the dugout happy, both overcommited the club at the worst possible time. Mackay demanded to be supported in his push for the Division Two title and pushed Town to the brink of financial collapse after doubling the record transfer fee paid by signing Irish international Ray Tracey from Charlton Athletic for £35,000 – as a replacement for Arthur Horsfield.
After a very slow start to the season, Town were staring relegation in the face. Gates were falling and the financing of the Arkells Stand was starting to pinch, so in October matters came to a head as the entire playing staff was put up for sale.
Everyone was only interested in one player; Don Rogers. After 490 appearances and 181 goals in all competitions, it was inevitable someone would soon pounce for Rogers’ signing. In stepped Crystal Palace, managed by former boss Bert Head, who paid £147,000 for his capture. In one sweep, Town’s key asset and crowd draw was gone. It was always downhill from here.
On the same day the ‘Don’ departed, Mackay signed Tom Jenkins joined as his ‘replacement’. A nigh-on impossible task for any player to fill the great man’s boots, but Jenkins? This signing was also at a considerable cost as Jenkins became Mackay’s second club record signing for £50,000.
After only days since selling the family silver in Rogers and with Town now sitting sixteenth, a slender two points above the relegation zone and looking at a battle to avoid relegation, manager Mackay quit, citing personal reasons for his decision. The questions were asked; why sell Rogers, our idol, a matter of days before chucking in the towel?
Low and behold the Scot turned up at the City Ground, Nottingham a few days later paraded as their new manager. A decision that would cement his hatred in Swindon only a matter of days after selling Rogers. Perhaps he was tapped up and just frustrated at his worsening situation at Swindon, in the end Mackay never had a heart for the club and ultimately removed Town’s heart while it was still beating.
As for Mackay’s big money signings; Tracey had a patchy goalscoring record with sixteen goals in 55 appearances before departing in December 1973. Rogers’ replacement Tom Jenkins would fail to settle, struggling to hold down a first team place and scored just five goals in 115 appearances for the Town. The purchase of Mackay himself and his two big signings totalled at £105,000, a massive amount for the club at the time and hardly good value for the money…
Read More Tales from the STFC Hall of Shame
The Washbag 
thanks for that Ron. I’m now feeling queasy… and there’s more of this sort of thing ?
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Unfortunately we’ve got plenty more entries for the HoS. It does make for unpleasant reading…
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Dave Mackay, what a legend!
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I’m hoping that David Peach will be inducted – and soon.
If memory serves correctly, we bought him for a club record fee (at the time), largely due to the fact that he was apparently somewhere on the pitch when Southampton won the 1976 FA Cup Final.
For us, he seemed to think his job description was strolling around waiting to pick up his pension.
The fastest I ever saw him move was when he gestured at the Town End, who had been giving him deserved stick, only to have several very irate fans attempt to get onto the pitch with him to ‘have a word’.
Had it not been for police intervention, my money would’ve been on the fat bloke with the beard catching Peach before he reached the halfway line.
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GL5, I remember that day so well, i shouted at Peach that my Grandmother could play better than him and she had been dead 10 years, he looked at me and winked, so i threw my scarf at him, i missed lol, had to meekly ask a nearby “st Johms Ambulance man for my scarf back, the shame . Peach acted like im a big fish in a small team and for a international player he was ******!!!
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nice read sorry to hear so much bad stuff but thats football
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I totally agree with Mackay’s induction.
I remember him running around, with his little legs going ten to the dozen, his face all flushed and, er, the merest hint of a middle-aged paunch – not achieving very much at all.
My boyhood hero was the Don. Mackay sold him. Stick ‘im on the list as numero uno. It is well deserved.
I say ‘GUILTY!’
‘After Messrs Jenkins & Peach – would Mr Ashikodi please move to the front….’
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A bit of advice Bassett Boy, I’m afraid you know nothing about football.
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I remember being at the League Cup replay against Brian Clough’s Derby along with 30,000 others at the County Ground. My girlfriend stood on a brick that we found on the floor to see better! If my memory is correct it was Mackay’s back that helped us win – a Don Rogers shot hit him on the back and ballooned over the keeper. At the time Derby were pressing for promotion from the then second division and were a very hard team to beat. That night was the only time that Mackay did us a favour.
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Way before my time, but my Mum would always tell me of how she loathed Dave Mackay to the hilt when we would take our spot on the old Shrivingham Road stand on a cold and wet Tuesday night under the floodlights. She hated him a passion.
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I’m afraid your mum has got it all wrong about Dave Mackay. Mackay was one of the greatest players of his era, winning all major honours in the game.He is one of the few persons to win the league as a player and manager, and is held in high esteem by fellow professionals. A true legend and gentleman.
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But not at Swindon,facts speak for themselves.
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What a load of old rubbish you are talking. None of you could lace Dave Mackay’s boots! Only one with any sense is Tom. Hating with a passion? What a horrible way to talk when you don’t even know someone! Oh well, such is life at times.
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I take it you’re not a Swindon fan so you wouldn’t be the best judge of the reasons for his induction…
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