McNaught James Image 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1901

Description

Centre half James McNaught began his career with his hometown club, Dumbarton in 1890, scoring 10 goals in 49 games, and after a brief spell in Northern Ireland with Linfield in 1892, he joined English club Newton Heath in February 1893. After signing, he made three friendly appearances as an inside right in March 1893, before suffering a dislocated elbow in the third game against Ardwick. He finally made his Football League debut for Newton Heath in the first game of the 1893-94  season on 2nd September 1893, starting at inside right in a 3-2 win over Burnley. He played as a forward for most of the season, but was moved to half-back for his last four appearances of 1893-94, becoming the club’s regular centre half for the next four years.

After scoring 12 goals in 163 appearances for Newton Heath, he left for Tottenham Hotspur in May 1898. His contract with Tottenham drew criticism from The Cricket & Football Field, which referred to his weekly wage of £4.10s (with a signing bonus of £50 up front) as “ridiculously high”. Nevertheless, while there, he helped Tottenham win the 1899-1900 Southern League Championship, although he wasn’t in their 1901 FA Cup winning team. Towards the end of his nine-year spell with Spurs, for whom he made 109 appearances, he joined their coaching staff, before moving to Maidstone United in 1907. He retired from football in 1909