Martin Buchan

Martin McLean Buchan (born 6 March 1949) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in Aberdeen, he played for Aberdeen, Manchester United and Oldham Athletic. He also played in 34 international matches for Scotland between 1971 and 1978 including at two World Cups. Buchan later managed Burnley.

Martin Buchan
Personal information
Full name Martin McLean Buchan[1]
Date of birth (1949-03-06) 6 March 1949
Place of birth Aberdeen, Scotland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Banks O' Dee
1965–1972 Aberdeen 133 (9)
1967 → Washington Whips (guest) 8 (1)
1972–1983 Manchester United 376 (4)
1983–1985 Oldham Athletic 28 (0)
Total 545 (14)
International career
1971–1978 Scotland 34 (0)
Managerial career
1985 Burnley
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Aberdeen

Buchan started his professional career with his hometown club Aberdeen. He captained the team when they won the 1970 Scottish Cup Final 3–1 against Jock Stein's Celtic.[3]

Manchester United

Buchan was signed by Manchester United manager Frank O'Farrell on 29 February 1972 for £120,000, and at the time was the club's record signing.[4][5] His first game for United came on 4 March 1972 against Tottenham in the First Division. He was unable to prevent United from suffering relegation to the Second Division in 1973–74. However, United bounced back at the first attempt as Second Division champions. Buchan became club captain in 1975 following the departure of Willie Morgan.

Buchan helped United win the 1977 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, which they won 2–1. This meant that Buchan became the only player to captain both Scottish and English FA Cup-winning sides. He also helped United reach another FA Cup final in 1979, where they lost 3–2 to Arsenal. He was still with United when they beat Brighton 4–0 in the replayed 1983 FA Cup Final, but he did not make the team for the final. Buchan left the club in August 1983 after injuries caught up with him, signing for Oldham Athletic on a free transfer. He had played in 456 games, scoring 4 goals, one of which was a superb, yet somewhat uncharacteristic, long-range drive against Everton.

International

Buchan won 34 caps for Scotland, making his international debut in 1971 against Portugal and his last appearance in 1978 against the same country. He played in the 1974 World Cup finals and 1978 World Cup finals and captained Scotland twice: in 1975 against Romania and in 1977 against Argentina.

After playing

On 22 June 1985, Buchan was appointed manager of Burnley, who had just been relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history – 25 years after being league champions. Buchan lasted less than four months at Turf Moor, resigning on 10 October 1985.[6]

Buchan worked for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) in Manchester for 17 years before retiring in 2017.[7]

Personal life

Buchan's brother George[8] and father Martin senior[9] both played for Aberdeen, the latter only in unofficial competitions during World War II. His son Jamie played with Aberdeen, Dundee United and Partick Thistle.[10]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[11]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aberdeen 1966–67 Scottish Division One 400000––40
1967–68 24230502[lower-alpha 3]1–343
1968–69 27260614[lower-alpha 4]0–433
1969–70 1925000––242
1970–71 34240602[lower-alpha 3]0–462
1971–72 25120604[lower-alpha 5]0–371
Total 1339200231121–18811
Washington Whips (loan) 1967 United Soccer Association 81––––81
Manchester United 1971–72 First Division 1312000––151
1972–73 420104000–470
1973–74 4202010––450
1974–75 Second Division 4102070––500
1975–76 First Division 4207030––520
1976–77 33070402[lower-alpha 5]0–460
1977–78 28140104[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 6]0381
1978–79 3729020––482
1979–80 4202030––470
1980–81 26020202[lower-alpha 5]0–320
1981–82 270102000–300
1982–83 3000102[lower-alpha 5]0–60
Total 3764390300100104564
Oldham Athletic 1983–84 Second Division 28000––300
Career total 545145905312211068216
  1. Includes Scottish Cup, FA Cup
  2. Includes Scottish League Cup, Football League Cup
  3. Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup
  4. Appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  5. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  6. Appearance in FA Charity Shield

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[12]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1971 2 0
1972 6 0
1973 1 0
1974 7 0
1975 4 0
1976 2 0
1977 5 0
1978 7 0
Total 34 0

Managerial record
Team From To Record
P W L D Win %
Burnley June 1985 October 1985 13 5 2 6 38.46%

Honours

Club

Aberdeen

Manchester United

See also

References
  1. "Martin Buchan". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  2. "Martin Buchan". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  3. Martin Buchan [2], AFC Heritage Trust
  4. "Buchan Signs for United". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 29 February 1972. p. 26. Retrieved 26 November 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. O'Callaghan, Eoin (20 October 2017). "George Best's chaos, his Cork boss and a club in crisis: when United last faced Huddersfield". The42. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  6. Martin Buchan managerial career
  7. "Martin Buchan Bows Out". thepfa.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  8. George Buchan, AFC Heritage Trust
  9. Martin Buchan [1], AFC Heritage Trust
  10. Jamie Buchan, AFC Heritage Trust
  11. "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  12. "Martin Buchan | Scotland | Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
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