945 Aaron McLean

Biography

Striker Aaron McLean joined the Tigers on New Years Day 2011 and made his debut that same day, having scored a raft of goals in the preceding two months for Peterborough United. Aaron was paired with another new signing, striker Matty Fryatt, to fire Nigel Pearson’s Tigers up the Championship table but it took until March 2011 for McLean to notch his first goals, a brace in a rain-sodden derby against Scunthorpe United. He added one further goal in the 2010/11 season as Pearson’s side finished in mid table. He scored more regularly in the first half of the 2011/12 season but was used primarily from the bench when Nicky Barmby took up the managerial reins in November 2011.

McLean fell out of favour during the 2012/13 season under new manager Steve Bruce and in January 2013 he started a two month loan at Championship rivals Ipswich Town, scoring one goal in 8 appearances though his popularity with the Suffolk populace quickly hit rock bottom when he publicly bemoaned to poor state of Ipswich town centre’s retail offer. In November 2013 McLean was again loaned, this time to Championship side Birmingham City where he made 7 appearances. He returned to Hull City in January 2014 and scored his last goal for the Tigers in his final appearance, the FA Cup Third Round tie at Middlesbrough that was the first step towards reaching the Wembley final. McLean left the Tigers in January 2014, two weeks after that last appearance.

Aaron McLean was born in Hammersmith, West London but was raised further east in Dagenham. He came through the youth team ranks at League Division 3 side Leyton Orient and made his Os debut against Reading in December 1999 while still 16 years old. He added three more first team appearances during April 2000 but managed only two appearances during the following 2000/01 season, scoring his senior goal against Shrewsbury Town in March 2001. In the 2001/02 season he was a more regular part of the first team squad, mainly coming off the bench and added two more goals. He was sidelined again in the early part of the 2002/03 season and in November 2002 he spent a month on loan at Isthmian League side Grays Athletic, scoring three goals in 6 appearances. Returning to Brisbane Road, Aaron made three further substitute appearances for Leyton Orient in January 2003 that took his tally to three goals in 45 appearances.

McLean was released by the Os in March 2003 and he joined Isthmian League side Aldershot Town, where he scored regularly to help the Shots reach and consolidate in the National League – he scored 26 goals for Aldershot in 94 appearances. In July 2005 Aaron switched to former club Grays Athletic, who had just won promotion to the National League after two successive promotions – he scored thirteen goals in the 2005/06 season as the Blues continued their upward progress and finished the season in the top three, missing out on promotion to the Football League after losing in the play-offs to Halifax Town. Grays also won the FA Trophy that season, with McLean starting as they defeated Woking in the May 2006 final hosted at West Ham United’s Boleyn Ground. While Grays Athletic’s form faltered at the start of the 2006/07 season McLean continued to impress, scoring thirteen goals in just 17 appearances. He scored in his final appearance for Grays Athletic, against St Albans City in October 2006, taking his tally for the Essex club to 28 goals in 71 appearances.

Days later in October 2006 McLean returned to the Football League and signed for League Two side Peterborough United, initially on loan then permanently In January 2007 with a fee of £150,000 being paid for his services. His loan spell saw him net five goals in his first eight appearances and he quickly reached double figures, only to miss the last three months of the season due to injury. Returning at the start of the 2007/08 season McLean had the most productive season of his career, netting 33 goals in all competitions including hattricks in November 2007 against Brentford and January 2008 against Accrington Stanley. These goals propelled Peterborough into the automatic promotion places and during the 2008/09 season Aaron continued his fine form in League One, linking up with strike partner Craig Mackail-Smith. A further nineteen goals from McLean helped Posh to claim a second successive automatic promotion and reach the Championship, only to return back to League One at the end of the 2009/10 season after finishing in last place. Back in the third tier, McLean upped his goalscoring rate once again and was in fine form ahead of his January 2011 move to Hull City – in just over four years McLean scored 84 goals for Peterborough United in 187 appearances.

In January 2014 McLean joined League One side Bradford City, he made his Bantams debut that month against Sheffield United but had to wait until March 2014 for his first goal against Gillingham. Aaron struggled for form at Valley Parade and was often used as an impact substitute, his final appearance in October 2014 taking his tally to seven goals in 37 appearances. In November 2014 Aaron was loaned to former club Peterborough United, who were still in League One, but he wasn’t able to rekindle his earlier form and during the remainder of the 2014/15 season he scored just one goal in 19 appearances.

In August 2015 McLean signed a short term contract at League Two side Barnet and spent half a season with the North London side, scoring five goals in 22 appearances. In January 2016 he moved to National League South side Ebbsfleet United where he scored eleven goals in 40 appearances before a serious knee injury hampered his game time. During the 2017/18 season Aaron combined occasional playing duties with coaching the club’s strikers after they won promotion to the National League. He retired from playing in the 2018 close season and stayed on the Ebbsfleet coaching staff until May 2019.

Aaron joined the coaching staff at Peterborough United in May 2019 but left the club a year later. He then embarked on a media career that combined matchday punditry with written work for the BBC Sport website.

In November 2003, while playing for Aldershot Town, Aaron won his first cap against Belgium for the England C team, the squad drawn from the cream of non-league talent. He won a second cap in February 2004 against Italy then won three more caps in May 2006 against Ireland, Wales and Scotland, while at Grays Athletic.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 25 May 1983, Hammersmith
Hull City First Game: 1 January 2011, Leicester City H (Championship), 27 years, 221 days old
Hull City Final Game: 4 January 2014, Middlesbrough A (FA Cup Third Round), 30 years, 224 days old

Clubs

Leyton Orient (1999-2003), Grays Athletic (2002, loan), Aldershot Town (2003-2005), Grays Athletic (2005-2007), Peterborough United (2006-2007, loan), Peterborough United (2007-2011), Hull City (2011-2014), Ipswich Town (2013, loan), Birmingham City (2013, loan), Bradford City (2014-2015), Peterborough United (2014-2015, loan), Barnet (2015-2016), Ebbsfleet United (2016-2018)

Hull City Record

Career: 84 apps, 13 goals