I was sat at a game recently, there was a young lad behind me, sat with his dad. It was getting near half-time and the kid was clearly getting hungry. He began whining and his dad asked him what he wanted and he replied 'I want a Supermac', my mind was instantly transported to another place!

Ba Ba Ba Baaaa Der Der Der!

Back in the 70s, Superstars was HUGE, Britain's biggest sports stars going head to head in gym tests, swimming etc. In the beginning the footballers were generally looked upon as a bit of a joke and a push over, Stan Bowles had nearly drowned in a canoe and somehow managed to shoot the table in the target pistol shooting, Kevin Keegan had managed to remove half of his skin, sliding across a cinder track on his backside, whilst trying to pilot a bicycle twice around a track.. then that all changed!!!!

There are many seminal moments in sport, moments you never forget, moments when names become faces.. the day Malcolm MacDonald appeared on Superstars, was just such a day.

Lining up alongside legends such as David Hemery, Gareth Edwards and J.P.R. Williams. The viewing public settled in to watch the same old faces, perform the normal procession, but this day was different, this day was special!

Signs could be seen during the gym tests, weightlifting, not normally the preserve of footballers. MacDonald was a stockily built lad, but he was up against boxers and rugby players, one by one, the competition fell away and the bar got heavier. He went toe to toe with the great Gareth Edwards, he grunted and snarled and showed real power and he clean and jerked enormous weights. Eventually he lost, by virtue of being the heavier man, but the nation had sat up and noticed this powerful young fella and he had pushed one of the nation's heroes to the very edge.

Written by: Resurrection Joe

Then came the moment, that everyone who saw it, will never forget, the 100m. As they lined up, there was no inkling of what was about to happen. They reached their marks, set.. and the pistol cracked. MacDonald exploded off the line and proceeded to blaze up the cinder track, his bandy legs belied sheer and unadulterated power, he tore up the track in a simple pair of trainers, no spikes, no lycra... Just him. The other competitors began to pull up after 50m, to marvel at what they were witnessing, the watching public's jaws collectively dropped. Supermac steamed across the tape in an incredible 10.7 seconds. Superstars had always been an entertaining jaunt, not this time, not with Malcolm MacDonald in the field, that wasn't his style, he meant every single stride. That was how Malcolm MacDonald was!

MacDonald started out at Fulham, his boyhood team, but it was at Luton he first caught the eye, he scored 49 goals in 88 matches, that record quickly prompted Joe Harvey to invest £180,000 for the centre forward, in the summer of 71. MacDonald was arrogant, determined, strong, fast, built like a brick outhouse and could shoot with both feet. He turned up for the press conference for his signing, in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce. Harvey was convinced that Newcastle had finally found a man who could fill the boots of 'Wor Jackie'. On his debut, MacDonald started as he meant to go on.. Smashing a hat-trick against Shankly's mighty Liverpool. MacDonald remained at St James' Park for 5 seasons, he was top scorer all five seasons, finishing his tenure in Newcastle with a record of 138 goals in 257 games.

In the summer of 76, MacDonald headed south and signed for Arsenal for a bizarre fee of £333,333.33, his scoring prowess was no less dulled. He was Arsenal's top scorer his first 2 seasons on the bounce. Early in 78/79 season, MacDonald suffered a dreadful knee injury, from which he was unable to recover. He finished his Arsenal career with figures of 84 Appearances, 42 goals. Quirkily his whole career, he had averaged exactly a goal every other game, wherever he had gone.

He was forced into retirement prematurely, at the age of 29, never having won a major honour. In his time after football, he has battled alcoholism, been a radio presenter. He still holds the record having scored 5 goals in a single qualification game for them and an overall record of 6 goals in 9 starts.

MacDonald was an immense talent, a strong, tigerish, snarling, swaggering, powerhouse of a striker. He got goals wherever he went, he fought for every ball, never gave up a chase, loved by two sets of fans and proudly represented his country... But my abiding memory was the day he tore down that track, in a shade over 10 seconds resplendent in big sideys.