*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
Malcolm Cook
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Appearances: 37 Goals: 2
Date / Year of birth: 24th May 1943
Position: Midfielder
Season of first appearance: 1966/67
Season of last appearance: 1967/68
Also played for: Drumchapel Amateur (Scotland), St.Rochs (Scotland), Arsenal (0), Motherwell (Scotland) (0), Bradford Park Avenue (50,3), Newport County (Wales) (32+2,0) and Folkestone
6' 0" tall, tenacious Glasgow-born midfielder who was brought up in the Govan district of the city. As a youth Malcolm played for Drumchapel Amateur from the Clydebank area and Glasgow-based club St.Rochs before being signed as a trainee by Arsenal.
After leaving the Gunners he returned home to Scotland and in October 1961 Malcolm was signed as a professional by Motherwell but didn't make the first team there and in April 1963 he was released.
In July 1963 Malcolm joined Division 4 club Bradford Park Avenue and he went on to scored three goals from 50 first team outings for them during the 1963/64 and 1964/65 seasons despite being troubled by injury. Malcolm had constant problems with his feet and knees and during his time with Park Avenue he was sent to an orthopedic surgeon in Leeds who outlined a radical programme of surgery which would have involved breaking most of the bones in his feet to reconstruct new arches. Malcolm could have missed up to two years of football so opted to play on through the pain wearing specially adapted boots.
In July 1965 he joined Newport County, also of Division 4, and made 34 appearances (two as sub) without scoring during 1965/66 before injury curtailed his professional career.
In the summer of 1966 Malcolm signed for Margate as he felt he'd be able to cope with less demanding Southern League football and he soon started studying for his Football Association badges.
He made his debut for Margate in a 5-2 win over Barry at Hartsdown Park on 20.8.66, the opening day of the 1966/67 campaign, and had an outstanding game in midfield. Malcolm caught the eye of the local press and was said to have a "go-anywhere, do-anything" style whilst being "a player of considerable culture".
On 5.9.66 he was booked for knocking a Hastings player over with a right hook during a Southern League Cup tie at Hartsdown Park and on 17.9.66 Malcolm scored his first goal in a 4-0 win at Tunbridge Wells in the FA Cup. He was on target again in a 6-0 home win over Chatham in the Kent Floodlight Cup on 10.10.66.
Having been ever-present for Margate's first 22 matches and being described by the local press as "a constant source of inspiration" disaster struck for Malcolm on 12.11.66 when he was carried off with torn knee ligaments during an 8-0 home win over Tunbridge Wells. He missed the next five months due to the injury.
Malcolm made a comeback in a 2-1 defeat at Canterbury in the Kent Floodlight Cup on 25.4.67 and then after missing three matches he played in 2-1 win at Rugby on 9.5.67. It was his last outing of the season and Malcolm finished 1966/67 having scored twice from 24 appearances as Margate won promotion from the Southern League Division One by finishing as runners-up.
He stayed with Margate for the 1967/68 campaign and Malcolm's younger brother Colin was also on the club's books during the season. Malcolm made his first appearance in the number six shirt in a 3-0 defeat at Cheltenham on 21.8.67 and played twice more in the next four games but after a 4-2 win over Ashford in a Southern League Cup tie at Hartsdown Park on 6.9.67 he sat out the next seven matches.
Malcolm returned to action in a 4-0 home win over Canterbury in the Kent Floodlight Cup on 11.10.67 and then started seven of the next 11 games up to and including a 2-1 defeat at Guildford on 25.11.67. He didn't feature in the first team again until playing in a 4-2 defeat at Erith & Belvedere in the Kent Floodlight Cup on 17.1.68 and Malcolm only played one more senior game - a 3-2 defeat at Ashford in the Kent Floodlight Cup on 24.1.68 - before the end of the 1967/68 season. He finished the campaign having made 13 appearances without scoring and in the summer of 1968 Malcolm was released.
He joined Folkestone for 1968/69 and played regularly there during the season but Malcolm then missed the whole of the 1969/70 campaign due to injury. He recovered to score over 20 goals from more than 50 appearances for Folkestone during 1970/71 but at the end of that season Malcolm's ongoing knee problem forced him to retire shortly before his 28th birthday. He later recalled "I was devastated because playing football was my life."
After his playing career ended Malcolm pursued his coaching ambitions and during the 1972/73 campaign he worked with Doncaster of Division 4. He was responsible for nurturing talents such as future Sheffield Wednesday winger Terry Curran and Brendan O'Callaghan who went on to have a lengthy career at Stoke.
Malcolm's coaching career later took him to Bradford City and then Huddersfield where he was in charge of the club's youth set-up before Kenny Dalglish appointed him as Liverpool's Director of Youth Football during his first spell as manager of the club in the 1980's.
Whilst at Anfield Malcolm played a key role in the development of the likes of future internationals Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Dominic Matteo. Malcolm spent three seasons with Liverpool before leaving the club to set up his own coaching company called Freeflow Coaching.
The Freeflow system he invented to encourage more fluid play soon came to the attention of a host of professional clubs and Malcolm went on to provide training to coaches at over 30 top clubs as well as delivering workshops to the English, Swedish, Irish, French, Scottish and Maltese National Associations. He became friends with many big names in football including such luminaries as Sir Alex Ferguson, former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier and Mark Hughes.
In addition to his extensive coaching qualifications Malcolm held degrees in Physical Education, Sports Psychology and Sports Science and wrote numerous best-selling football coaching books. He spent two seasons working as a sports psychologist with Yorkshire Cricket Club and during the early part of his coaching career Malcolm worked as a PE teacher. He later became Head of Boys PE at a grammar school and spent time as Senior Lecturer of Sport and Leisure Studies at a college in Yorkshire.
In 2012 Malcolm was still very busy with his coaching company at the age of 69 and lived in Bradford at that time.
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
SLC |
KSC |
KFC |
KSS |
|
1966/67 (MFC) |
24 (72) |
0 |
2 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (2ND OF 24) |
3QR |
QF |
RU |
GR |
2R |
| Margate promoted to Premier Division. | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
SLC |
KSC |
KFC |
KSS |
|
1967/68 (MFC) |
13 (82) |
0 |
0 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (8TH OF 22) |
2R |
W |
1R |
GR |
N/A |