Clayton McDonald

However, his next contribution to Vale's campaign would be his 64th-minute sending off at Southend United, following a second bookable offence.

He returned to the first team after serving his suspension, but received his second red card of the campaign on 17 March after receiving a second yellow card 47 minutes into a defeat at Crawley Town.

He played 31 games for the "Valiants" with a court case hanging over his head, though boss Micky Adams said that there would be "no favours" for the player for proving his innocence and insisted that his decision on whether or not to offer a contract to McDonald would be based on the footballing ability he had shown over the course of the campaign.

He was substituted in the 70th minute after picking up an injury.

Macclesfield manager Keith Alexander commented that "He did a good job for us, I was delighted with his performance" and "for a young lad to come in and do so well, it augurs well for the future."

Alexander stated they had an option to extend the loan, but both parties agreed it would be best if he returned to his parent club.

Clayton Rodney McDonald (born 26 December 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.

He graduated out of the Manchester City youth academy in 2008, and spent the 2008–09 season on loan at League Two sides Macclesfield Town and Chesterfield.

He then turned professional in 2008.

He signed on loan for Macclesfield Town in August 2008, and made his competitive debut in a 2–0 defeat at Accrington Stanley on 23 August.

He spent the start of the 2009–10 season on loan at Walsall, before the deal was made permanent in December 2009.

McDonald signed on loan for Chesterfield on transfer deadline day, 2 February 2009, initially on a one-month emergency loan.

On his return to Manchester, he played for the Reserves in the Manchester Senior Cup final on 9 March, in the 1–0 defeat to Manchester United Reserves at Ewen Fields, Hyde.

McDonald signed a one-month loan deal with Walsall in September 2009.

His father previously played for the club.

Manager Chris Hutchings said "he's a talented young lad. He's strong in the air, tackles well and can play."

He impressed Hutchings, who twice had the loan extended for an extra month, before he signed for Walsall on a permanent basis in December 2009, following the player's release from Manchester City.

The decision to leave City for Walsall won him praise from new teammate Troy Deeney.

He played 27 games in the 2009–10 campaign, and picked up his first senior goal on 16 February, in a 2–1 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road.

He was released by the club at the end of the 2010–11 campaign, at which point he signed with Port Vale.

He was more of a bit-part player in Walsall's 2010–11 season, making just seventeen appearances.

In April 2011 he picked up a shoulder injury that would keep him out of action for the rest of the season.

After being told he would not be retained by the "Saddlers", he was due to sign a contract at Port Vale in June 2011, but failed a medical due to a shoulder injury.

Regardless of this he signed a six-month deal with the club the following month.

He aimed to regain his fitness, win a first team place, and thereby earn a longer stay at Vale Park.

He quickly managed to achieve the first two of these goals by October, as he started nine of Vale's first fourteen games of the season.

He achieved the third target in December, signing a contract lasting until the end of the 2011–12 season, having already made eighteen appearances in league and cup.

Though suspensions and court appearances limited his contribution to the campaign, he still managed to post 33 first team appearances in 2011–12.

Port Vale secured promotion out of League Two in 2012–13.

He accepted Adams' offer of a new one-year contract in May 2012; Adams stated that "I'm obviously pleased Clayton has agreed to sign. He has done well since he has been at the club and has the potential to do even better. He was under a lot of stress with everything that was going on last season, but now he can get his mind clear and concentrate totally on football."

After David Artell left the club, Gareth Owen picked up an injury and Joe Davis suffered a loss of form, McDonald managed to build a solid centre-back partnership with John McCombe at the start of the 2012–13 campaign, but was warned to lose weight and improve his fitness by manager Micky Adams.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win against Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn on 3 November, in the First Round of the FA Cup; during the match he also made a goal-line clearance with the score at 2–2.

Speaking after the game, McDonald said "I'm just trying to pay back the fans and the manager for all their support in the past with performances on the pitch. Hopefully it's the first of many... hopefully I can catch Tom Pope up. The support they have given me has meant a lot to me. They are a top bunch of people, it's a top area."

He joined Bristol Rovers on loan in January 2013.

He signed with Grimsby Town in July 2013, before briefly joining Tranmere Rovers a year later.

He signed with Southport in September 2014, and moved to Redditch United in February 2015 and then Worcester City in June 2015.

He was loaned out to Corby Town in the 2015–16 season, before rejoining Redditch United in June 2016.

He signed with Altrincham in December 2016, and then switched to Droylsden the following month.

He signed with Nantwich Town for the 2017–18 season, and also signed with Whitchurch Alport on dual registration forms in September 2018.

A graduate of the Manchester City youth set-up, McDonald signed his first professional contract with Manchester City.