I don't think I'm going to get tired of doing these twinterviews. Every player I speak to has a different perspective on the Beautiful Game and their varied careers throw up some fascinating stories.
Gary MacDonald was someone I saw play many times, as a fixture in one of the better Woking defences of recent times. But his impact on non-league football has been felt further afield, including an FA Trophy winners' medal with Ebbsfleet United, promotion with Hayes & Yeading and a couple of spells at Havant & Waterlooville.
A young professional at Peterborough United earlier in his career, Macca has most recently been seen sporting the famous red and white hoops of Kingstonian. He may be a relative newcomer to Twitter - but he is all over the hashtags.
What's your earliest memory of football?
I have a photo of me when I was two, kicking potatoes around the kitchen floor.
Love it. Who were your heroes growing up?
Football heroes were Gazza, Tony Adams and King Kenny [Dalglish]. My mum's my real hero though! !
A significant part of your career was spent at Woking. How do you look back on your time at Kingfield?
Woking, what a club! One of the happiest times of my career. Great club, great fans, great lads..... Oh and KC Cat!
Any particular memories stand out from your four years there?
Three, really. FA Trophy Final Goal against Stevenage at home and the winner against Accrington!
The Accrington game sticks in my mind too. Wasn't that the goal that kept you in the play-off picture?
Yeah, it was 1-1 in injury time, we both still had a chance of making the play-offs but a draw was no good! Ian Selley put it on my head.
You played on both sides of the Woking-Stevenage divide... How did you find that rivalry? And the Aldershot derbies?
I left Stevenage under a bit of a cloud, not on good terms with the manager, Mr Westley, but I got straight into it at Woking. Whenever I played against Stevenage, I always had a bit of a point to prove and luckily I always played well. I loved the rivalry between Woking and Stevenage and loved the atmosphere at both stadiums. It was good to score against them! The derbies were great too, although the last one I played in I got sent off away at Aldershot !
You were in a pretty solid back four with the likes of Smith, Boardman, Oliver. How strong was that unit?
Yeah, that was a great back four. We were in the top-five in the Conference defensively at the time. Great lads off the pitch too
!
You mentioned the Trophy final... You played in two with differing results. Memories of those two days?
The first one I started in and it was at Upton Park in front of 20,000 or so. We lost and that's the worst feeling ever! The second, I was coming back from injury and came off the bench when we were 1-0 up ! Lol. This one was a bit different, Wembley over 40,000 and we won! !
MyFootballClub had taken over Ebbsfleet shortly before the 2008 final. As players, did you take an interest in that?
Not really. No manager is going to let anyone pick a team over the internet, least of all Liam Daish!
Would it be fair to say your Fleet debut didn't exactly go as planned?
Errr yep! New club, first game, skipper, 1-0 up, 70 minutes gone and then SNAP! ! I always joked with the lads that we were joint-top of the league before I got injured !!! Lol.
Who are your best friends in football?
Over 16 years you meet some great lads and all of then you'd happily have a beer with as if it were yesterday that you played together. But only a handful will be regular mates that you holiday with families etc, mine, Ian Selley, Jon Boardman, Matt Gill.
And the best players you've played with and against?
Played with..... Matt Gill, Micky Nelson, Jimmy Bullard, Tom Williams and the ledge that is Ian Selley. Played against: Rio and Les Ferdinand, Paulo di Canio, Freddie Kanoute, John Barnes, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Martin Tyler lol.
What's the toughest ground you've been to as an away player?
Morecambe was always horrible: long journey, always windy, bit of a slope and always got beat! Good side.
That's how I remember it too! Later in your career you moved to Havant and Bognor. Good times on the south coast?
I went to Bognor for a month or so to get fit after leaving Ebbsfleet, so it just served a purpose really. I left Bognor and joined Hayes & Yeading where we got promoted back to the Conference. By this time I had a 'real job', couldn't commit to the travelling with a 'real job' so stayed in the Conf South and went back to Havant. Great club though, Havant, they'll always be a favourite!
But the saying rang true?
The club had different backroom staff that I didn't get on with towards the end. Love the club and love the supporters though!
You mentioned Martin Tyler, one of your coaches at Kingstonian. Tell us something we wouldn't know about The Voice Of Football.
Oooh I couldn't do that! It always makes me chuckle when he swears though, because obviously you can't do that on telly !
Does he get involved with the five-a-sides?
Yeah - if one team is dominating the game, the gaffa will give that team Martin to even it up! Lol !
Excellent stuff. Two of my old colleagues wouldn't believe MT is a huge Woking fan, so can you set them straight?
Massive Woking fan!
How hot do you have your chicken at Nando's?
Medium. Whole chicken with sweet potato mash !
Of all your past and present team-mates, who is/was... the fastest... the hard man... the joker... the biggest moaner?
Fastest..... Jefferson Louis, joker.... Jimmy Bullard, moaner would have to be me and hard man..... err..... Neil Smith.
Are you coming down with Olympic fever yet?
Sorry to be boring but it doesn't interest me one bit. Don't know why??
Who's the best manager you've worked for and why?
Wow what a question! All have been great for different reasons, and I'd play for all of them again.
Not boring at all. But I'll put it this way... How do they compare in terms of their approach and characteristics?
Well, on one end of the scale you've got the enthusiasm and passion of Barry Fry and at the other, the calm, collected approach of Garry Haylock.
Finally, what does the future hold and what motivates you these days? How many more seasons have you got in the tank?
I want to play until my legs won't carry me anymore! I'll have plenty of time to rest after that! I'd love to stay in the game in some capacity, management later on, but I reckon there's still life in these old legs yet!
You can follow
@GaryMacDonald6 on Twitter
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