Peter Dougall

Peter G. Dougall (21 March 1909 – 12 June 1974) was a Scottish footballer who played at inside-left for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dougall was born in Denny, Stirlingshire and played for Dunipace as a youth before moving to England to join Burnley of the Football League First Division in October 1926, aged 17. He broke into the first team in the following season when he replaced the well-established inside-left, Joe Devine, for six matches, scoring twice. With Devine the first-choice for the No. 10 shirt, Dougall spent most of his time at Turf Moor in the reserves, and in February 1929 he returned to Scotland to join Clyde.

In September 1929, Dougall was signed by Southampton, with his transfer fee being met by the Saints Supporters Club. Described in the local press as "in the Alex James class", Dougall was able to combine skill with the ability to "beat a man on a sixpence", although he did have a tendency to over-elaborate. He made his debut for the Saints on 19 October 1929, when he replaced Herbert Coates in a 4–0 defeat at Stoke City. Coates returned for the next match and Dougall's appearances were initially limited until March, when he had a run of seven games. In the 1930–31 season, Dougall was again used as cover for Coates or Laurie Cumming, before taking over from Cumming in February 1931 for the remainder of the season.

For the 1931–32 season, Arthur Wilson was new manager George Kay's preference at inside-left and Dougall only made three further appearances for Southampton, before he was transfer-listed at a fee of £500.

After spending a season in the south of France with Sète, Dougall returned to the First Division when he joined Arsenal in September 1933. He made his first-team debut in February 1934, playing alongside Alex James with whom he had been compared so favourably four years earlier. Dougall was never a regular at Highbury, making only 23 appearances in four years, before a transfer to Everton in August 1937.

Dougall made 11 appearances for Everton, before dropping down to the Second Division to join Bury in June 1938. His professional career was then interrupted by the Second World War, during the early part of which he guested for Manchester United.