AFC Bournemouth
Josh McQuoid won three promotions during two spells with AFC Bournemouth, his time at Vitality Stadium sandwiching a stint on the books at Millwall.
A product of the AFC Bournemouth youth ranks, McQuoid’s form in the first half of the 2010/11 season earned him a big-money move to the Lions in January 2011.
McQuoid also won international honours with Northern Ireland and added a further promotion to his impressive CV when he captained Weymouth to victory in last season’s National South play-offs.
Born in Southampton and raised in Lymington, McQuoid made his Cherries debut in March 2007 when he was just 17.
He came off the bench to replace Brett Pitman in a 2-0 win over Doncaster Rovers and made one further substitute appearance in 2006/07.
McQuoid finally made his full debut when he started in a 2-1 win over Tranmere Rovers in March 2008 before helping the Cherries beat the Lions 2-0 at Vitality Stadium five days later.
Recalling his debut in an interview for afcb.co.uk, McQuoid said: “I was only 17 when I came on against Doncaster and was still a trainee. Making my professional debut was a brilliant moment.
“I had to wait a bit longer for my full debut but that was always going to be the case. As a teenager, I didn’t expect to be starting week in, week out.
“It was a case of getting my head down and working hard. I was still coming through the ranks and had a lot to learn.
“Making my full debut against Tranmere was a great feeling. It was a proud moment and great to have my family there in the crowd.”
McQuoid featured briefly as the Cherries suffered relegation in 2007/08, a ten-point deduction for entering administration too big a hurdle for Kevin Bond’s team to overcome.
He saw more game time during the Greatest Escape campaign of 2008/09 and came to the fore when Eddie Howe led the Cherries to League One 12 months later.
Looking back on the highs and lows of 2007/08 and 2008/09, McQuoid said: “It was hugely disappointing to come so close to staying up after what had been thrown at us.
“The points deduction was nothing to do with the players but we were the ones who suffered.
“We tried to take the positives. We didn’t want it to happen again and wanted to strive to get back to where we were.
“Although it nearly happened again in 2008/09, maybe what happened in 2008 helped those of us who were still around. And the following season, we went back up to League One.
“The experience of being in and around the squad during the Greatest Escape season stood me in good stead throughout my career.”
Although he was utilised predominantly from the bench in 2009/10, McQuoid hit the ground running at the start of 2010/11 when he scored five goals in four games, seizing his chance after Pitman had left for Bristol City.
Asked what he had put that down to, McQuoid said: “I had a good summer and worked very hard. I did well in training and felt very fit and confident.
“It was never going to be easy to break into the team. I had great players in front of me, Brett Pitman up front and Liam Feeney on the wing.
“But Brett got a move very early in the season and I was the only option at the time to play up front. Eddie had faith in me to play me and I came in and took my chance.”
After scoring back-to-back hat-tricks for the club and winning his first cap for Northern Ireland – all in the space of 11 days in November 2010 – McQuoid signed on loan for Championship outfit Millwall, the move made permanent in January 2011.
Asked whether he felt a move to a higher level could have been on the cards, McQuoid said: “I was 20 at the time and wasn’t really thinking about anything other than trying to play well and score goals.
“I was enjoying my football. Looking back now, I wish I had stayed to be honest. I went to Millwall, had a few injuries and didn’t feature as much as I would have wanted.
“If I was ever asked for advice by a younger player, I would say “if you’re happy where you are and are playing well then stay and learn your trade before you make that move”. It’s hard because different people take different paths.
“I was pleased to be going to a club in the Championship because that was a great achievement for me. I had always wanted to play as high as I could.
“But it was sad as well. I was leaving a team I had become really fond of, I had a lot of good mates there and was close to the manager.
“When I moved away, it hit me. You have to build new friendships and maybe you are not as close to the new manager and stuff like that.
“It was hard for me at the start, but you have to get used to it. That’s what football is about, you move around and, unfortunately, you can’t stay attached to too many people.”
McQuoid reunited with Howe on loan at Burnley in the second half of the 2011/12 season before rejoining Cherries in a swap deal which saw Scott Malone join the Lions in July 2012.
He won his second promotion with the Cherries in 2012/13 and left the club for Luton soon after Howe had guided the club into the Premier League.
