Marc James Peter Laird (born 23 January 1986) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Civil Service Strollers.
Though he began his career with Manchester City in 2004, he was never used in a first team game, though he did play in loan spells at Northampton Town and Port Vale. He signed with Millwall in 2008, playing in the club's 2009–10 promotion campaign. In 2011, he played for Brentford and Walsall on loan, before moving on to Leyton Orient in summer 2011. He joined Southend United on loan in October 2012, and made a permanent move to the club in January 2013. He signed with Tranmere Rovers in July 2014, and moved on to Yeovil Town a year later. He returned to his hometown in September 2016 to sign with Edinburgh City. He spent five years with Edinburgh, before moving on to Stirling Albion in June 2021. He joined Civil Service Strollers the following summer.
Career
Manchester City
Born in Edinburgh, Laird was a promising talent at Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale, before he joined the Academy at Manchester City just before his 15th-birthday. He signed professional forms in January 2004. Laird received his first call into the senior squad for a competitive game when he was named as a substitute for a Premier League match versus Wigan Athletic on 21 October 2006. Awarded the number 39 shirt, he remained on the bench for the shock 4–0 defeat. He had brief loan spells in League One at Northampton Town in February 2007 and was called up again for the final game of the 2006–07 against Tottenham Hotspur, but did not get on the pitch. In May 2007, he was told manager Stuart Pearce had "high hopes" the young player would have "a really big year", however Pearce was sacked a few days later.
Laird was involved with the City first team during the 2007–08 pre-season, and he scored the fourth City goal in a 4–0 pre-season friendly victory against Carlstad United BK on 21 July. Things changed for Laird following the club's takeover by Thaksin Shinawatra and the appointment of Sven-Göran Eriksson as manager in July 2007. His only involvement with the first-team during the 2007–08 season came on 29 August 2007, when he was an unused substitute for a 2–1 League Cup second round victory over Bristol City. He never played a competitive game for the City first team, and was loaned to Port Vale in November/December 2007. It was at Vale Park where Laird scored his first league goal, when he netted a strike against Walsall on Boxing Day.
Millwall
He signed with Millwall on 9 January 2008, who were managed by former Manchester City Academy coach Kenny Jackett. On 23 February 2008, Port Vale again provided Laird with yet another milestone, as he scored his second career league goal and first goal for Millwall in the 44th minute of their 3–0 home win over Vale. He played 29 games in the Lions' promotion-winning 2009–10 campaign. He was an unused substitute in the play-off final victory over Swindon Town. At the end of the season Laird agreed to sign a new one-year deal with the club. Laird signed on loan at Brentford in January 2011. He was recalled after five appearances to play for Millwall in a Championship clash with Norwich City. In March he joined Walsall on loan for the rest of the season.
Leyton Orient
Laird signed a two-year deal with Leyton Orient in July 2011; "O's" boss Russell Slade described Laird as "a good passer and a decent athlete who will add strength to our squad." He made only 11 League One starts, as Orient avoided the drop by one place and seven points. On 26 October 2012, he dropped down a division when he joined League Two side Southend United on a three-month loan. "Shrimpers" manager Paul Sturrock said that "we are lacking in the middle of the park... he's a good passer and he will add some strength and experience there." He was named in the League Two team of the week after scoring in a 3–1 win over Rochdale at Roots Hall on 26 November. After making 15 starts for Southend, he returned to Orient and was released from his contract by mutual consent on 4 January 2013.
Southend United
Having secured his release from Orient, Laird signed an 18-month contract with Southend United in January 2013. He ended the 2012–13 season with 27 appearances for Southend, though played no part in the club's run to the 2013 Football League Trophy Final.