Luke McCormick

Early career

McCormick started the 2003–04 season at Plymouth Argyle as a backup for Romain Larrieu, but when the Frenchman sustained an injury to his cruciate knee ligaments, he soon proved himself a competent replacement. Upon winning a 2–0 game over Stockport County on 24 January 2004, McCormick set a new club record of seven consecutive clean sheets, leading him to be voted the most promising player of the 2003–04 season by Plymouth Argyle fans.

Larrieu regained his place as first-choice keeper shortly into the 2004–05 season. In October 2004, the Plymouth Argyle manager Bobby Williamson sent McCormick on loan to Boston United of League Two, so that he could continue playing first-team football.

Linked with a move away to Leicester with former Argyle manager Ian Holloway, McCormick put in a series of important and impressive displays in the final matches of the 2007–08 season. However, he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and received a prison sentence of more than seven years in October 2008, by which time his Plymouth contract had been terminated.

Car crash and conviction

On 7 June 2008, McCormick was arrested by patrol units of the Central Motorway Police Group on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. Returning from the wedding of former teammate David Norris, McCormick's Range Rover collided with a Toyota Previa at 5.45am between junctions 15 and 16 of the southbound M6 motorway, near Keele Services in Staffordshire. The crash resulted in the death of Arron and Ben Peak, aged ten and eight, from the Partington area of Manchester. Their father, Philip, the driver of the Previa, was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire with fractures to the neck, back, ribs and swelling of the lungs, and a 49-year-old man and his two sons, aged eight and ten, were treated for minor injuries. The group was travelling from the Manchester area to Silverstone in Northamptonshire to watch the World Series by Renault motorsport event.

The following day, McCormick was charged by Staffordshire Police with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol in his blood, and driving with no insurance. He appeared at Fenton Magistrates' Court on 9 June and was granted conditional bail until 16 June when he appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. At this hearing the charge of driving without insurance was dropped against McCormick and the case was adjourned until 8 September and subsequently to 6 October.

On 2 July 2008, McCormick was suspended by Plymouth Argyle, and his contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 22 July. He pleaded guilty to charges of causing death by dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol, and received a sentence of seven years and four months' imprisonment and a four-year driving ban on 6 October. McCormick served time at both HM Prison Ranby and HM Prison Channings Wood before being released from HM Prison Leyhill on 6 June 2012.

Post-prison career

In May 2012, with his release from prison pending, Swindon Town announced their intention to offer McCormick a trial period, but they finished the trial in August 2012 without offering him a contract.

McCormick signed with Conference South club Truro City on a non-contract basis in November 2012 and made his debut against Farnborough in the FA Trophy on 10 November. Although in administration, Truro were permitted to sign a goalkeeper when their only other keeper, Tim Sandercombe, was injured. McCormick played 11 times for Truro before he rejoined league football for the first time in four and a half years by signing for Oxford United of League Two on 31 January 2013, on a contract until the end of the 2012–13 season. He played 15 matches for Oxford, but lost his first team place to Max Crocombe by mid-April and he was released at the end of the season.

In May 2013, it was reported that McCormick in talks to return to Plymouth Argyle, five years after his departure; on 9 May 2013 he re-signed for the club on a one-year contract. McCormick managed to establish himself as Argyle's first choice goalkeeper ahead of Jake Cole until he fractured and dislocated a finger on his left hand in a 1–1 draw with Mansfield Town on 1 February 2014, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. Despite this setback, McCormick signed a new 2-year contract with the club at the end of the season.

McCormick was handed the role of club captain before the start of the 2014–15 season. The campaign was a strong one for McCormick, as he started all 53 league and cup matches, kept 22 clean sheets and won Argyle's player of the year award. The club reached the League 2 playoffs but fell to a 5–3 aggregate defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in the semi final.

The 2015–16 season season saw McCormick play all but six of Plymouth Argyle's league games, conceding an average of 1 goals per game. He suffered an injury in mid-November and was deputised by James Bittner, and later Christian Walton, before finally making his return to the side on December 19, in a 2–1 away win against Hartlepool United. McCormick was later rested for the last league game of the season, Argyle's home game vs Hartlepool, in which Vincent Dorel started in his place in a 5–0 win. Argyle reached the League 2 playoffs once again, this time falling to a 2–0 defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the final at Wembley, with goals scored by Lyle Taylor and Adebayo Akinfenwa.

Following the Wembley defeat, captain Curtis Nelson left the club to join Oxford United, and so for the start of the 2016–17 season McCormick was handed the role of captain, meaning he'd wear the armband out on the pitch for the first time. Argyle made it to the third round of the 2016-17 FA Cup with a 1–0 replay win at Newport County, thanks to an extra time goal from Graham Carey, and drew Liverpool away from home. McCormick kept a clean sheet as Argyle drew 0–0, earning a replay. The replay was played at Home Park, in which, despite McCormick saving a Divock Origi penalty, Argyle lost 1–0.

Career statistics

Honours

With Plymouth Argyle