Background
McNeal was born in Hobson, County Durham, where he played football for the village team before he turned professional with West Bromwich Albion in June 1910.
McNeal was born in Hobson, County Durham, where he played football for the village team before he turned professional with West Bromwich Albion in June 1910.
The "Throstles" then finished ninth in the First Division in 1911-1912.
Despite his career running through World War I he managed nearly 400 appearances in the Football League for, playing in some of the most successful seasons in the club"s history. In his first full season he helped the club to the Second Division title. Albion went on to post top ten finishes in the league in 1912-1913, 1913-1914, and 1914-1915, before the Football League was suspended due to World War I. During the war he appeared as a guest player for Fulham, Middlesbrough, N ottinghamshire County and Portuguese Vale.
McNeal was part of "s league championship-winning side of 1919-1920.
Albion then dropped to 14th and 13th-place finishes in 1920-1921 and 1921-1922. They finished seventh in 1922-1923 and 16th in 1923-1924, before posting a second-place finish in 1924-1925 – they ended the campaign just two points behind champions Huddersfield Town.
In May 1925, McNeal retired through injury and became a licensee of a public in the West Bromwich area. From 1926 to 1927, McNeal served as Albion"s coach on a part-time basis.
McNeal earned two England caps during the 1914 British Home Championship, playing the two final England internationals before the onset of World War I, which caused the suspension of the competition until 1920.
His second and final cap came on 14 April as Scotland ran out 3–1 winners at Hampden Park. Overall the competition was something of a minor embarrassment for the country, as the Irish finished as champions and England finished third behind the Scots and just one point ahead of the Welsh.