Jim Casey (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Jim Casey is a retired Scottish football midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

. He spent eight seasons in Scotland and part of one season in the United States.

Originally a schoolboy signing with Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

, Casey signed a professional contract with the Bhoys in May 1974. He made his Celtic first team debut in the 1-0 League Cup win at home to Stenhousemuir on September 24, 1975. He saw little first team time until the 1977-78 season. That year, Casey was given his break at sweeper after an injury to Pat Stanton
Pat Stanton
Patrick Gordon Stanton is a Scottish former football player and manager.He joined Hibs from Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in 1963 and made his debut for the club against Motherwell in October that year. He quickly established himself in the first team, playing in defence or midfield...

. He was impressive against Motherwell FC at Fir Park
Fir Park
Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premier League club Motherwell.- History :...

 in a 4-2 win in the League Cup on September 3, 1977 but seven days later Celtic blew a two goal lead in the league at Ibrox to lose 3-2 and Casey again found himself out of favour. After Billy McNeill's arrival in 1978, Casey re-enterd the first team until disaster struck on December 13, 1978 against Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 in the League Cup semi-final. With the game tied at 2-2, Casey came on for the injured Mike Conroy
Mike Conroy (footballer born 1957)
Michael "Mike" Conroy is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played in the Scottish Premier Division with Celtic and Hibernian, before playing for several clubs in the Football League.He finished his career in Ireland with Cork City, who were managed by his...

. At 113 minutes, Roy Baines blocked a Derek Johnstone
Derek Johnstone
Derek Joseph Johnstone is a former Scottish association footballer.Johnstone played mainly for Rangers during his career. He also had a spell at Chelsea and a brief stint in management with Partick Thistle. He mainly played as a striker but could also perform in central defence, and in midfield...

 shot. The ball rebounded, struck Casey and rolled into the net. It was Celtic's first League Cup defeat since 1964 final. Casey returned to the reserves and during the 1979-1980 season, he the team, scoring against Morton in 2-0 Scottish Cup victory on March 8, 1980. In May 1980 Casey was earmarked for a place in the Scottish Cup final to replace the suspended Tom McAdam
Tom McAdam
Tom McAdam is a Scottish former footballer who played as a defender for a number of British clubs, spending around half of his career with Celtic. His brother, Colin, was also a professional footballer, who played for Rangers at the same time as Tom was with Celtic.-External links:*...

 but an injury in training stopped any hopes he had.

Capable of playing both as a sweeper or as a holding midfielder the former Scotland schoolboy international was never able to hold down a regular first team starting spot and he eventually left Celtic for U.S. indoor side Phoenix Inferno
Phoenix Inferno
The Phoenix Inferno was an American indoor soccer team based out of Phoenix, United States, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 new ownership renamed the team the Phoenix Pride. The Pride folded at the end of the 1983-1984 season...

 of the Major Indoor Soccer League
Major Soccer League
The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...

 in November 1980. However, he lasted only a few weeks before he was back in Scotland with Arbroath FC. He retired in 1983.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK