James "Jim" Leighton MBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 24 July 1958 in
JohnstoneJohnstone is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire and larger historic county of the same name in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.The town lies three miles west of neighbouring Paisley and twelve miles west of the centre of the city of Glasgow...
,
RenfrewshireRenfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
) is a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
former football goalkeeper. Among the clubs he played for are
AberdeenAberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
(two spells),
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
,
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
,
DundeeDundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
and
HibernianHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
.
Club
Leighton joined Aberdeen from non-league
Dalry ThistleDalry Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club, based in the town of Dalry, Ayrshire. Formed in 1920, they play at Merksworth Park. Currently playing in the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association, they wear dark blue strips....
in 1978. Leighton achieved his greatest success under the management of
Alex FergusonSir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
in the early to mid 1980s. Ferguson's Aberdeen side won the
Scottish CupThe Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
four times, the
Scottish League CupThe Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
twice, as well as the
European Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
in 1983 and three
Premier DivisionThe Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system...
titles in 1980, 1984 and 1985.
Leighton's reliability and terrific will to win gained respect from players and pundits everywhere. English keeper
Peter ShiltonPeter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
said of him: "Scotland have solved their goalkeeper problem." Even the outspoken
Brian CloughBrian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
said: "Jim Leighton is a rare bird – a Scottish goalkeeper that can be relied on."
Alex Ferguson had departed to
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in 1986, and two years later Ferguson brought him from
PittodriePittodrie Stadium is an all-seated football stadium situated in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. It was first used in 1899 and from 1903 has been the home of Aberdeen Football Club...
to
Old TraffordOld Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
for £500,000. His first season at
Old TraffordOld Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 75,811, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadium in England after Wembley, the third-largest in the United Kingdom and the eleventh-largest in Europe...
was relatively successful, even though United finished 11th in the league, as he conceded just 35 league goals and kept 14 clean sheets. However, lack of confidence in the 1989–90 let his team mates down and let himself down as United finished 13th in the league, although they did reach the FA Cup final – their first major final in five years.
His erratic form in the league was particularly evident when United suffered a 5–1 demolition to neighbours
CityManchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
(then newly promoted), a 3–0 hammering by
Aston VillaAston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
on
Boxing DayBoxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
and were crushed 4–0 by
Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
in the penultimate league game of the season. And there were plenty of blunders in one and two goal defeats in other games which were very disappointing for Leighton.
This culminated in him being dropped in favour of
Les SealeyLeslie Jesse "Les" Sealey was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for, among others, Coventry City, Luton Town, Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham United...
for the
1990 FA Cup FinalThe 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes scored for United; Gary O'Reilly and Ian Wright for Palace...
replay against
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
. Leighton had conceded three goals in the first match as United drew 3–3, and Sealey made a series of spectacular saves as United won the replay 1–0.
Sealey retained the position of first choice goalkeeper for the following season and Leighton faded from view, eventually returning to Scottish football with
DundeeDundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
in March 1992, after loan spells with
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
,
ReadingReading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
and
Sheffield UnitedSheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
. After the 1990 FA Cup Final, Leighton made just one appearance for United, against
Halifax TownHalifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
in the
Football League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
on 26 September 1990.
A move to Hibernian led to a hugely successful spell where he played over 150 games, missing only one league game in four seasons. The revival in his fortunes included a return to the Scottish national team. During his spell with Hibernian he collected 23 of his 91 Scotland caps.
Finally Leighton returned to Aberdeen, retiring from club football after the
2000 Scottish Cup FinalThe 2000 Scottish Cup Final was played on 27 May 2000 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 115th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Aberdeen and Rangers. Rangers won the match 4–0. The match was the last in the long career of Aberdeen goalkeeper Jim Leighton. His big day was...
defeat against
RangersRangers 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...
. This match marked a sad end to a distinguished career, as he was substituted due to injury after just three minutes. With no substitute goalkeeper available, forward
Robbie WintersRobbie Winters is a Scottish footballer who currently plays for Alloa Athletic.-Career:Winters began his career at Dundee United in 1992 and played 99 league games for the Terrors, scoring 19 times. A move to Aberdeen beckoned, which saw Billy Dodds and cash come to Tannadice in exchange for Winters...
took over in goal and Aberdeen lost 4–0. Leighton's final league appearance that season meant that he set the record for the oldest player in the
Scottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
at 41 years and 302 days, a record which was broken by
Andy MillenAndrew "Andy" Frank Millen is a Scottish ex-professional association footballer who is now assistant manager at Queen of the South.Millen played for Queen's Park after making his comeback at the age of 45...
in 2007.
International
Leighton's international career lasted for 16 years, from 1982 to 1998. He was an uncapped squad member for the 1982 World Cup, before making his debut against
East GermanyThe East Germany national football team was from 1952 to 1990 the football team of East Germany, playing as one of three post-war German teams, along with Saarland and West Germany....
on 13 October 1982. Within two years he was his country's No. 1, and he played in all of his country's matches at the 1986, 1990 and 1998 World Cups, despite stiff competition for the keeper's jersey from
Andy GoramAndrew Lewis Goram is a former Scotland international association football goalkeeper. He started his career with Oldham Athletic and Hibernian, but he is best remembered for playing for Rangers during the 1990s, when he earned the moniker "The Goalie"...
during the 1990s. He retired from international football in October 1998, at the age of 40. Leighton set a new record as the oldest player to play for Scotland.
Leighton is a member of the
Scotland Football Hall of FameThe Scotland national football team roll of honour is a list set up by the Scottish Football Association which recognises players who have gained 50 or more international caps for Scotland. There are currently 26 players on the roll of honour, with Kenny Miller the most recent addition...
, having won his 50th cap for Scotland in 1989. He won 91 international caps for
ScotlandThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
and is second only to
Kenny DalglishKenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
in the appearance records.
Coach
Leighton became Aberdeen's goalkeeping coach after retiring as a player. He parted company with Aberdeen in August 2009 when the then manager
Mark McGheeMark Edward McGhee is a former Scottish professional football player. McGhee started his career at Greenock Morton in 1975 and spent spells at clubs including Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Hamburg, Celtic, IK Brage and Reading...
chose to replace him with
Colin MeldrumColin George Meldrum is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.- Career :...
.
In February 2010 he was appointed as goalkeeping coach for
HuntlyHuntly F.C. are a senior football club currently playing in the Highland League in Scotland.They were founded in 1928 and play their football at Christie Park, Huntly....
in the
Highland LeagueThe Press & Journal Highland Football League is a league of football clubs operating not just in the Scottish Highlands, as the name may suggest, but also in the north-east lowlands...
. Leighton was reappointed as the goalkeeping coach at
AberdeenAberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
on 13 December 2010, the first act of the new management team of Craig Brown and
Archie KnoxArchibald "Archie" Knox is a Scottish football manager and former player, and is currently the assistant manager of Aberdeen....
.
Career statistics
http://www.level-k.com/player/J_Leighton.htm
http://www.world-soccer.org/p-25058.htm
|-
|1978–79
|rowspan="10"|
AberdeenAberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
|rowspan="10"|
Premier DivisionThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
|11||0||0||0||3||0||3||0||17||0
|-
|1979–80
|2||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|1980–81
|35||0||2||0||5||0||4||0||46||0
|-
|1981–82
|36||0||6||0||10||0||6||0||58||0
|-
|1982–83
|35||0||5||0||8||0||11||0||59||0
|-
|1983–84
|36||0||7||0||10||0||10||0||63||0
|-
|1984–85
|35||0||6||0||1||0||2||0||44||0
|-
|1985–86
|27||0||5||0||4||0||6||0||42||0
|-
|1986–87
|42||0||3||0||1||0||2||0||48||0
|-
|1987–88
|44||0||6||0||5||0||4||0||59||0
|-
|1988–89
|rowspan="3"|
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
|rowspan="3"|
First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
|38||0||7||0||3||0||0||0||48||0
|-
|1989–90
|35||0||7||0||3||0||0||0||45||0
|-
|1990–91
|0||0||0||0||1||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|1990–91
|
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
|
First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
|0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1991–92
|
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
|
First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
|0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|1991–92
|
ReadingReading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
|
Third DivisionThe Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
|8||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1991–92
|rowspan="2"|
DundeeDundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
|
Division OneThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
|13||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1992–93
|
Premier DivisionThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
|8||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1992–93
|
Sheffield UnitedSheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
|Premier League
|0||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993–94
|rowspan="4"|
HibernianHibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
|rowspan="4"|
Premier DivisionThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
|44||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994–95
|36||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995–96
|36||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1996–97
|35||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1997–98
|rowspan="3"|
AberdeenAberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
|rowspan="3"|
Premier DivisionThe Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
|34||0||1||0||2||0||0||0||37||0
|-
|1998–99
|22||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||24||0
|-
|1999–2000
|26||0||7||0||3||0||0||0||36||0
554||0||||||||||||||||
81||0||||||||||||||||
635||0||||||||||||||||
Club
Aberdeen
- Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
(3): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85
- Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
(4): 1981–82The 1982 Scottish Cup Final was played on May 22, 1982 at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Aberdeen and Rangers contested the match; the final of the 107th Scottish Cup. Aberdeen won 4–1, after extra time goals from McGhee, Strachan and Cooper.-Match details:...
, 1982–83The 1983 Scottish Cup Final was played on May 21, 1983 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 108th Scottish Cup. Aberdeen and Rangers contested the match, Aberdeen won the match 1–0, thanks to Eric Black's extra time goal.-Match details:...
, 1983–84The 1984 Scottish Cup Final was played on May 19, 1984 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 109th Scottish Cup. The previous year's winners and defending champions in the match were Aberdeen who had beaten Rangers in the 1983 final. Aberdeen had beaten Dundee 2–0 in their semi-final...
, 1985–86The 1986 Scottish Cup Final was played on 10 May 1986 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 111th Scottish Cup. The previous winners were Celtic, who had beaten Dundee United in the 1985 final, but they were knocked out by Hibernian at the quarter-final stage. The Final was contested...
- Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...
(1): 1984–85The 1985 Scottish League Cup Final was played on 27 October 1985, at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 40th Scottish League Cup competition. The final was contested by Aberdeen and Hibernian...
- European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
(1): 1982–83
- European Super Cup (1): 1983
Manchester United
- FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
(1): 1989–90The 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes scored for United; Gary O'Reilly and Ian Wright for Palace...
Dundee
- Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
(1): 1991–92
External links