Jim Smith (footballer)
Encyclopedia
James Michael "Jim" Smith (born 17 October 1940) is a retired English footballer and manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

. As a player, he made 249 appearances in the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

 of The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

, representing Aldershot
Aldershot F.C.
Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable...

, Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax 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...

, Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

 and Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

, and played for three-and-a-half years for Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...

 of the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...

. He began a long managerial career with Boston United, and went on to take charge of clubs in all divisions of the Football League and in the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

.

Since 2006, he has been a member of the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

. His nickname is "The Bald Eagle".

Playing career

Smith was born in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

. He grew up a Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 supporter, but began his playing career in 1957 when he signed for Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield 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...

 as an amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....

, and turned professional with the club two years later. After failing to break into the first team he was transferred to Aldershot
Aldershot F.C.
Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable...

 for the 1961–62 season
1961-62 in English football
The 1961–62 season was the 82nd season of competitive Football in England.-Overview:The season was notable for the remarkable achievement of Ipswich Town winning the League Championship. Under the managership of Alf Ramsey, the club progressed from the old Third Division South to the First Division...

.

At the beginning of the 1965–66 season
1965-66 in English football
The 1965–66 season was the 86th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:7 October 1965: An experiment to broadcast a live game to another ground takes place...

, after scoring one goal in 74 league appearances, Smith left Aldershot to join Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax 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...

. He made 113 league starts for Halifax, scoring seven goals, before moving to Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

 in 1968. After just over a year at Lincoln in which he made 54 appearances Smith signed for non-league
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...

 club Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...

 as player-manager; as player, he went on to make nearly 200 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Management career

A good start to his managerial career at Boston – the club finished in the top four of the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...

 in each of his first three seasons, he led them to the third round proper of the 1972 FA Cup, and in his fourth season, was 40 games into a run of 51 consecutive league games unbeaten, a British record at professional level – led to Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

 offering Smith the position of manager in October 1972. He retained his playing registration for that season, but in 1973–74, he hung up his boots and guided Colchester to promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 from the Football League Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

. In 1975 he quit the club to join Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, newly promoted to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

.

He led Blackburn through one season of survival, one of establishment and was well into a promotion push in his third season when he left for First Division
Football League First Division
The 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....

 Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 in March 1978 after Sir Alf Ramsey
Alf Ramsey
Sir Alfred Ernest "Alf" Ramsey was an English footballer and manager of the English national football team from 1963 to 1974. His greatest achievement was winning the 1966 World Cup with England on 30 July 1966...

's resignation. Birmingham were relegated
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 from the First Division
Football League First Division
The 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....

 in Smith's first full season in charge, but he rebuilt the team, allowing many of the players who had won promotion in 1972 to leave, most notably making Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...

 the first £1 million player, a move which the board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 had not allowed Ramsey to make, and bringing in experienced players and bringing through promising youngsters. Smith guided Birmingham back into the top flight the next season, and maintained them in mid-table in 1981. In early 1982, Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders
Ron Saunders is a retired English football player and former successful manager. He remains the only manager to have taken charge of Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, normally bitter rivals....

 walked out on Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston 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...

, the club he had led to the League title the previous season; Birmingham promptly sacked Smith and appointed Saunders. A few weeks later, Smith joined Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

 as manager. He led them to the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The 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...

 championship in 1984. The next year they were again promoted, reaching the top flight for the first time in their history, as Oxford won the Second Division championship. Despite this spectacular success, chairman Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...

 failed to improve Smith's contract, which led to his resignation from Oxford to take the job of manager at Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

.

In his first year at QPR, Smith took the club to the League Cup final
1986 Football League Cup Final
The 1986 Milk Cup Final was a football match held on 20 April 1986 between Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers. Oxford won the match 3–0 to capture the League Cup — their first major honour. Trevor Hebberd opened the scoring in the first half, and Ray Houghton added a second...

, where they lost 3–0 to his former club Oxford United. Smith continued to manage QPR until December 1988 when he left to become manager of Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. Newcastle finished bottom of the First Division in 1989; they came close to making an immediate return, finishing third in the league but losing 2–0 in the playoff semi-final to local rivals Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 at St James' Park
St James' Park
St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

. With no prospect of promotion by March 1991, Smith resigned amid a boardroom power struggle at the club, claiming that Newcastle were "unmanageable".

He had a spell as coach at Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 under Colin Todd
Colin Todd
Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League...

 before accepting the appointment as manager of Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 in the summer of 1991. He had a fairly successful reign at Fratton Park for four years, including reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1992, losing to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 after extra time and penalties in the replay, and missing out on automatic promotion to the Premier League on goal difference and then losing in the playoffs the following year. Key players including Darren Anderton
Darren Anderton
Darren Robert Anderton is a retired English footballer who spent most of his career with Tottenham Hotspur as a midfielder. He played 30 times for the England national football team, scoring 7 goals.-Career:...

 and Guy Whittingham
Guy Whittingham
Guy Whittingham is a retired professional footballer with over 450 appearances for a number of English clubs, after leaving the British Army. He is currently serving as joint caretaker manager of Portsmouth together with Stuart Gray...

 were sold, and there was no money for replacements. Smith was finally sacked in January 1995 after a decline in form left them struggling at the wrong end of Division One.

Smith became chief executive of the League Managers' Association in 1995, but returned to club management that summer with Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

. He brought in Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...

 as first-team coach, and in their first full season they guided Derby to runners-up spot in Division One and promotion to the Premier League. Derby finished in mid-table for their first three seasons in the top flight, but after two seasons where relegation was only narrowly avoided, Smith was offered, and refused, the post of Director of Football. He resigned in October 2001.

In January 2002, Smith was appointed assistant manager at Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

, working alongside Roland Nilsson
Roland Nilsson
Roland Nilsson is a Swedish football manager and the current manager of FC Copenhagen. As a player, Nilsson played 116 games for Sweden, making him second only to Thomas Ravelli in international appearances for Sweden...

. The pair were sacked three months later, after presiding over performances described as "totally unacceptable" and failing to achieve a playoff place. Later that year, Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

 appointed Smith as his assistant at former club Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

. Smith helped Redknapp win the Division One title at the first attempt in 2002–03
2002-03 in English football
The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable...

, and played his part as the club established itself in the Premier League. In November 2004, both Smith and Redknapp resigned from Portsmouth after the appointment of a Director of Football. Redknapp became the manager of Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 two weeks later, and after rejecting the position of chief scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

, Smith was appointed his assistant. As part of a "cost-cutting exercise" following Southampton's relegation from the Premier League, Smith's initial six-month contract was not extended.

After nearly a year out of football, Smith returned to front-line management in March 2006 as manager of Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

 for the second time, and was also given a seat on the board of directors. He failed to stave off relegation to the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

, and they came close to an immediate return to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

, losing on penalties in the 2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...

 play-off semi-final. In November 2007, after a poor start to the season, Smith decided it was time to "put the interests of the club before his own and ... step down as manager and concentrate on his director's role full-time". Following the sacking of Darren Patterson
Darren Patterson
Darren James Patterson is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. As a player he was primarily a central defender who could also play at full back or as a defensive midfielder. He is the interim assistant manager at Bristol Rovers, where he has previously held the positions of Head of...

 in November 2008, Smith took over as caretaker manager
Caretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...

; the team remained unbeaten for the few weeks until Chris Wilder
Chris Wilder
Christopher John "Chris" Wilder is an English former footballer, and current manager of Oxford United.Previously, he was the last manager of Halifax Town F.C., becoming their manager in July 2002 just after relegation from the Football League and remaining there until June 2008, when the club was...

's appointment. Smith stepped down from the board in 2009.

Managerial statistics

Team From To Record
GWLDWin %Notes
Boston United
Boston United F.C.
Boston United Football Club are an association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. They currently play in the Conference North. The club is known as 'the Pilgrims' in reference to the Pilgrim Fathers, who fled from Boston to the USA and founded Boston, Massachusetts. The club's...

 (player-manager)
9 August 1969 10 May 1972 197 107 39 51 54.31
Colchester United
Colchester United F.C.
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910....

 (player-manager)
October 1972 20 June 1975 127 49 44 34 38.58
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

20 June 1975 12 March 1978 114 41 41 32 35.96
Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

12 March 1978 15 February 1982 182 59 73 50 32.41
Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

1 March 1982 11 June 1985 167 89 36 42 53.29
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

11 June 1985 4 December 1988 167 67 62 38 40.11
Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

4 December 1988 26 March 1991 121 44 39 38 36.36
Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

1 June 1991 1 February 1995 199 81 64 54 40.70
Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

15 June 1995 7 October 2001 281 99 101 81 35.23
Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

22 March 2006 1 November 2007 113 46 35 32 40.70
Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

 (caretaker)
30 November 2008 21 December 2008 4 2 0 2 50.00
Total 1,475577495403

External links

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