Jim McNichol

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Jim McNichol
Personal information
Full name James Anthony McNichol [1]
Date of birth (1958-06-09) 9 June 1958 (age 65)
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
0000–1976 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1976–1978 Luton Town 15 (0)
1978–1984 Brentford 155 (22)
1984–1986 Exeter City 87 (10)
1986–1989 Torquay United 124 (13)
1989–1991 Exeter City 42 (8)
1991–1992 Torquay United 2 (0)
Torrington
Total425(53)
International career
1978–1980 Scotland U21 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Anthony McNichol (born 9 June 1958) is a Scottish former professional footballer who is most noted for his career at Torquay United and Exeter City. He was capped by Scotland at U21 level. [3]

Contents

Playing career

An apprentice at Ipswich Town, McNichol joined Luton Town in July 1976. [1] He later played for Brentford (his transfer setting a new club record incoming fee of £33,000), [4] before moving on to Exeter City. [1] In July 1986 he joined Torquay United. [1] On 9 May 1987 Torquay were heading out of the Football League, 2–0, down to Crewe Alexandra at half-time in the last game of the season, they needed two more goals to ensure survival—McNichol, Paul Dobson and a German shepherd called Bryn saved the day for Torquay. [5] McNichol scored from a free-kick, then in the dying moments ran to the corner flag to whip in a cross, little realizing his run would confuse the police dog into thinking he was about to attack his handler. [5] The dog bit McNichol on the leg and the player had to be treated; during the minutes added on due to the injury, Dobson scored and Lincoln City were the ones to lose their league status on goal difference. [5] The story of McNichol's injury was featured in the Netflix documentary series Losers. [6]

McNichol was appointed captain and led the club to the Football League Trophy final in 1989, before returning to Exeter in August 1989. [1] He helped City take the Football League Fourth Division title in 1989–90, before he made the switch from Exeter to Torquay a second time in July 1991. [1] After leaving the Gulls he later played for Torrington. An ankle ligament injury ended his career. [7]

Personal life

After his retirement from football, McNichol settled in Exeter and became a publican, operating The Exeter Inn in Ashburton. [8] He sold the pub just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, after 33 years running in. [9]

Honours

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jim McNichol". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 364. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ↑ "Scotland U21 Player James McNichol Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Brentford Football Club Official Matchday Magazine versus Hull City. 7 May 2005. p. 46.
  5. 1 2 3 McNichol, Jim (9 May 2009). "9 May 1987: Dog saves Torquay from relegation". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "The dog bite that saved a football club and inspired a Netflix series". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Brentford | News | Where Are They Now? | Where Are They Now? | WHERE ARE THEY NOW?". brentfordfc.co.uk. 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Brentford | News | Where Are They Now? | Where Are They Now? | WHERE ARE THEY NOW?". brentfordfc.co.uk. 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "Kings of the Castle: Jim McNichol". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the 70s. Legends Publishing. p. 295. ISBN   978-1906796709.
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