Jimmy Nicholl

Last updated

Jimmy Nicholl
Jimmy Nicholl, Dudesleeper.jpg
Nicholl in 1994
Personal information
Full name James Michael Nicholl [1]
Date of birth (1956-12-28) 28 December 1956 (age 67)
Place of birth Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Northern Ireland (assistant manager)
Youth career
1971–1974 Manchester United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1974–1982 Manchester United 197 (3)
1982 → Sunderland (loan) 3 (0)
1982 Toronto Blizzard 16 (3)
1982–1983 Sunderland 29 (0)
1983–1984 Toronto Blizzard 49 (8)
1983–1984 Rangers 17 (0)
1984–1986 West Bromwich Albion 56 (0)
1986–1989 Rangers 58 (0)
1989–1990 Dunfermline Athletic 24 (0)
1990–1996 Raith Rovers 128 (6)
1996 Bath City 1 (0)
Total577(20)
International career
1976–1986 Northern Ireland 73 (1)
Managerial career
1990–1996 Raith Rovers (player-manager)
1996–1997 Millwall
1997–1999 Raith Rovers
2010–2011 Cowdenbeath
2013 Hibernian (caretaker)
2013–2015 Cowdenbeath
2018 Rangers (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Michael Nicholl (born 28 December 1956) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played for several clubs, including Manchester United and Rangers. [3] He was mainly a right-back but could also play in other defensive roles. Nicholl won a total of 73 international caps for Northern Ireland, scoring one goal.

Contents

After retiring as a player, he moved into coaching and management. He enjoyed success as manager of Raith Rovers, winning the 1994–95 Scottish League Cup. In recent years he has worked as an assistant coach for several Scottish clubs, including Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Falkirk, Rangers and Dundee.

Early life

Jimmy Nicholl was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to Northern Irish parents. His family moved back to Northern Ireland when he was 3. Nicholl grew up on the Rathcoole estate on the outskirts of Belfast. After he began his football career as an apprentice with Manchester United, the club arranged for Nicholl's family to relocate to England, to avoid the unrest caused by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. [4]

Playing career

Nicholl started his career as a junior player at Manchester United. His senior career started in 1974. He helped the club win the 1977 FA Cup Final and collected a runners-up medal in 1979.

In 1981, he left the club after scoring five goals, joining Sunderland on a permanent contract after a loan spell, and playing 32 games in one season before moving to Toronto Blizzard in Canada, scoring 11 goals in 77 games over the next two years before signing for Rangers.

In 1984, he returned to the English league to sign for West Bromwich Albion where he stayed until their relegation from the First Division in 1986, then returning to Rangers for three years, helping them win two Scottish league titles in the process.

After leaving Rangers, he signed for Dunfermline Athletic in 1989 before moving to a player-manager role at Raith Rovers, having originally joined them on 27 November 1990. Following his time at Rovers, Nicholl played one game for Bath City in February 1996, a 3–0 defeat at home to Macclesfield Town. He was sent off after 55 minutes and never played for the club again. [5]

Coaching career

Nicholl had great success as manager of Raith Rovers, winning the 1994–95 Scottish League Cup and the 1994–95 Scottish First Division championship. Due to their League Cup triumph, Raith qualified for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup and reached the second round, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Bayern Munich. [6] Having lost the first leg to Bayern 2–0 at Easter Road, [7] Raith took a 1–0 lead at the Olympiastadion thanks to a goal by Danny Lennon. [6] Bayern recovered to win 2–1 on the night and 4–1 on aggregate. [6]

On 28 February 1996, Nicholl was appointed manager of Millwall, who just over two months earlier had been top of Division One but were now sliding down the table. He was unable to arrest the decline and Millwall slipped into Division Two on the last day of the season. He remained at Millwall until the following February, and six months after that returned to Raith Rovers. [ citation needed ] His second spell at Raith lasted two years, and ended on 14 June 1999 after he had failed to get them back into the top flight.[ citation needed ]

A 28-day spell as manager of Dunfermline Athletic followed later in 1999, and he later served as assistant manager to Jimmy Calderwood at East End Park. In May 2004, Nicholl followed Calderwood when he took over as manager at Aberdeen, [8] again serving as his assistant until the two parted company with the club in May 2009. [9] He resumed his partnership with Calderwood at Kilmarnock in 2010.

Nicholl was appointed manager of Cowdenbeath in June 2010, [10] but he left Cowdenbeath at the end of the 2010–11 season after they were relegated from the First Division. [11]

Nicholl was then appointed assistant manager of Kilmarnock for a second time, by Kenny Shiels on 15 June 2011. [12] Kilmarnock won the 2011–12 Scottish League Cup under Shiels and Nicholl, but Shiels was sacked by Kilmarnock in June 2013. Nicholl then decided to accept the offer of assistant manager at Hibernian. [13] [14] After manager Pat Fenlon resigned on 1 November, Nicholl was appointed caretaker manager. [15] Nicholl left Hibernian soon after their new management team was recruited. [16]

After leaving Hibernian, Nicholl returned to Cowdenbeath for a second stint as their manager. [17] He led the Blue Brazil to avoid relegation via the Scottish Championship play-offs in the 2013–14 season beating local rivals Dunfermline Athletic in the two-legged final. He led the side to the Fife Cup that season. However a very difficult season followed in 2014–15, which included a joint-record 10–0 defeat to eventual champions Heart of Midlothian. The following week, Cowdenbeath managed to draw 0–0 with Rangers. The club was relegated to League One on the last day, after which Nicholl resigned as manager. [18]

While still at Cowdenbeath, Nicholl had also become assistant manager to Michael O'Neill with the Northern Ireland national team in March 2015. [19] He was appointed as assistant to new Falkirk manager Paul Hartley in October 2017, while also continuing in his role with Northern Ireland. [20] He became assistant manager at Rangers in January 2018, assisting Graeme Murty. [21] After Murty left Rangers on 1 May, Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson were placed in interim charge [22] until the appointment of Steven Gerrard on 1 June.

Nicholl joined St Mirren as their first team coach in November 2018. [23] He then moved to Dundee in May 2019, assisting James McPake. [24] Nicholl was released from the club in June 2020. [25]

On 28 June 2020, Nicoll became assistant manager of Northern Ireland national football team. [26]

Honours

Player

Manchester United

Rangers

Raith Rovers

Manager

Raith Rovers

Cowdenbeath

Managerial statistics

As of 13 May 2018
TeamNatFromToRecord
GWDLWin %
Raith Rovers [28] Flag of Scotland.svg November 1990February 1996249997278039.76
Millwall Flag of England.svg February 1996February 199746151120032.61
Raith Rovers Flag of Scotland.svg August 1997June 199981292032035.80
Cowdenbeath Flag of Scotland.svg June 2010June 20114210923023.81
Cowdenbeath Flag of Scotland.svg November 2013May 201567201037029.85
Rangers (caretaker) Flag of Scotland.svg May 2018June 20183120033.33
Total488174124190035.66

Related Research Articles

James Calderwood is a Scottish former football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a player, Calderwood stayed in the Netherlands and became a coach, becoming a manager of Willem II Tilburg and NEC Nijmegen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Clark</span> Scottish footballer and coach

Alexander "Sandy" Clark is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is currently manager of Scottish Lowland Football League club Albion Rovers.

Ian William Murray is a Scottish football player and coach, who was most recently the manager of Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Shiels</span> Northern Irish footballer

Dean Andrew Shiels is a Northern Irish former footballer and current manager of Coleraine. He played for Hibernian, Doncaster Rovers, Kilmarnock, Rangers, Dundalk, FC Edmonton and Dunfermline Athletic, and made 14 full international appearances for Northern Ireland. His father is Kenny Shiels, who was his manager at Kilmarnock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Nish</span> Scottish footballer & coach

Colin John Nish is a Scottish former football player, coach and manager. Nish played for Dunfermline Athletic, Alloa Athletic, Clyde, Kilmarnock, Hibernian, Hartlepool United, Dundee, Dumbarton and Cowdenbeath. Whilst playing for Cowdenbeath, Nish was appointed player-manager of the Fife club. Following their relegation to Scottish League Two, Nish's contract was terminated. He subsequently managed Tranent Juniors for the 2022–23 season.

Colin Cameron is a Scottish football manager and former professional player, who is the interim manager of Raith Rovers.

Gary Locke is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Locke both played for and managed Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock, and has also managed Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath. He is currently Club Ambassador at Hearts.

Grant Robert Murray is a Scottish former professional football player. Murray is currently the assistant manager at Queen of the South.

Jason Dair is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder or full-back now the manager of Dundonald Bluebell.

Keith Wright is a Scottish football player and coach. Wright played as a striker for Raith Rovers, Dundee, Hibernian, Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir and was then a player/manager at Cowdenbeath. He played once for Scotland, in 1992. He has since worked as a football coach for junior clubs and the Scottish Football Association.

Danny Lennon is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde.

Lewis Toshney is a Scottish professional footballer and coach, who is currently the co-manager and player for Dundee North End. Toshney has previously played for Celtic, Ross County, Cowdenbeath, Raith Rovers, Kilmarnock, Brechin City, Dundee United, Dundee, Falkirk, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Edinburgh City and Downfield. He represented Scotland at youth international levels up to and including the Scotland under-21 team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Shiels</span> Northern Irish footballer and manager

Kenneth Shiels is a Northern Irish football manager and former player who is currently manager of NIFL Premier Intermediate side Moyola Park.

Season 2011–12 for Hibernian was their 13th consecutive season of play in the Scottish Premier League (SPL). The season began on 24 July with a 2–0 home defeat by Celtic, who eliminated Hibs from the Scottish League Cup. With the club near the bottom of the league, manager Colin Calderwood was sacked and replaced with Pat Fenlon in November. Fenlon made several signings during January that helped the club to avoid relegation from the SPL. Hibs also reached the 2012 Scottish Cup Final, but this was lost 5–1 to local rivals Hearts.

Billy Brown is a Scottish football coach and former player. He has managed East Fife and Cowdenbeath and played in the Scottish Football League for Motherwell and Raith Rovers. He then became a football coach, working at Berwick Rangers, Falkirk, Hearts, Bradford City and Kilmarnock with longtime colleague Jim Jefferies.

Rory Paul McKeown is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a left-back.

The 2011–12 season saw Cowdenbeath play their first season back in the Scottish Second Division, having been relegated from the Scottish First Division at the end of the 2010–11 season. Cowdenbeath also competed in the Challenge Cup, League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

During the 2010–11 season Ross County competed in the Scottish First Division, Challenge Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

The 2012–13 Scottish Cup was the 128th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 4 August 2012 and ended on 26 May 2013. It was sponsored by bookmaker William Hill in the second season of a three-year partnership and is known as the William Hill Scottish Cup. The winner of the competition qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. The holders Hearts were knocked out by their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian in the fourth round, in a repeat of the previous season's final.

The 2013–14 season was Hibernian's fifteenth consecutive season in the top flight of the Scottish football league system, having been promoted from the Scottish First Division at the end of the 1998–99 season. Having lost the 2013 Scottish Cup Final to league champions Celtic, Hibs entered the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, but suffered a Scottish record aggregate defeat against Swedish club Malmö in the second qualifying round. Hibs also competed in the 2013–14 Scottish League Cup but lost to Heart of Midlothian in the quarter-final at Easter Road. Days after that defeat, manager Pat Fenlon resigned and was replaced with Terry Butcher. Hibs were knocked out of the 2013–14 Scottish Cup in the fifth round by Raith Rovers. A long winless run to finish the 2013–14 Scottish Premiership season meant that Hibs finished in 11th place, and they were relegated after a playoff against Hamilton Academical.

References

  1. ↑ "Jimmy Nicholl". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 384. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ↑ "Northern Ireland Footballing Greats: Jimmy Nicholl" . Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  4. ↑ Cameron, Neil (12 April 2016). "Jimmy Nicholl on football, the Troubles, and bringing together divided communities". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Past Players". Bath City FC. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Forsyth, Roddy (3 April 2014). "Raith Rovers recall Bayern Munich clash as they face Rangers in Ramsden Cup final". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  7. ↑ McKinney, David (17 October 1995). "Bayern ruin all Raith's dreams" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Calderwood agrees Dons move". BBC Sport. 28 May 2004. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  9. ↑ "Dons part with manager Calderwood". BBC Sport. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Jimmy Nicholl is confirmed as Cowdenbeath manager". BBC Sport. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  11. ↑ "Cameron in for Nicholl at Cowden". BBC Sport. 6 June 2011.
  12. ↑ "Kilmarnock confirm management duo". STV Sport. 15 June 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "Jimmy Nicholl leaves Kilmarnock to join Hibernian". BBC Sport. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Assistant Manager Confirmed". Hibernian FC. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon exits Easter Road". BBC Sport. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  16. ↑ Young, Chick; Spence, Jim (14 November 2013). "Inverness: John Hughes and Kenny Shiels in for manager's job". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Cowdenbeath: Jimmy Nicholl returns for second manager spell". BBC Sport. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "Cowdenbeath: Jimmy Nicholl resigns as boss after relegation". BBC Sport. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Jimmy Nicholl appointed Northern Ireland assistant manager". Belfast Telegraph. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "Jimmy Nicholl becomes Falkirk assistant but remains with Northern Ireland". BBC Sport. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  21. ↑ Young, Chick (30 December 2017). "Jimmy Nicholl: Rangers to appoint Falkirk assistant as Ibrox number two". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  22. ↑ "Club Statement". Rangers FC. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "Jimmy Nicholl: Northern Irishman becomes St Mirren first-team coach". BBC Sport. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  24. ↑ "Dundee: James McPake confirmed as club's new manager". BBC Sport. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  25. ↑ "Nicholl and McDermid leave club". Dundee FC. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  26. ↑ "Nicholl to stay on as NI assistant manager". BBC Sport.
  27. ↑ Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack (1977). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78. London: Brickfield Publications Ltd. p. 491. ISBN   0354 09018 6.
  28. ↑ "Raith Rovers manager Jimmy Nicholl". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.