Jim Smith (footballer, born 1940) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jim Smith

Smith in 2006
Personal information
Full name	James Michael Smith
Date of birth	(1940-10-17)17 October 1940
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Date of death	10 December 2019(2019-12-10) (aged 79)
Playing position	Wing half
Youth career
	Oaksfield
1957–1959	Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1959–1961	Sheffield United	0	(0)
1961–1965	Aldershot	74	(1)
1965–1968	Halifax Town	113	(7)
1968–1969	Lincoln City	54	(0)
1969–1972	Boston United	123	(13)
1972–1973	Colchester United	8	(0)
Total		372	(8)
Teams managed
1969–1972	Boston United (player-manager)
1972–1975	Colchester United (player-manager)
1975–1978	Blackburn Rovers
1978–1982	Birmingham City
1982–1985	Oxford United
1985–1988	Queens Park Rangers
1988–1991	Newcastle United
1991–1995	Portsmouth
1995–2001	Derby County
2002	Coventry City (assistant manager)
2002–2004	Portsmouth (assistant manager)
2004–2005	Southampton (assistant manager)
2006–2007	Oxford United
2008	Oxford United (caretaker)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jim Smith (born October 17, 1940 – died December 10, 2019) was a famous English football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for several teams, including Aldershot, Halifax Town, Lincoln City, and Colchester United. He also spent time playing for Boston United. Later, he became a manager, leading many teams like Boston United, Birmingham City, and Newcastle United. He was also on the board of directors for Oxford United. Jim managed over 1000 football matches, which is a huge achievement! He was even put into the League Managers' Association Hall of Fame. People often called him "The Bald Eagle".

Playing Career Highlights

Jim Smith was born in Sheffield. He loved Sheffield Wednesday, but he started his football journey with Sheffield United in 1957 as an amateur player. Two years later, he became a professional. He didn't play much for Sheffield United's main team, so he moved to Aldershot for the 1961–62 season.

In 1965, after playing 74 games and scoring one goal for Aldershot, Jim joined Halifax Town. He played 113 league games for Halifax, scoring seven goals. In 1968, he moved to Lincoln City. After playing 54 games there, Jim signed with non-league club Boston United as a player-manager. He played nearly 200 games for Boston United in all competitions.

Managerial Journey

Early Success at Boston and Colchester

Jim's managing career started well at Boston United. His team finished in the top four of the Northern Premier League for three seasons. He also led them to the third round of the 1972 FA Cup. In his fourth season, Boston United had an amazing run of 51 league games without losing, which was a British record for professional teams!

Because of this success, Colchester United offered Jim the manager job in October 1972. Jim said he got the job because he was honest with the directors about how bad he thought their team was. He still played for Colchester that season, but in 1973–74, he stopped playing and focused on managing. He led Colchester to promotion from the Football League Fourth Division.

Moving to Blackburn and Birmingham

In 1975, Jim left Colchester to join Blackburn Rovers. They had just been promoted to the Second Division. He helped Blackburn stay in the league and then push for promotion. In March 1978, he left Blackburn to manage Birmingham City in the First Division.

Birmingham City was relegated in Jim's first full season. But he rebuilt the team, letting go of older players and bringing in new talent. He famously sold Trevor Francis for £1 million, which was a record at the time. Jim led Birmingham back to the top division the next season and kept them in the middle of the table in 1981. In 1982, Birmingham City surprisingly fired Jim and hired Ron Saunders.

Triumphs with Oxford United

A few weeks later, Jim became the manager of Oxford United. He led them to win the Third Division championship in 1984. The very next year, they were promoted again, reaching the top division for the first time in their history! Oxford won the Second Division championship.

Even with all this success, the club chairman didn't improve Jim's contract. So, Jim left Oxford to become the manager of Queens Park Rangers.

Time at QPR and Newcastle

In his first year at QPR, Jim took the team to the League Cup final. However, they lost 3–0 to his old team, Oxford United. Jim managed QPR until December 1988, when he left to manage Newcastle United.

Newcastle finished last in the First Division in 1989. They almost got promoted back right away, finishing third in the league. But they lost in the play-off semi-final to their rivals Sunderland. By March 1991, with no chance of promotion, Jim resigned from Newcastle.

Portsmouth and Derby County Years

After a short time coaching at Middlesbrough, Jim became the manager of Portsmouth in 1991. He had a good four years there. In 1992, they reached the FA Cup semi-finals, losing to Liverpool after a replay and penalties. A year later, they almost got promoted to the Premier League but lost in the play-offs. Key players were sold, and there wasn't enough money for new ones. Jim was fired in January 1995 after the team's performance dropped.

Jim then became the chief executive of the League Managers' Association. But that summer, he returned to club management with Derby County. He brought in Steve McClaren as first-team coach. In their first full season, they led Derby to finish second in Division One and get promoted to the Premier League!

Derby finished in the top half of the Premier League for their first three seasons. After two seasons where they barely avoided relegation, Jim was offered a Director of Football role, but he refused it. He resigned in October 2001. Under Jim Smith, Derby had spent five straight seasons in the top division.

Later Career and Retirement

In January 2002, Jim became assistant manager at Coventry City. He and the main manager were fired three months later. Later that year, Harry Redknapp asked Jim to be his assistant at Portsmouth. Jim helped Redknapp win the Division One title in 2002–03. They also helped the club stay in the Premier League.

In November 2004, both Jim and Redknapp resigned from Portsmouth. Redknapp then became manager of Southampton, and Jim joined him as assistant. After Southampton was relegated from the Premier League, Jim's contract was not extended.

After almost a year away from football, Jim returned to manage Oxford United for a second time in March 2006. He also joined their board of directors. He couldn't stop them from being relegated to the Conference National. However, they almost returned to the Football League right away, finishing second but losing on penalties in the 2006–07 play-off semi-final.

In November 2007, after a poor start to the season, Jim decided to step down as manager. He wanted to focus on his director's role. In November 2008, he became caretaker manager for a few weeks until Chris Wilder was appointed. Jim left the board in 2009.

Death

Jim Smith passed away on December 10, 2019, at 79 years old.

Managerial Statistics

Awards and Achievements

As a Manager

Boston United

• Eastern Professional Floodlit Cup: 1971–72

Colchester United

• Football League Fourth Division promotion: 1973–74

Birmingham City

• Football League Second Division promotion: 1979–80

Oxford United

• Football League Third Division: 1983–84
• Football League Second Division: 1984–85

Derby County

• Football League First Division promotion: 1995–96

Individual Awards

• Premier League Manager of the Month: November 1996