Jimmy Goodfellow
Goodfellow playing for Cardiff City Legends in July 2009
Personal information
Full name James Goodfellow[1]
Date of birth (1943-09-16)16 September 1943[1]
Place of birth Bishop Auckland, England[1]
Date of death 22 April 2020(2020-04-22) (aged 76)[2]
Place of death Newport, Wales[3][4]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[5]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
195?–1960 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1960–196? Consett
1962–1965 Crook Town
1965–1966 Bishop Auckland
1966–1969 Port Vale 85 (10)
1969–1974 Workington 199 (15)
1974–1978 Rotherham United 192 (8)
1978–1979 Stockport County 3 (0)
Total 479 (33)
Managerial career
1984 Cardiff City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Goodfellow (16 September 1943 – 22 April 2020) was an English professional footballer and manager. A midfielder, he scored 39 goals in 535 league and cup appearances in a 13-year career in the English Football League.

He spent his youth with Newcastle United, but did not earn a professional contract. Instead he played amateur and semi-professional football with Consett, Crook Town, and Bishop Auckland; he won the FA Amateur Cup with Crook Town in 1964. He entered the Football League with Port Vale in 1966, before transferring to Workington in May 1969. He moved on to Rotherham United in January 1974 for a £3,000 fee, and helped the "Millers" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1974–75. He ended his playing career after spending the 1978–79 season with Stockport County. He then took up coaching with Newport County, Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle, and Sunderland. He served as Cardiff's manager for six months in 1984, and later worked behind the scenes at the club until his retirement in May 2008.

Playing career

Early career

Goodfellow signed for Newcastle United, despite being a Sunderland fan, but was released by the club at the age of 17 without making a first team appearance.[3] He moved into non-League football, signing for Consett, before moving to Northern League side Crook Town in March 1962.[6] In 1964, he scored Crook Town's first goal at Wembley when he scored against Enfield in the Amateur Cup final victory;[3] the headed goal was credited to Matt Lumsdon in some newspaper reports.[7] Goodfellow became unhappy with the way the team was selected at Crook Town, being chosen by a committee rather than the club's manager, and agreed to join Bishop Auckland when manager Lawrie McMenemy asked him to do so.[7] During his time as a semi-professional and amateur player he worked at the Vickers naval yard on the River Tyne.[7]

Port Vale

Goodfellow got the call to move into league football at the age of 23, when he was signed to Jackie Mudie's Port Vale.[1] He scored his first goal in the Fourth Division on 1 October 1966, in a 2–2 draw with Barrow at Holker Street.[1] He went on to finish the 1966–67 campaign with seven goals in 28 appearances.[1] Stanley Matthews then took charge at Vale Park, with disastrous consequences; Goodfellow scored twice in 31 games in 1967–68, as the club slipped to 18th place.[1] New boss Gordon Lee then revitalised the club, though after two goals in 36 games in 1968–69, Goodfellow joined Workington on a free transfer in May 1969.[1]

Workington

The "Reds" finished just one place and one point above the re-election zone in 1969–70,[8] before rising up to tenth place in 1970–71.[9] New boss George Aitken then led the club to sixth and 13th-place finishes in the 1971–72 and 1972–73 campaigns. Goodfellow scored 15 goals in 199 Fourth Division appearances in his time at Borough Park.

Rotherham United

Goodfellow signed for Rotherham United in January 1974 after being recommended to manager Jimmy McGuigan by Hartlepool United manager Len Ashurst, who was unable to pay the £3,000 fee Workington demanded.[3] He scored on his Rotherham debut, the club's first ever Sunday game, a 2–1 defeat to Northampton Town.[3] The "Millers" finished 15th in 1973–74, before winning promotion with a third-place finish in 1974–75 with Goodfellow forming part of a highly effective left-sided triangle along with left-back John Breckin and left-winger Alan Crawford.[3] He went on to captain Rotherham as they adjusted well to the Third Division, featuring in all 50 games as the club posted a 16th-place finish in 1975–76.[3] Rotherham missed out on promotion due to a slightly inferior goal difference to Crystal Palace in 1976–77. Rotherham then dropped to just one position and three points above the relegation zone in the 1977–78 campaign and though Goodfellow missed just three games at Millmoor he was released in the summer.[3]

Stockport County

He ended his playing career with Stockport County at the end of the 1978–79 season. He made just three Fourth Division appearances for Mike Summerbee's "Hatters", before departing Edgeley Park.[10]

Style of play

A highly consistent player, his one weakness was his lack of goals.[11] Goodfellow self-deprecatingly described himself as "a non-running, non-tackling, non-heading midfielder".[7]

Coaching career

Goodfellow was asked by Len Ashurst to join him as his assistant manager at Newport County, and the duo would go on to lead the "Exiles" to promotion out of the Fourth Division in the 1979–80 season, the Welsh Cup title in 1980, and to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1981.[12] However, he was sacked in November 1981.[13] Ashurst himself was sacked three months later, and after being appointed as manager of Cardiff City in March 1982 he again installed Goodfellow as his assistant.[14] Goodfellow helped Ashurst lead Cardiff to promotion into the Second Division in 1982–83. Ashurst would leave in March 1984 to take over at Sunderland, his hometown club. Goodfellow was appointed joint-caretaker manager of Cardiff, alongside senior player Jimmy Mullen. At the end of the season he was named as the club's permanent manager, with Mullen as his assistant.[10] However, Goodfellow had a poor start to his tenure as City manager, losing eight of the first nine games of the 1984–85 season, and was sacked after just over two months in charge and replaced by Alan Durban.[15] After his dismissal he joined Plymouth Argyle as physiotherapist, before joining up with Lawrie McMenemy again for an ill-fated spell at Sunderland.[16]

Two years after leaving Ninian Park, he was asked to return to Cardiff as the club's physiotherapist and coach by then manager Frank Burrows. He remained in the backroom staff when manager Eddie May led Cardiff to the Third Division title in the 1992–93 season.[17] Goodfellow would go on to serve the "Bluebirds" with distinction under a series of managers, and in 1998 he was given a testimonial match by the club against Manchester United, with Goodfellow himself being brought on in the final few minutes, at the age of 55.[18][19] He retired in May 2008 and died on 22 April 2020 in Newport, aged 76.[20][2][4]

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Source:[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Port Vale 1966–67 Fourth Division 26 7 1 0 1 0 28 7
1967–68 Fourth Division 28 1 1 1 2 0 31 2
1968–69 Fourth Division 31 3 5 0 0 0 36 3
Total 85 10 7 1 3 0 95 11
Workington 1969–70 Fourth Division 46 4 2 1 2 0 50 5
1970–71 Fourth Division 44 1 4 2 2 0 50 3
1971–72 Fourth Division 46 4 2 1 1 0 49 5
1972–73 Fourth Division 44 4 4 2 2 0 50 6
1973–74 Fourth Division 19 2 1 0 0 0 20 2
Total 199 15 10 4 7 0 216 19
Rotherham United 1973–74 Fourth Division 19 3 0 0 0 0 19 3
1974–75 Fourth Division 40 1 4 0 4 0 48 1
1975–76 Third Division 46 2 2 1 2 0 50 2
1976–77 Third Division 42 0 5 0 2 0 49 0
1977–78 Third Division 45 2 4 0 4 0 53 2
Total 192 8 15 1 12 0 119 9
Stockport County 1978–79 Fourth Division 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 0
Career total 479 33 32 6 24 0 535 39

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Cardiff City 1 March 1984 27 September 1984 23 6 4 13 026.1
Total[22] 23 6 4 13 026.1

Honours

Crook Town
Rotherham United

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 113. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ^ a b "Jimmy Goodfellow: Former Cardiff City manager dies aged 76". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Payne, Les (22 April 2020). "OBITUARY | Jimmy Goodfellow 1943–2020". themillers.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "James Goodfellow". Sunderland Echo. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via Legacy.com.
  5. ^ "Portsmouth v Port Vale, 1967". onevalefan.co.uk. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Brown shows Ronaldo how". The Northern Echo. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d "For he's a jolly Goodfellow . . ". The Northern Echo. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  8. ^ "1969-70 Season final Football Tables". englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk.
  9. ^ "1970–71 Season final Football Tables". englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk.
  10. ^ a b "RIP Jimmy Goodfellow". Vital Rotherham. 22 April 2020.
  11. ^ "A–Z Past Players". Rotherham United F.C. Archived from the original on 2 August 2000. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  12. ^ Kirwan, Chris (22 April 2020). "Former Newport County coach Goodfellow dies". Campaign Series. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  13. ^ Ashurst, Len (2009), Left Back in Time, Know the Score, p. 182, ISBN 978-1-84818-512-8
  14. ^ Ashurst, Len (2009), Left Back in Time, Know the Score, p. 186, ISBN 978-1-84818-512-8
  15. ^ "1974–1989 Friday Fame & Pain" Archived 27 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Cardiffcityfc.co.uk Retrieved on 30 November 2013
  16. ^ "For he's a real jolly Goodfellow". The Northern Echo.
  17. ^ Williams, Glen (22 April 2020). "Cardiff City icon Jimmy Goodfellow passes away, aged 76". walesonline. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  18. ^ "For he's a jolly Goodfellow" Archived 22 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Northern Echo Retrieved on 7 September 2008
  19. ^ "Cardiff City XI 1–1 Manchester United XI" Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Red11.org Retrieved on 7 September 2008
  20. ^ Phillips, Terry (10 May 2008). "Cardiff City's Goodfella to call it a day". walesonline. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  21. ^ Jimmy Goodfellow at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  22. ^ Jimmy Goodfellow management career statistics at Soccerbase
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