Jimmy Case
Encyclopedia
James Robert Case is a retired English
football
player who shot to fame with the all-conquering Liverpool
side of the 1970s and became known as a player with one of the hardest shots in the game.
and was a distant neighbour of musician Paul McCartney
on the council estate which had been built in the interwar years. He was a keen member of the local scouts. As a young teenager he was quite small for his age.
His credentials, however, were established locally when during a football game between the Garston Church Choir and the Allerton Scouts he gave the goalkeeper of the choir a hefty kick when the score was 23-22, with coats as goalposts. Jimmy established his reputation as a winner, if not a bad loser.
Even though Jimmy's team lost, his legend was born. There were subsequent games on Springwood Park where Jimmy played with such aces as John Gidman
(Everton) and Billy Ashcroft
(Middlesbrough).
Although small in stature, Jimmy graduated through the schools teams and then joined a tough dockers' side, Blue Union. The physical nature of these early games would have an impact on the rest of his football career.
Upon leaving school, Case served an apprenticeship as an electrician and continued with this even after signing for Liverpool
and playing in their reserves
.
Those who knew Jimmy as a teenager were amazed at his physical transformation. He always had determination, but by the time he left south Liverpool he had a physical stature and height that belied his earlier years.
from local non-league club South Liverpool
in May 1973 and was given his debut on 26 April 1975 in a league fixture at Anfield
against Queens Park Rangers
; goals from John Toshack
(2), and Kevin Keegan
made it a winning start for Case as the Reds won 3-1. By 1976 he was a first choice midfielder who was a prolific goalscorer for someone in his position; his first goal for the club came in the 68th minute of the 3-2 league win over Tottenham Hotspur
at Anfield on 23 August 1975. At the end of his first full season, he helped Liverpool to victory in the League championship
and the UEFA Cup, scoring in the first leg of the final of the latter against FC Bruges.
Case maintained his place the following year as Liverpool chased a unique treble of League, FA and European Cups. They were league champions for the second season in a row, but lost in the FA Cup Final
to Manchester United
2-1. Case was the scorer of Liverpool's goal shortly after their opponents had taken the lead; it was a typical Case goal in that it was a vicious, unstoppable shot from outside the penalty area following a neat turn on the ball. He was in the team again a few days later when Liverpool won their first European Cup after beating Borussia Mönchengladbach
3-1 in Rome
.
Case won the League and the European Cup twice more with Liverpool and also added a League Cup
winners' medal in 1981, but in that season he found himself out of favour. Manager Bob Paisley was concerned by Case's close friendship with fellow midfielder Ray Kennedy
, with the two regularly embroiled in off the pitch escapades - culminating in their both being charged with assault in the spring of 1980 - and with the emergence of Sammy Lee on the right side of midfield, made the difficult decision to offload Case. Paisley transferred him to Brighton & Hove Albion
in the summer of 1981.
Jimmy is still highly thought of amongst the Anfield faithful, he was voted in at No.45 in the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop taken by the Official Liverpool Football Club web-site in which over 110,000 fans worldwide nominated their personal Top 10 players.
went the other way and he played a large part in the success achieved at the Goldstone Ground
in the early 1980s.
With Brighton, Case reached the FA Cup final again in 1983 and again faced Manchester United. The game ended 2-2 with Brighton passing up a great opportunity to win the cup when Gordon Smith hit a shot directly at United keeper Gary Bailey
, who pulled off a spectacular save. Brighton's chance of glory had gone, and they were crushed 4-0 in the replay. They had already been relegated from the First Division in bottom place, and have not returned since. In spite of this setback, Case remained at the Goldstone Ground for nearly two years after the Seagulls were relegated.
for a nominal fee of £30,000 as Lawrie McMenemy
's last signing for The Saints, to replace Steve Williams, who had been transferred to Arsenal
in December 1984. He soon won over any doubters amongst The Dell
fans with some robust tackling. In his first few weeks at the club, they finished fifth in the league, but were then denied UEFA Cup
qualification due to the subsequent ban on English clubs in European competitions, which followed the Heysel Disaster that year.
When McMenemy quit after the end of the season, Case was appointed club captain by new manager Chris Nicholl
.
In his first full season, Saints reached the semi-final of the FA Cup (after beating Case's former club Brighton 2-0 in the quarter-final) losing to Liverpool in an epic game at White Hart Lane
on 5 April 1986, which Liverpool won 2-0 after extra time with both goals coming from Ian Rush
. Victory would have made Case the first player to appear in three FA Cup finals with different clubs.
Over his six years at The Dell Jimmy lost none of his bite in the tackle and he made up for any loss of pace by a broadening vision and excellent passing skills. Even in his mid thirties, he was still among the most highly regarded midfielders in the First Division.
He was Saints player of the year for 1989-90 and in December 1990 was selected to represent the Football League against the Irish League. In this season Saints finished seventh in the First Division and Saints were playing at close to their best. One particularly memorable match was on 21 October 1989, when Saints defeated Liverpool 4-1, with goals from Paul Rideout
, Rod Wallace
(2) and Matthew Le Tissier
in which Case controlled the midfield as The Saints humiliated Case's former club. During his time at The Dell, however, he did not add any major trophies to his list of honours won at Liverpool.
Jimmy played in midfield alongside Glenn Cockerill
and Barry Horne
and helped to bring on the careers of exciting young players such as Le Tissier, Alan Shearer
, Rod Wallace
and Jason Dodd
. Ian Branfoot
succeeded Nicholl as manager in June 1991, and considered that the club could dispense with Case's services and he was transferred to Bournemouth
within a few days of Branfoot's appointment, a decision that proved very unpopular with to Saints fans, especially when Case was replaced by the unsuccessful Terry Hurlock
, and was one of the key reasons that Branfoot was an unpopular figure with the club's supporters during his two and a half years in charge.
at Bournemouth and managed to play 40 league games in the 1991-92 season, and was playing in the Third Division for the first time in his whole career.
After a season at Bournemouth, he moved to Halifax Town managed by John McGrath assisted by Frank Worthington
. He played there for 6 months, before moving on to Wrexham, where he helped them gain promotion from Division Three at the end of the 1992-93 season, while Halifax fell into the GM Vauxhall Conference
.
He then turned out for non-league side Sittingbourne
until returning to Brighton in December 1993, firstly as a player/coach before taking over from Liam Brady
as manager in November 1995. He was still playing that season, and at the age of 41 was the oldest outfield player registered with any Premier League or Football League club at the time. 46-year-old goalkeeper Peter Shilton
(with Coventry City
and West Ham United
) was the only senior player older than Case at this time, and his failure to make any competitive appearances that campaign meant that Case was the oldest "active" senior player in England during the season.
He finally announced his retirement from playing on 10 November 1995.
in 1996, before being fired in November 1996 when they were bottom of the whole league.
Case later managed non-league Bashley
, who played in the New Forest
just a short distance from Southampton
.
He has been a regular on the veteran players' circuit since giving up playing and used to work for Radio Hampshire
as a Southampton match summariser. Since 2009 he has regularly summarised Liverpool FC games for BBC Radio Merseyside
, despite continuing to live on the south coast. He also contributes to the station's Red Alert programme at 7.30pm on Friday nights. He has also recently started doing some studio work for the Liverpool FC TV station LFC TV
.
In 2007, Jimmy and three other members of the 1977 Liverpool European Cup winning team embarked on a series of shows throughout the UK and Ireland to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach. Alongside scorer Tommy Smith, record appearance holder Ian Callaghan and Welsh defender Joey Jones, the shows have so far been well received by both old and young fans and show the enduring popularity of the players who made the club great.
In 2009 Jimmy became the Official Mascot of The Liverpool Legends Autograph and Memorabilia Group and is a regular host of the group's "Meet The Legends" events.
Brighton
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player who shot to fame with the all-conquering 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...
side of the 1970s and became known as a player with one of the hardest shots in the game.
Early life
Case was brought up in AllertonAllerton, Merseyside
Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England. It is located southeast of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Mossley Hill, Woolton, Hunts Cross and Garston....
and was a distant neighbour of musician Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
on the council estate which had been built in the interwar years. He was a keen member of the local scouts. As a young teenager he was quite small for his age.
His credentials, however, were established locally when during a football game between the Garston Church Choir and the Allerton Scouts he gave the goalkeeper of the choir a hefty kick when the score was 23-22, with coats as goalposts. Jimmy established his reputation as a winner, if not a bad loser.
Even though Jimmy's team lost, his legend was born. There were subsequent games on Springwood Park where Jimmy played with such aces as John Gidman
John Gidman
John Gidman was an English football player. His favoured position was right back.Gidman played for the Liverpool youth team without ever playing for their first team, before he joined Aston Villa in 1971. He was a member of the 1977 League Cup winning side, before being signed by Everton in 1979...
(Everton) and Billy Ashcroft
Billy Ashcroft
Billy Ashcroft is a retired football player from England, who could play as a central defender or as a striker. He made his League debut for Middlesbrough on 3 September 1977 in a 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, after having served Wrexham for seven years, playing 219 matches and scoring 72...
(Middlesbrough).
Although small in stature, Jimmy graduated through the schools teams and then joined a tough dockers' side, Blue Union. The physical nature of these early games would have an impact on the rest of his football career.
Upon leaving school, Case served an apprenticeship as an electrician and continued with this even after signing for 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...
and playing in their reserves
Liverpool F.C. Reserves
Liverpool F.C. Reserves are the reserve team of Liverpool.-Reserve team:Liverpool Reserves play in the FA Premier Reserve League. In their division, the reserves became Champions in 2000. They competed in the Lancashire Combination from 1896 to 1911, with the exception of the 1898–99 season, in...
.
Those who knew Jimmy as a teenager were amazed at his physical transformation. He always had determination, but by the time he left south Liverpool he had a physical stature and height that belied his earlier years.
Liverpool
Case arrived at AnfieldAnfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
from local non-league club South Liverpool
South Liverpool F.C.
South Liverpool F.C. are a football club from Liverpool, England. They are currently in the West Cheshire Amateur Football League and play their home matches at Jericho Lane. The club's colours are white shirts, black shorts and red socks.-First incarnation:...
in May 1973 and was given his debut on 26 April 1975 in a league fixture at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
against 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...
; goals from John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
(2), and Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
made it a winning start for Case as the Reds won 3-1. By 1976 he was a first choice midfielder who was a prolific goalscorer for someone in his position; his first goal for the club came in the 68th minute of the 3-2 league win over Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
at Anfield on 23 August 1975. At the end of his first full season, he helped Liverpool to victory in the League championship
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....
and the UEFA Cup, scoring in the first leg of the final of the latter against FC Bruges.
Case maintained his place the following year as Liverpool chased a unique treble of League, FA and European Cups. They were league champions for the second season in a row, but lost in the FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
2-1. Case was the scorer of Liverpool's goal shortly after their opponents had taken the lead; it was a typical Case goal in that it was a vicious, unstoppable shot from outside the penalty area following a neat turn on the ball. He was in the team again a few days later when Liverpool won their first European Cup after beating Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth...
3-1 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Case won the League and the European Cup twice more with Liverpool and also added a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
winners' medal in 1981, but in that season he found himself out of favour. Manager Bob Paisley was concerned by Case's close friendship with fellow midfielder Ray Kennedy
Ray Kennedy
Raymond Kennedy is an English former football player who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s...
, with the two regularly embroiled in off the pitch escapades - culminating in their both being charged with assault in the spring of 1980 - and with the emergence of Sammy Lee on the right side of midfield, made the difficult decision to offload Case. Paisley transferred him to Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
in the summer of 1981.
Jimmy is still highly thought of amongst the Anfield faithful, he was voted in at No.45 in the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop taken by the Official Liverpool Football Club web-site in which over 110,000 fans worldwide nominated their personal Top 10 players.
Brighton
Case joined Brighton in August 1981 as a £450,000 makeweight when Mark LawrensonMark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
went the other way and he played a large part in the success achieved at the Goldstone Ground
Goldstone Ground
The Goldstone Ground was a football stadium and home ground of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. between 1902 and 1997. The club currently plays at American Express Community Stadium, a stadium on the outskirts of the city, following the move from their temporary stadium in the Brighton suburb of...
in the early 1980s.
With Brighton, Case reached the FA Cup final again in 1983 and again faced Manchester United. The game ended 2-2 with Brighton passing up a great opportunity to win the cup when Gordon Smith hit a shot directly at United keeper Gary Bailey
Gary Bailey
Gary Richard Bailey is a former footballer who made nearly 300 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Manchester United. He was capped twice for England....
, who pulled off a spectacular save. Brighton's chance of glory had gone, and they were crushed 4-0 in the replay. They had already been relegated from the First Division in bottom place, and have not returned since. In spite of this setback, Case remained at the Goldstone Ground for nearly two years after the Seagulls were relegated.
Southampton
In March 1985, Case moved to SouthamptonSouthampton 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...
for a nominal fee of £30,000 as Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrie McMenemy MBE is a retired English football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton Football Club...
's last signing for The Saints, to replace Steve Williams, who had been transferred to Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in December 1984. He soon won over any doubters amongst The Dell
The Dell (Southampton F.C.)
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.-New stadium:Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896...
fans with some robust tackling. In his first few weeks at the club, they finished fifth in the league, but were then denied UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
qualification due to the subsequent ban on English clubs in European competitions, which followed the Heysel Disaster that year.
When McMenemy quit after the end of the season, Case was appointed club captain by new manager Chris Nicholl
Chris Nicholl
Christopher John "Chris" Nicholl is an English-born former Northern Ireland international footballer.-Playing career:Nicholl was born in Macclesfield...
.
In his first full season, Saints reached the semi-final of the FA Cup (after beating Case's former club Brighton 2-0 in the quarter-final) losing to Liverpool in an epic game at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
on 5 April 1986, which Liverpool won 2-0 after extra time with both goals coming from Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
. Victory would have made Case the first player to appear in three FA Cup finals with different clubs.
Over his six years at The Dell Jimmy lost none of his bite in the tackle and he made up for any loss of pace by a broadening vision and excellent passing skills. Even in his mid thirties, he was still among the most highly regarded midfielders in the First Division.
He was Saints player of the year for 1989-90 and in December 1990 was selected to represent the Football League against the Irish League. In this season Saints finished seventh in the First Division and Saints were playing at close to their best. One particularly memorable match was on 21 October 1989, when Saints defeated Liverpool 4-1, with goals from Paul Rideout
Paul Rideout
Paul Rideout is a retired English professional football player who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He is a youth coach with Sporting Kansas City, heading their U-16, U-17 and U-18 teams.-Playing career:...
, Rod Wallace
Rod Wallace
Rodney Seymour "Rod" Wallace is a retired English footballer.Wallace played predominantly as a striker or part of an attacking forward line. He started his career at Southampton in 1988 playing 128 league games scoring 45 goals. This form earned him a transfer to Leeds where he won the first...
(2) and Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew Le Tissier
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...
in which Case controlled the midfield as The Saints humiliated Case's former club. During his time at The Dell, however, he did not add any major trophies to his list of honours won at Liverpool.
Jimmy played in midfield alongside Glenn Cockerill
Glenn Cockerill
Glenn Cockerill is a retired English footballer who played more than 700 games in The Football League in a 22-year career. He is perhaps best remembered from his eight-year spell at Southampton...
and Barry Horne
Barry Horne
Barry Horne was an English animal rights activist. He became known around the world in December 1998, when he engaged in a 68-day hunger strike in an effort to persuade the British government to hold a public inquiry into animal testing, something the Labour Party had said it would do before it...
and helped to bring on the careers of exciting young players such as Le Tissier, Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
, Rod Wallace
Rod Wallace
Rodney Seymour "Rod" Wallace is a retired English footballer.Wallace played predominantly as a striker or part of an attacking forward line. He started his career at Southampton in 1988 playing 128 league games scoring 45 goals. This form earned him a transfer to Leeds where he won the first...
and Jason Dodd
Jason Dodd
Jason Robert Dodd is an English former footballer and manager, who spent most of his playing career with Southampton, where he was briefly First-Team Coach...
. Ian Branfoot
Ian Branfoot
Ian Grant Branfoot is an English former footballer and manager.He played as a defender, and after starting at Gateshead joined Sheffield Wednesday, making his Football League debut in 1965. After 42 senior appearances for the club he left in 1969-70 for Doncaster Rovers...
succeeded Nicholl as manager in June 1991, and considered that the club could dispense with Case's services and he was transferred to Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth
A.F.C. Bournemouth is an English football club currently playing in Football League One. The club plays at Dean Court in Kings Park, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset and have been in existence since 1899....
within a few days of Branfoot's appointment, a decision that proved very unpopular with to Saints fans, especially when Case was replaced by the unsuccessful Terry Hurlock
Terry Hurlock
Terrence Alan "Terry" Hurlock is a former professional footballer. He played in midfield. During his career he played for Brentford, Reading, Millwall, Rangers, Southampton and Fulham.-Playing career:...
, and was one of the key reasons that Branfoot was an unpopular figure with the club's supporters during his two and a half years in charge.
Bournemouth, Halifax Town, Wrexham & Brighton again
He moved on to join Harry RedknappHarry 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....
at Bournemouth and managed to play 40 league games in the 1991-92 season, and was playing in the Third Division for the first time in his whole career.
After a season at Bournemouth, he moved to Halifax Town managed by John McGrath assisted by Frank Worthington
Frank Worthington
Frank Stewart Worthington is a former English footballer. Frank was born into a footballing family in Shelf near Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire. Both of his parents had played the game and his two older brothers, Dave and Bob, became professional footballers, both began their careers with...
. He played there for 6 months, before moving on to Wrexham, where he helped them gain promotion from Division Three at the end of the 1992-93 season, while Halifax fell into the GM Vauxhall Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
.
He then turned out for non-league side Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne F.C.
Sittingbourne F.C. are a football club based in Sittingbourne, Kent, England. They were established in 1886 and were founder members of the Kent League. They have reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup at least twice in their history...
until returning to Brighton in December 1993, firstly as a player/coach before taking over from Liam Brady
Liam Brady
Liam Brady is a former Irish association football player, and former assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team....
as manager in November 1995. He was still playing that season, and at the age of 41 was the oldest outfield player registered with any Premier League or Football League club at the time. 46-year-old goalkeeper Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
(with 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...
and West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
) was the only senior player older than Case at this time, and his failure to make any competitive appearances that campaign meant that Case was the oldest "active" senior player in England during the season.
He finally announced his retirement from playing on 10 November 1995.
After retirement as a player
He temporarily managed Brighton, overseeing their relegation to Division ThreeFootball League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
in 1996, before being fired in November 1996 when they were bottom of the whole league.
Case later managed non-league Bashley
Bashley F.C.
Bashley F.C. is a football club based in Bashley, near New Milton, Hampshire, England. It was established in 1947 and is currently a member of the Southern League Premier Division....
, who played in the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
just a short distance from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
.
He has been a regular on the veteran players' circuit since giving up playing and used to work for Radio Hampshire
Radio Hampshire
The Breeze 107 is an independent local radio station broadcasting to the Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester areas of Hampshire, England. It is owned by Celador Radio and is part of The Breeze network of stations...
as a Southampton match summariser. Since 2009 he has regularly summarised Liverpool FC games for BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of Merseyside and north Cheshire. It was the third BBC local radio station to launch on 22 November 1967 initially serving the south west of historic Lancashire....
, despite continuing to live on the south coast. He also contributes to the station's Red Alert programme at 7.30pm on Friday nights. He has also recently started doing some studio work for the Liverpool FC TV station LFC TV
LFC TV
LFC TV is the dedicated official channel for English football club Liverpool Football Club which launched on 20 September 2007...
.
In 2007, Jimmy and three other members of the 1977 Liverpool European Cup winning team embarked on a series of shows throughout the UK and Ireland to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach. Alongside scorer Tommy Smith, record appearance holder Ian Callaghan and Welsh defender Joey Jones, the shows have so far been well received by both old and young fans and show the enduring popularity of the players who made the club great.
In 2009 Jimmy became the Official Mascot of The Liverpool Legends Autograph and Memorabilia Group and is a regular host of the group's "Meet The Legends" events.
Honours
LiverpoolLiverpool 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...
- First Division TitleFootball League First DivisionThe 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....
winner: 1975–761975-76 in English footballThe 1975–76 season was the 96th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Liverpool won their first major trophy under Bob Paisley by narrowly winning the league title after heated competition from Queens Park Rangers. They also lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in their...
, 1976–771976-77 in English footballThe 1976–77 season was the 97th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League revamped the tie-breaking criteria for teams level of points, replacing the traditional goal average tie-breaker with one based on goal difference to try to encourage more scoring...
, 1978–791978-79 in English football-FA Cup:Manchester United had seemingly pulled off a remarkable comeback against Arsenal in the 1979 FA Cup Final to make the score 2–2 after being two goals down, but a last-minute goal from Alan Sunderland saw Arsenal lift the trophy with a 3–2 scoreline...
, 1979–801979-80 in English footballThe 1979–80 season was the 100th season of competitive football in England.- FA Cup :Second Division West Ham United, managed by John Lyall, won the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1–0 with a Trevor Brooking goal... - UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
winner: 1975–76 - FA Charity Shield winner: 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980
- European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
winner: 1976–77, 1977–781977-78 in English footballThe 1977–1978 season was the 98th season of competitive football in England, from August 1977 to May 1978:-First Division:Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side took on the First Division by storm, by winning the League Cup on 22 March and confirming themselves as league champions the following month...
, 1980–811980-81 in English footballThe 1980–81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League introduced a three points for a win system in place of the two points for a win system which had operated since the league's formation in 1889... - European Super CupEuropean Super CupThe UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...
winner: 1977 - FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
runner-up: 19771977 FA Cup FinalThe 1977 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1976–77 FA Cup, the 96th season of England's premier cup football competition. The match was played on 21 May 1977 at Wembley Stadium, London, and it was contested by Manchester United and Liverpool. United won the game 2–1. All three goals came in a... - European Super Cup runner-up: 1978
- Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
winner: 1981
Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
runner-up: 19831983 FA Cup FinalThe 1983 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium.Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season...
External links
- Thisisanfield.com Forgotten Heros
- LFChistory.net profile
- Official Liverpool FC profile
- 100 Players Who Shook The Kop - Jimmy Case
- Football heroes Jimmy Case, Liverpool part 1 at Sporting-heroes.net
- Football heroes Jimmy Case, Liverpool part 2 at Sporting-heroes.net
- Football heroes Jimmy Case, Brighton at Sporting-heroes.net
- Football heroes Jimmy Case, Southampton at Sporting-heroes.net