Jim Blyth

James Anton Blyth (born 2 February 1955), generally known as Jim Blyth, is a Scottish football goalkeeper and coach. He played for Preston North End, Coventry City, Hereford United, Birmingham City and Nuneaton Borough. Blyth also represented Scotland twice and was selected for their 1978 FIFA World Cup squad. He has since worked for Coventry City, Celtic and Middlesbrough as a goalkeeping coach.

Playing career

Blyth played for Coventry City from 1972–1982, making 151 league appearances. His ability led to a proposed £440,000 transfer to Manchester United in 1979 which failed to go through when he failed a medical on a suspect back. This move would have made him the world's most expensive goalkeeper. He earned two caps for the Scotland national football team, and was Scotland's second-choice goalkeeper at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The 1977–78 season saw Jim playing in Coventry's most exciting top-flight team. A side containing Mick Ferguson, Ian Wallace, Terry Yorath, Graham Oakey, Bobby McDonald and Tommy Hutchison played a brand of attacking football that swept many teams aside, often by large margins of victory. One of the most memorable games of that year came at Christmas when Norwich City visited Highfield Road. The game reached its zenith in the final minutes when Blyth saved John Ryan's penalty kick to help Coventry to a 5–4 victory. In the same season he was Man of the Match in the home game against Liverpool when he turned in a faultless performance in a 1-0 victory, making several saves in particular from David Fairclough and a penalty from Phil Neal.

Jim Blyth (footballer, born 1890)

James Cameron Blyth (born 27 November 1890) was a Scottish footballer who played for Dumbarton.

References

Jim Blyth (footballer, born 1911)

James Banes Blyth (9 August 1911 – 1979), generally known as Jim Blyth, was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Newtongrange, Arniston Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur, Hull City, Heart of Midlothian, Falkirk and St Johnstone.

Football career

After spells with junior clubs Newtongrange and Armiston Rangers, Blyth joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1936. The centre half featured in 11 matches in his time at White Hart Lane. He moved on to Hull City in 1937 to play in a further 72 matches before having spells at Heart of Midlothian, Falkirk (loan), St Johnstone and Forfar Athletic.

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