Jimmy Gabriel

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Jimmy Gabriel
Personal information
Full name James Gabriel
Date of birth October 10, 1940 (age 66)
Place of birth Dundee, Scotland
Height 5 ft 10 in
Position Defensive Midfielder
Youth clubs

Tyneside Boys Club
Dundee North End
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1957-1960
1960-1967
1967-1972
1972-1974
1973
1974
1974-1979
Dundee
Everton
Southampton
Bournemouth
Swindon Town On loan
Brentford
Seattle Sounders
55 (0)
256 (33)
191 (25)
53 (4)
6 (0)
9 (0)
National team
1960-1963 Scotland 2 (0)
Teams managed
1990
1993-1994
Everton Caretaker
Everton Caretaker

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.

James (Jimmy) Gabriel (born October 10, 1940 in Dundee) is an ex-Everton and Scottish footballer.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Dundee

Jimmy Gabriel first came to the attention of Dundee when he played at right-half for the Scotland under-15 schoolboys in an international at Dens Park. His talent shone through and Dundee manager Willie Thornton snapped him up after the game, despite interest from several other top clubs.

He was initially loaned out to Dundee North End Juniors, but was recalled to Dens Park a year later. He made his debut for Dundee as a 17 year old on 13 August 1958 in a 2-1 Scottish League Cup victory over Motherwell.

He was to remain a first team regular at Dundee, going on to make 67 appearances. In March 1960, Bob Shankly had taken over as manager at Dundee and, although he wanted to keep Gabriel, was unable to refuse the offer of £27,000 from Everton’s manager, Johnny Carey. This made Jimmy the most expensive player to leave Scotland.

[edit] Everton

Gabriel joined Everton after three years at Dundee in March 1960. Although it took him some time to settle in to the pace of the English game, there was a steely determination about the young Scot that was to stand him in good stead. Gabriel became a strong influence in the Everton side as a powerful right-half whose preference for a defensive role made him a useful partner in the midfield for the more attacking Brian Harris on the left.

He played 304 games for Everton, scoring 37 goals and won two Scottish caps. He won the championship in 1962-3 and the FA Cup in 1966 with Everton.

By 1967, he was being challenged for his place in the side by Alan Ball and the emerging Howard Kendall. Southampton's manager Ted Bates tried to sign him initially in March 1967 but Gabriel was reluctant to move South. Eventually, when it was clear that Kendall was to be first-choice, Gabriel agreed to sign for the Saints in July, joining them for a fee of £42,500.

[edit] Southampton

At Southampton, Gabriel was a vital part of the defence alongside John McGrath and Dennis Hollywood and helped Saints avoid relegation several times. He was a tough defender but had skill to match. He was occasionally drafted in as an emergency striker with some degree of success.

He played a total of 224 matches for the Saints, scoring 27 goals.

[edit] Bournemouth, Swindon and Brentford

He left The Dell at the end of the 1971-72 season to join Bournemouth.

He also spent a short period on loan at Swindon Town before finishing his UK playing career at Brentford.

[edit] United States

In 1974 Gabriel came to the United States as a player/coach with the Seattle Sounders of the NASL . He had great success as a midfielder/defender and scored the first goal in the Kingdome in 1976 against Pelé and the New York Cosmos. The goal was a fabulous header off a cross from Tommy Jenkins, his former Southampton team mate.

He became head coach in 1977 and coached several Sounder legends including Mike England, Geoff Hurst and Bobby Moore to the North American Soccer League’s (NASL) championship game that season. Gabriel went on to coach George Best and the San Jose Earthquakes (NASL) from 1980-1982 for one outdoor season and two indoor seasons.

[edit] Coaching at Bournemouth and Everton

On returning to Britain in 1986, he spent three years as coach to Bournemouth, before going back to Goodison Park in 1990, where he became the assistant to Colin Harvey at Everton.

He was briefly caretaker manager of Everton for one game in November 1990 and for seven games between December 1993 and January 1994.

He continued coaching Everton's reserves until 1997.

[edit] Back to the U.S.A.

Gabriel returned to Seattle in 1997. He coached both the Washington Huskies men's and women's teams, who each won Pac-10 championships in 2000. Gabriel has also been the coaching director of the Washington State Youth Soccer Association and has worked in certifying coaches for the State Association. He and his wife, Pat, reside in Kirkland, Washington.

[edit] Scottish International career

He had two caps with Scotland and six caps as the captain of the Under 23 Scottish Team.

[edit] Honours won

[edit] As a player

With Everton

  • 1962-63 Football League championhip
  • 1966 F.A. Cup


[edit] External links