For the player of the same name see Jim Blyth (footballer born 1911)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Anton Blyth | ||
| Date of birth | 2 February 1955 | ||
| Place of birth | Perth, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1971–1972 | Preston North End | 1 | (0) |
| 1972–1982 | Coventry City | 151 | (0) |
| 1975 | Hereford United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 1982–1985 | Birmingham City | 14 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Nuneaton Borough | ? | (?) |
| National team | |||
| 1978 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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James Anton 'Jim' Blyth (born 2 February 1955 in Perth, Scotland) is a former Scottish football goalkeeper, and current goalkeeping coach at Middlesbrough.
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.[1] 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 MacDonald and the wonderful Tommy Hutchison played a brand of attacking football that swept many teams aside, often by large margins of victory. One of the most memororable 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 Jim Ryan's penalty kick to help the Sky Blues to a 5-4 victory
He was also a player of Preston North End (1970–1972), Hereford United (1975, on loan), and Birmingham City, when he moved from Coventry City in 1982. During his spell at Birmingham he fractured his forearm in 3 places during a game against Sunderland, playing for a full 70 minutes injured. The Blues still went on to win the game 2-1.
Blyth was a coach under Gordon Strachan when he was the manager at Coventry City, but departed when Strachan and assistant Garry Pendrey were dismissed from their posts in 2001. During his time at Coventry he was responsible for the signing of 16 year-old Chris Kirkland, who went on to play first team football for the Sky Blues before smashing the British transfer fee for a goalkeeper (£6 million) when bought by Liverpool in August 2001.
Blyth was the goalkeeping coach at Celtic, joining them in July 2005, appointed by Gordon Strachan. While Blyth was with 'the Bhoys', the club won three SPL titles, the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup twice, and qualified two seasons in a row for to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League in 2006/07 and 2007/08. This run included taking AC Milan into extra time in the San Siro before losing to 0-1 to the eventual champions.
He and Garry Pendrey left Celtic after the resignation of Gordon Strachan in May 2009. He reunited with them at Middlesbrough in May 2010.
*Brown, Jim (2000). Coventry: An Illustrated History. Desert Island Books Ltd. ISBN 1-874287-36=8.
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