Jimmy Methven
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Methven | ||
| Date of birth | 7 December 1868 | ||
| Place of birth | Ceres, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 25 March 1953 (aged 84) | ||
| Playing position | Full back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1891–1906 | Derby County | 458 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1906–1922 | Derby County | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
James Methven (7 December 1868 – 25 March 1953), was a Scottish association football player. Methven became synonymous with Derby County; he played for the club in three FA Cup Finals and managed the club for 16 years. In total Methven was on the books at the Baseball Ground for 31 years and represented the club, in one capacity or another, in over 1000 matches.
Methven, though born in Ceres, Fife, first played senior football in Edinburgh, for Leith Athletic, Heart of Midlothian and St Bernard's. He joined a growing band of Scottish professionals in English football when he signed forms with Derby County at the end of the 1890-91 season.
Under Harry Newbould Derby endured a period of great frustration, never fulfilling what talent that team had and Methven was involved in all the matches that mattered. In total he played 511 games and (was one of three players who) appeared in each of the three unsuccessful FA Cup appearances for the Rams, before taking the reins as manager immediately following Harry Newbould’s departure in 1906. He last played for the club (at the age of 38) on 2 February 1907, in an FA Cup Second Round tie against Lincoln City, which Derby won 1-0.
Methven was unable to stop the slide into the Second Division during his first season with the club and only converted the club's wayward fortunes when he persuaded the 36-year-old Bloomer to return home in 1910, returning Derby County to the First Division as deserved champions. Methven finally left Derby in June 1922 having been in charge for 498 games (winning more than he lost) finally working for a local authority after a stint as a scout with Stoke City.
External links
- Jimmy "Logie" Methven profile, originally published in the Derby Evening Telegraph, October 2000.
- Genealogy of Jimmy Methven
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