Chic Charnley

"James Charnley" redirects here. For the national landmark in Chicago, see James Charnley House.

Chic Charnley

Personal information
Full name	James Callaghan Charnley
Date of birth	11 June 1963 (1963-06-11)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	Possil Villa
1981–1982	Rutherglen Glencairn
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1982–1983	St Mirren	1	(0)
1983–1984	Ayr United	17	(3)
1984–1987	Pollok	0	(0)
1987–1988	Clydebank	31	(11)
1988	Hamilton Academical	14	(0)
1988–1991	Partick Thistle	73	(22)
1991–1992	St Mirren	42	(5)
1992	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	3	(0)
1992–1993	Djurgårdens IF	12	(3)
1993–1995	Partick Thistle	46	(2)
1995	Cork City	3	(0)
1995–1996	Dumbarton	18	(1)
1996–1997	Dundee	27	(6)
1997–1998	Hibernian	29	(4)
1998	Clydebank (trial)	1	(0)
1998	Partick Thistle	5	(0)
1998	Tarff Rovers	0	(0)
1998–1999	Portadown	13	(0)
1999–2002	Kirkintilloch Rob Roy	0	(0)
2002–2003	Partick Thistle	2	(0)
Teams managed
2003–2004	Partick Thistle (coach)
2011–	Clyde (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

James Callaghan Charnley, more commonly known as Chic Charnley, (born 11 June 1963 in Glasgow) is a former Scottish football player. He was sent off 17 times in a senior career which lasted for nearly 20 years.

Club career

Charnley played for a number of clubs: Ayr United, Clydebank, Hamilton Accies, Partick Thistle St. Mirren, Bolton (on loan), Djurgårdens IF, Dumbarton, Dundee, Hibs and Cork City F.C..

He also played for non-league clubs Pollok, Tarff Rovers and Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.

Early years

Chic was raised in the North of Glasgow and, evidently gifted as a footballer, was tipped for greatness. However, the early part of his career was chequered by poor discipline which gave him the reputation as a hot head. This scared many clubs away from his talent.

Chic had a voracious appetite for trouble. During a training session in Glasgow's Ruchill Park, he was attacked by two locals brandishing samurai swords. Charnley responded by leading his teammates in an attack on the two men.

He was brought up a supporter of Celtic. He did have a trial for Celtic playing one game for them in a friendly against Manchester Utd at Old Trafford. Many rated him as the best player in the game and it was rumoured that he had done enough to win a contract. However, Celtic's manager Lou Macari was sacked not long after this friendly game and rumours of a move to Celtic came to nothing.

Partick Thistle

It is as a player with Partick Thistle that he will be best remembered. He played for the club on a few different occasions and is considered something of a cult hero at Firhill. He initially left Partick for St. Mirren in June 1991 in a swap deal that saw he and David Elliot exchange for Mark McWalter and George Shaw.

Charnley was an inconsistent performer with displays ranging from poor to outstanding. At many points in his career, it seemed that top-flight football was beyond him. He was freed by Partick Thistle when the Maryhill club was in the Premier Division.

During his time at Partick, he and two other players were approached by two teenage boys during a training session in a Glasgow Park. Despite suffering a stab wound to his hand when one of the boys brandished a Samurai sword, Charnley was able to disable his attacker with a punch.

Many Thistle supporters rate him the best player their club has had.^{[citation needed]}

Hibernian

Many consider his time at Hibernian to be the best period of his career. Whilst at Hibernian, many called for his inclusion in the Scotland squad, though this did not materialise.

Back to Partick

His final season as a player was with Partick Thistle in the Premier League during the 2002–03 season. Chic was approaching the age of 40, and made just two more appearances for Thistle after their promotion. His final match was perhaps fittingly against Hibernian at Easter Road. He came on as a substitute in a 3–2 victory for Thistle.

Coaching career

The next season (2003–04) he was appointed coach at Thistle under manager Gerry Collins, but when Collins was sacked by the Thistle board he resigned in protest at their decision.

Chic returned to Firhill during the 2006/2007 pre-season for ex-teammate Kenny Arthur's testimonial match versus a Celtic XI. With the game in injury time and Thistle losing 2–1, Chic rifled home a 25 yard strike to draw level.

Charnley was appointed assistant manager of Clyde in February 2011 by Jim Duffy.

Retirement

Between February 2007 and January 2008, he co-owned a pub called 'The Thistle' in Maryhill Road, Glasgow.

External links

• Chic Charnley career stats at Soccerbase