Jim Magilton

Jim Magilton

Personal information
Full name	James Magilton
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder

James "Jim" Magilton (born 6 May 1969) is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager.

Playing career

Born in in Belfast, Magilton was a gifted midfield player with an exquisite range of passing who represented Northern Ireland 52 times. He played for Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, and Southampton before ending his playing career after seven-and-a-half years at Ipswich.

Liverpool and Oxford United

Magilton served as an apprentice at Liverpool alongside the likes of Steve McManaman and Mike Marsh. He was transferred to Oxford United in October 1990 at the age of 21. There he made 150 League appearances before moving to Southampton in February 1994.

Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday

Magilton was Alan Ball's second signing a month after being appointed as Southampton's manager, costing the Saints £600,000. Magilton made his first Saints appearance in a 4–2 victory at The Dell over Liverpool on 14 February 1994 in which match Matthew Le Tissier scored a hat-trick. Magilton soon established himself as a commanding presence in the central midfield role. Magilton was described in Holley & Chalk's In That Number as "a neat and indefatigable "fetcher and carrier" between penalty areas."

In the 1994–95 season Magilton started all 42 league games (scoring 6 goals) and continued to feature regularly in the following two seasons under managers David Merrington and Graeme Souness. Following Dave Jones' appointment in the summer of 1997, Magilton rejected the offer of a new contract and, after making 156 appearances with Southampton, in September 1997 he moved to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £1.6 million.

Ipswich Town

He moved on to Ipswich Town in 1999, first on loan, then as a permanent signing. He scored his only career hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers in the 1999–2000 play-off semi-final, securing the club's place in the play-off finals, and admitting himself that it was his best ever performance.

The 2005–06 season was Magilton's last at Ipswich as an active player however he was registered to play for 2006–07 whilst manager.

Managerial career

Magilton originally intended to secure a coaching role at another club, but made a tentative approach to the Board at Ipswich to fill the managerial vacancy after Joe Royle's departure prior to the 2006–07 season. Magilton was appointed as Ipswich manager on 5 June 2006, alongside former Academy Director Bryan Klug. Although registered as a player, Magilton stated that he would play no more games for the first team during the 2006–07 season, but hoped to turn out for the reserve side.

In May 2007, Magilton was linked with the Northern Ireland manager's job after it was vacated by Lawrie Sanchez, but the ex-international decided against taking the post, due to his lack of experience.

In Magilton's first season in charge (2006–07), he led Ipswich to a satisfactory 14th position. Then, in the 2007–08 Season, Magilton lead Town to an impressive 8th place finish, missing out on the play-offs by a single point. This position was obtained by virtue of Town's excellent home record despite their poor away form. Despite substantial investment in the squad, the team failed to make the play-offs in the 2008-09 season. This led to Magilton being sacked as manager on 22 April 2009.

Managerial statistics

As of 22 April 2009

Team	Nation	From	To	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Ipswich Town	England	5 June 2006	22 April 2009	148	56	41	51	37.8

External links

• Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
• Jim Magilton at Soccerbase
• Jim Magilton managerial career stats at Soccerbase
• LFCHistory.net profile
• Northern Ireland profile