Gordon William Chisholm (born 8 April 1960 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

) is a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

former player and manager. Chisholm played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, Hibernian,

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

and

Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...

. After retiring as a player, Chisholm became a coach, working in some of his roles as assistant to Ian McCall. Chisholm succeeded McCall as

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

in 2005, and guided the club to the 2005 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 1–0 to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. He was sacked the following season, however, and was subsequently appointed manager of

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

club Queen of the South. Chisholm guided the club to the 2008 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 3–2 to Rangers. Chisholm left Queens in 2010 to manage

, but was made redundant when the club went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in October 2010.

Playing career

In England

Chisholm started his career at

where he spent seven years and was a member of the side that reached the final of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

in March 1985, where they lost 1–0 to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. Unfortunately for Chisholm, he deflected Asa Hartford's shot into the net for Norwich's winning goal.

In Scotland

Chisholm moved back to Scotland later that year, when he joined Hibernian for a £65,000 fee.Jeffrey, pp36. He scored a goal on his Hibs debut, a

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

semi-final win against Rangers. This meant that Chisholm achieved the unusual feat of playing in League Cup Finals in the same calendar year in both England and Scotland. Unfortunately for Chisholm, both finals were lost, as Hibs lost 3–0 to

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He later had spells at

and

before retiring in 1992. Chisholm was a "tall, commanding

" who "could also play in the holding midfield role".

Managerial career

Early managerial career

Chisholm had assistant manager roles at

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

, Ross County, Airdrie,

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

and

, primarily working with Ian McCall.

Dundee United

Chisholm was appointed as caretaker manager of Dundee United on 14 March 2005, following the sacking of Ian McCall. Chisholm suffered 3–2 defeats against both

and Hibernian in his first two matches in charge. The following week, however, Chisholm's team triumphed over Hibernian, Rangers and Hearts. United then went on to end a run of eight games over three years without a win against neighbours Dundee, with goals by Mark Wilson and Jim McIntyre sealing a 2–1 win. These results meant that Chisholm won the SPL manager of the month award in his first full month in charge of the team (April 2005). Chisholm's team then retained SPL status in dramatic style with a late

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is the manager of Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada an ...

penalty at

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

on the final day of the season. United's victory against Hibs meant that they reached the 2005 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 1–0 against Celtic. As Celtic had already qualified for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, however, United qualified for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. Chisholm was given the position of manager on a permanent basis on 24 May 2005. Despite spending considerable money on players such as

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. Miller was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, becoming a fashion and fine-art pho ...

, Dundee United were eliminated in the qualifying stage of the

by Finnish team MyPa. Poor league form and a 3–2 defeat against Aberdeen in the third round of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Eddie Thompson.

Queen of the South

Chisholm again became Ian McCall's assistant, this time at

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

club Queen of the South, until McCall's departure from the club at the end of the 2006–07 season. Chisholm then accepted the role as manager, appointing Kenny Brannigan as his assistant manager. Chairman Davie Rae also announced that the club would become fully professional that season. In March 2008, Chisholm guided Queens to only their second ever

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, a game notable for a goal from 84 yards by

Ryan McCann Ryan Patrick McCann (born 21 September 1981) is a Scottish professional footballer. He last played with Edusport Academy in the Scottish Lowland Football League. Playing career Celtic, St Johnstone and Hartlepool McCann began his career wi ...

. Queens followed this with a 4–3 win against Aberdeen in the semi-final, which meant that Chisholm had guided Queens to their first ever

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the wo ...

appearance. Despite second half Queens goals by Steve Tosh and Jim Thomson, Rangers ran out 3–2 winners in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Queens finished fourth in the

."Club History" on the official Queen of the South website
As Rangers had already qualified for the

2008–09 UEFA Champions League The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 27 May 2009. ...

through their league position, Queens entered the

2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup association football, football tournament. The 2009 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), F ...

competition. They were drawn in a qualification round against Danish club

FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish association football, football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the to ...

. The first leg, hosted at the

Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, officially The Albert Bartlett Stadium, is a football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...

in Airdrie, was played in a quagmire with the Danes running out 2–1 winners. Queens delivered a stronger performance in the return leg, controlling most of the game but with only one goal to show for their superiority. With a 1–0 victory of no value in an aggregate result due to the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

and Queens pushing all out for the second goal, the Danes took advantage to score two goals in the last five minutes. Chisholm's team selection for the UEFA Cup ties caused some surprise. With

Stephen Dobbie Stephen Dobbie (born 5 December 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is a first-team coach at Blackpool. Dobbie is Queen of the South's second-highest goalscorer of all time (166 goals) and the club's record scorer for a sing ...

the most prolific striker at the club in a generation, Chisholm started with Dobbie on the bench for both ties instead preferring the workmanlike Stewart Kean. A strong start to the 2008–09 league campaign saw the club sitting top of the table in October. At the same time, Chisholm was linked with the vacant position at

, but Davie Rae refused Chisholm permission to talk to the ''Dark Blues''.http://sport.stv.tv/football/36178-dundee-seek-quick-replacement-for-rae/ Dundee seek quick replacement for Raehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dundee/7690081.stm Dundee thwarted in manager search This coincided with Queens losing form, as they gained only three draws from the next 12 games placing them only one place above bottom.Queen of the South Results
/ref> Their form improved in the latter part of the season and the club finished in mid-table. The 2009–10 season progressed in a similar fashion to the season before. Queens were top of the table, but poorer results followed that dragged the club into a mid table position. The club also suffered a 4–0 defeat in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Airdrie. Chisholm applied for the vacant managerial position at

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

, but the job was taken by

Jimmy Calderwood James Calderwood (28 February 1955 – 19 January 2025) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderwood played for Birmingham City and Dutch clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II Tilburg, Roda JC and Heracles Almelo. After retiring as a pl ...

. Two months later, Chisholm was offered the vacant position at

. Chisholm made the following comments after leaving QoS:http://www.qosfc.com/HeadlineNews/ViewFullStory/tabid/151/selectmoduleid/498/ArticleID/1127/reftab/36/Default.aspx 'Chis' takes over the 'hot seat' at Dundee"

Dundee

Chisholm took the Dundee job while they were top of the First Division, although the club had just sacked Jocky Scott after going four games without a win. Chisholm said ahead of his first game in charge, "It was an opportunity I just couldn't pass by at my time of life, but it will be a strange experience being on opposite sides tomorrow night." Chisholm was the first person to manage both major Dundee clubs. Billy Dodds, who was the Queen of the South strikers coach under Chisholm, joined him at Dens Park as his assistant. Dundee failed to win promotion at the end of the 2009–10 season and entered administration a few months later. The administrator made Chisholm and Dodds redundant the following day.

East Fife

After leaving

in October 2010 and spending over a year out of professional football, Chisholm set up an estate agent business with his wife. In March 2012, Chisholm was appointed assistant manager of East Fife by Gordon Durie on a part-time basis. After Durie took ill during a game, Chisholm took control of the team. He resigned from his position at East Fife in October 2012 due to the pressures of combining both tasks and commuting from

Lenzie Lenzie () is a small affluent town by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area and the historic county of Dunbartonshire in Scotland. It is about north-east of Glasgow city centre and south of Kirkintilloch. At ...

Methil Methil () is a coastal town in Fife, Scotland. Methil has ancient origins: two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. The town was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to ...

. Chisholm was then appointed as international development coach with Sunderland.

References

;Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Gordon 1960 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football central defenders Scottish men's footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Partick Thistle F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Dundee United F.C. non-playing staff Scottish football managers Dundee United F.C. managers Queen of the South F.C. managers Dundee F.C. managers Scottish Premier League managers Scottish Football League managers Sunderland A.F.C. non-playing staff Clydebank F.C. (1965) non-playing staff Partick Thistle F.C. non-playing staff Scottish football coaches