James Furnell (born 23 November 1937 in

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Career

Furnell started his career at his local club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, signing at the age of 17. As third-choice keeper he only played twice in eight seasons at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

, before being signed by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in February 1962. Furnell immediately took the No. 1 jersey at Liverpool, playing all 13 of the club's remaining matches that seasons, as they won a

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

title and promotion to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. However, after breaking his finger in a training ground accident early in the 1962-63 season, he lost his place to

Tommy Lawrence Thomas Johnstone Lawrence (14 May 1940 – 10 January 2018) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers from the 1950s to the 1970s. Lawrence was with Liverpool for 14 years, making more t ...

. He played two matches in 1963-64 before being sold to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

for £15,000 in November 1963. Furnell immediately slotted into the Arsenal first team, making his debut the day after he signed, on 23 November 1963 against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

; the match finished 5–3 to Arsenal. Furnell went on to become the long-term successor to Jack Kelsey, playing as Arsenal's No. 1 for the next five seasons (aside from 1964-65, when he shared the spot with Tony Burns). Under manager Billy Wright, however, Arsenal struggled to make an impact in either the League or the Cups. With the promotion of

Bertie Mee Bertram Mee (25 December 1918 – 21 October 2001) was an English footballer and manager. After his playing career was cut short by injury, he later became a manager and led Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971. Playing career Born in Hig ...

to manager in 1966, Arsenal's form began to pick up, although Furnell didn't stay at the club long enough to enjoy it. Although he played in the 1967-68 League Cup

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 ...

against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

(which Arsenal lost 1–0), in the following match, an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, he made an error which let in Birmingham's equaliser. He was dropped with

Bob Wilson Bob Wilson may refer to: Association footballers *Bob Wilson (footballer, born 1867) (1867–?), Irish international footballer of the 1880s *Bob Wilson (footballer, born September 1898) 1920s, Scottish footballer with Third Lanark and Fall Ri ...

taking his place, and never played for the Arsenal first team again. He was sold in September 1968 for £8,000 to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

; he had played 167 matches for Arsenal in total. After two years with Rotherham he moved to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

in 1970. He played for five and a half years for Plymouth before his retirement in the summer of 1976. As part of the club's centenary in 2003, Furnell was named as goalkeeper in the Pilgrims' all-time greatest XI by the club's fans. After retiring as a player, he was a coach at Plymouth before joining

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in 1981; he served as a coach there until his retirement in 1998. In a 2007 web poll, Furnell was named Plymouth's best goalkeeper of all time.

References

External links

*
Profile at LFCHistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furnell, Jim 1937 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Burnley F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Footballers from Clitheroe Plymouth Argyle F.C. non-playing staff Blackburn Rovers F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players