Jim Leighton
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James Leighton (born 24 July 1958) is a Scottish former professional
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 ...
. Leighton started his career with
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 ...
, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the management of
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
. Ferguson then signed Leighton for
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in 1988, but dropped him after he conceded three goals in the 1990 FA Cup Final. Leighton then had spells with
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 ...
,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
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 Sheffield United, and rebuilt his career after joining Hibernian in 1993. He returned to Aberdeen in 1997, leading to a career total of over 600 appearances in the league alone. Leighton played in 91 international matches for
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. He was chosen for Scotland's
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
squads in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
, 1986,
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
and
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, playing in the latter three of those tournaments.


Playing career


Aberdeen

Leighton joined Aberdeen from Scottish Junior club Dalry Thistle in 1977, after working in the
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
on leaving school. Before breaking into the Aberdeen first team he was loaned out for one season to Highland League club Deveronvale, where he is now an inductee of the club's Hall of Fame. Leighton achieved his greatest success under the management of
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
in the early to mid-1980s. With Leighton in goal, Ferguson's Aberdeen won Premier Division titles in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
, the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...
once, and the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
and
Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...
in 1983. Brian Clough, a notorious critic of other goalkeepers for the national team during the 1970s and 1980s, has been reported as saying "Jim Leighton is a rare bird – a Scottish goalkeeper that can be relied on."


Manchester United

Ferguson, who had left Aberdeen to manage
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in 1986, signed Leighton for £750,000 in 1988. In his first season with United, the club finished 11th. Leighton conceded 35 league goals and kept 14 clean sheets, while he conceded more than two goals only once in all competitions. In 1989–90 United finished two places lower in the league in 13th. Leighton played when United were defeated 5–1 in the league by newly promoted neighbours
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
, and conceded three goals in 1990 FA Cup Final, a 3–3 draw with Crystal Palace. He was then dropped from the United starting lineup for the replay, in which Les Sealey made a number of saves as United won the match 1–0. Leighton's disappointment was such that when handed the winner's medal by Sealey, he later returned it to his replacement's pocket, and when a medal specifically for Leighton was received by the club due to his appearance in the first match, he declined that too. The two players remained close friends, although Leighton's relationship with Ferguson deteriorated to the point where the two were no longer on speaking terms. Sealey retained the position of first-choice goalkeeper for the 1990–91 season after signing a permanent contract. Although Leighton remained contracted to United for nearly two more years, he played only one more game for the club (against Halifax Town in 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 ...
on 26 September 1990). He was fourth choice keeper in 1990–91 behind Sealey, Gary Walsh and youngster
Mark Bosnich Mark John Bosnich (; born 13 January 1972) is an Australian former professional association football, soccer player who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, and sports pundit. He played in England for Premier League clubs ...
, and was loaned 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 ...
between March and May 1991, a period in which they won the league title, although he did not play. Leighton remained fourth choice United keeper in season 1991–92 behind Peter Schmeichel, Walsh and youngster Ian Wilkinson. He spent a portion of that season on loan with third-tier
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
.


Return to Scotland

In March 1992 Iain Munro signed him for
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 ...
for a £200,000 fee. He played in the last dozen league games of the season winning the title in the Scottish second tier and promotion to the top flight. He was out of favour at Dens Park after Simon Stainrod replaced Munro as manager. Leighton had another non-playing loan spell at Sheffield United. His career was revitalised after Alex Miller signed him for Hibernian in summer 1993, Leighton playing over 150 games and missing only one league match in four seasons. He played in the 1993 Scottish League Cup Final defeat to Rangers. He was recalled to the Scotland national team, collecting 23 of his 91 Scotland caps at Hibs. He later said he played the best football of his career in his spell at Easter Road and rated Miller the second-best manager he played under. In 1997 Leighton returned to Aberdeen, where he featured regularly for another three seasons and reached 500 appearances for the club in 1998. He was captain in the 2000 Scottish League Cup final defeat 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 retired from playing after the 2000 Scottish Cup final defeat by Rangers. In that game he was substituted after three minutes, suffering a broken jaw in a challenge from Rod Wallace (requiring the insertion of metal plates into his face). With no substitute goalkeeper available, forward Robbie Winters took over in goal and Aberdeen lost 4–0. Leighton's final league appearance that season meant that he set the record for the oldest player in the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
at 41 years and 302 days (since broken by Andy Millen in 2007). In July 2000 he was given a
testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...
against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, the same opponent as in his first appearance for Aberdeen in a 1978 friendly; however he could not actually play in the match due to recovering from his cup final injury. He released his
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
the same year. In 2004 he was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.


International career

Leighton's international career lasted for 16 years, from 1982 to 1998. He was an uncapped squad member for the 1982 World Cup, before making his debut against
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
on 13 October 1982. Within two years he was his country's No. 1, and he played in all of his country's matches at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. After Leighton fell out of favour at club level,
Andy Goram Andrew Lewis Goram (13 April 1964 – 2 July 2022) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Bury, Lancashire, England, he started his career with Oldham Athletic and Hibernian, but he is best remembered for playing for ...
became Scotland first choice goalkeeper and played at Euro 92 and
Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
. Leighton regained the position after a man of the match performance in a 1-0 home win versus
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in November 1996 during
qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
for the 1998 World Cup. Leighton played all three Scotland matches at the tournament finals and became the last football player born in the 1950s to play in a FIFA World Cup game. He retired from international football on 10 October 1998. His last match was a European Championship qualifier against
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
when aged 40 years and 78 days. This set a new record as the oldest player to play for Scotland, since broken by David Weir in September 2010 and later by Craig Gordon in June 2024. Leighton is a member of the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, having won his 50th
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
in 1989. Leighton played 91 times for Scotland, second only to
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time as well as one of Celtic's, Liv ...
's 102 appearances.


Coaching career

Leighton became Aberdeen's goalkeeping coach after retiring as a player. He parted company with the club in August 2009 when manager
Mark McGhee Mark Edward McGhee (born 25 May 1957) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. A former forward, McGhee started his career at Greenock Morton in 1975 and had spells at clubs including Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Hamburg, ...
(his former teammate, who had also brought him to Reading years earlier) chose to replace him with Colin Meldrum. In February 2010 he was appointed as goalkeeping coach for
Huntly Huntly ( or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith ...
in the Highland League. Leighton was reappointed as the goalkeeping coach at Aberdeen on 13 December 2010, the first act of the new management team of Craig Brown and Archie Knox; he left the club again at the request of manager Derek McInnes, at the end of the 2014–15 season. He commented soon afterwards that he would look for work outside football, as he was unwilling to relocate from
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 ...
due to other work and family commitments, and subsequently became a sales manager for companies providing services to the city's offshore industry.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Deveronvale *Bells Cup East: 1977–78 Aberdeen 'A' * SFL Reserve Cup: 1978–79 *
Aberdeenshire Cup The Aberdeenshire Cup is a Scottish football tournament for all senior clubs affiliated to the Aberdeenshire and District Football Association (ADFA), being clubs from the historic counties of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. The Aberdeenshire ...
: 1980–81, 1982–83 Aberdeen *
Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...
: 1983–84, 1984–85 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86 *
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 ...
: 1985–86 * Drybrough Cup: 1980–81 *
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
: 1982–83 *
European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
:
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
Manchester United *
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 ...
: 1989–90 *
FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...
:
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
(shared) Dundee *
Scottish Football League 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 ...
(second tier): 1991–92 Scotland *The Rous Cup:
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
Individual * Scotland national football team roll of honour: 1989 * Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2008 * Aberdeen FC Hall of Fame inductee: 2004 * Deveronvale FC Hall of Fame Inductee: 2019


See also

* List of footballers in Scotland by number of league appearances (500+) *
List of Scotland national football team captains This article lists all the captain (association football), captains of the men's Scotland national football team. As of 9 June 2025, Scotland have played 842 officially recognised international matches and have had 156 different team captains. An ...


References


External links

* *
London Hearts profileClub profile
at sportingheroes.net
International profile
at sportingheroes.net
Profile and stats at ''AFC Heritage Trust''


at goalkeepersaredifferent.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Leighton, Jim 1958 births Living people Aberdeen F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Dalry Thistle F.C. players Dundee F.C. players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football goalkeepers Hibernian F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Footballers from Johnstone Reading F.C. players Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Premier League players Sheffield United F.C. players English Football League players UEFA Euro 1996 players Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Deveronvale F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. non-playing staff Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Highland Football League players