Jimmy McGeough (born 13 August 1944) is a Northern Irish former football player and manager.

Playing and coaching career

His clubs included Derry City, Lincoln and

Waterford United Waterford Football Club formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930. Originally the ...

. Joining Derry in July 1963 he was part of the only Derry City side ever to win the Irish League (Northern Ireland) and was an Irish Cup winner too with the Candystripes. He scored in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

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McGeough played his last game for Derry at Coleraine on 9 October 1965 bringing an end to a remarkable sequence of never having missed a single match for Derry since his arrival in July 1963. Derry withdrew from the Irish League in 1973 due to civil unrest. He signed for Waterford from Derry in December 1965 for £3,000 and was part of the great Waterford side of the 1960s and 1970s. He left for Lincoln City at the end of the 1971/72 season but moved back to the Blues in November 1974. He was capped at Inter-League level by the IFA Premiership, Irish League and the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

. Jimmy was appointed the first player-manager of Thurles Town in June 1977. However, he departed for

New York Apollo The New York Greeks was an American soccer club based in New York City that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. The team began as the amateur Greek-Americans. The club played lower Premier Division of ...

a year late

In 1980, the Apollo came under new ownership which renamed the team the New York United. In 1981, he was the American Soccer League Coach of the Year. McGeough also spent ten seasons as the head coach of the SUNY Farmingdale. The dates are unknown, but he compiled a 111–76–6 record. McGeough enjoyed success as a coach in the US, mainly with Long Island Rough Riders. He linked up with Alfonso Mondelo in 2000 to coach

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

but soon after the Mutiny franchise was closed down by

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

. After nearly a quarter of a century in the United States he was appointed manager of

in January 2002. taking over following Paul Power's resignation late in the 2001 season. He guided the club to a top half finish in the First Division in his first season. The following year, McGeough's first full season in charge, Waterford won the First Division title. McGeough unearthed some exciting talents with Republic of Ireland under-21 goalkeeper Dan Connor (footballer), Daryl Murphy and Neale Fenn, all proving to be exceptional signings. However off the pitch, McGeough had a difficult relationship with club chairman Ger O'Brien. A dip in form with a series of poor results followed and their rift becoming public knowledge. The rift stemmed from McGeough's request to have Kevin O'Brien, the chairman's son, released. A restructuring of the coaching staff, reportedly supported by the manager, saw McGeough handing over some of his power to assistant Giles Cheevers. He was sacked in December 2003 leading to much outrage from Waterford's fans. Jimmy McGeough took charge of Larne FC in August 2004,
/ref> and in his first season led the Antrim club to the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...

final at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

. The tiny club also survived in the Irish Premier League before McGeough returned to the U.S. to rejoin his family. It was reported at the time he returned home that it was due to 9/11-related terrorism laws that prevented McGeough from being out of the US for more than 12 consecutive months. He is coaching children in Florida with his son Jim who had an extensive professional career. His other sons, Paul and Tony were also professionals in the New York soccer scene. He is married to Belfast-born Margaret Ward and also has a daughter, Annette.

Honours

Player

Irish Football League Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

: ** Derry City 1964–1965 *

: ** Derry City 1964 *

: 5 **

1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72 * Top Four Cup: 4 **

1967–68,1968–69,1969–70,1970–71 * League of Ireland Shield: **

1968–1969 *

Texaco Cup The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions. It w ...

: **

1974/75

Manager

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

: **

2002–03

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGeough, Jimmy 1944 births American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Derry City F.C. players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States League of Ireland managers League of Ireland players Men's association football midfielders NIFL Premiership players Living people New York Apollo players Expatriate men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in the United States Association football managers from Northern Ireland Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Waterford F.C. managers Waterford F.C. players Farmingdale State Rams League of Ireland XI players English Football League players