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Jim Smith
Personal information
Full name	James Michael Smith
Date of birth	October 17, 1940 (1940-10-17) (age 67)
Place of birth	Sheffield, England
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth clubs
	Oaksfield
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1959–1961 1961–1965 1965–1968 1968–1969 1969–1972 1972–1975	Sheffield United Aldershot Halifax Town Lincoln City Boston United Colchester United	000 (0) 074 (1) 114 (7) 054 (0) 008 (0)
Teams managed
1969–1972 1972–1975 1975–1978 1978–1982 1982–1985 1985–1988 1988–1991 1991–1995 1995–2001 2006–2007	Boston United (player-manager) Colchester United (player-manager) Blackburn Rovers Birmingham City Oxford United Queens Park Rangers Newcastle United Portsmouth Derby County Oxford United
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

James Michael "Jim" Smith (born October 17, 1940, Sheffield) is a former English football (soccer) player and and he also had a successful career as a manager. He is currently a member of the board at Oxford United. His nickname is The Bald Eagle.

Smith began his playing career in 1959, when he signed for hometown Sheffield United as a trainee (though Smith himself supports Sheffield Wednesday). After failing to break into the first team he was transferred to Aldershot for the 1961–1962 season.

At the beginning of the 1965–1966 season, after scoring one goal in 74 league appearances, Smith left Aldershot to join Halifax Town. He made 113 league starts for Halifax, scoring 7 goals, before moving to Lincoln City in 1968. After a year at Lincoln in which he made 54 appearances Smith signed for non-league Boston United as player-manager.

A good start to his managerial career at Boston meant that in November 1972 Colchester United offered Smith the position of player-manager at the club. Success came quickly as Smith guided Colchester to the Football League Fourth Division title in 1974. His performance at the club attracted the attention of bigger clubs, and in 1975 he quit the club, and hung up his boots, to join Blackburn Rovers as manager.

He led Blackburn for three years before leaving to be appointed boss of Birmingham City in 1978. Unfortunately, Birmingham were relegated from the old Football League First Division the next year. However, Smith managed to guide Birmingham back into the top flight the next season. In 1982 Smith parted company with the St Andrews club and joined Oxford United as manager. He led them to the old Football League Third Division championship in 1984. The next year they were again promoted, this time into the top flight, for the first time in their history as Oxford won the old Second Division. Despite this spectacular success, United chairman Robert Maxwell refused to improve Smith's contract, which led to Smith's resignation from Oxford and then being offered the job of manager at Queens Park Rangers, which he accepted.

In his first year at QPR, Smith took the club to the League Cup final, but they lost 3-0 to his former club Oxford. Smith continued to manage QPR until 1988 when he left to become manager of Newcastle United. However, the following year Newcastle were relegated and failure to reverse the club's fortunes led to Smith's sacking in 1991.

He quickly bounced back and was appointed manager of Portsmouth the same year. He had a fairly successful reign at Fratton Park for four years, including reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1992, although the sale of key players such as John Beresford, Darren Anderton and Guy Whittingham began to have a negative effect on results. They missed out on automatic promotion only on goal difference in 1993, and defeat in the playoffs ended their Premiership dream. Smith was finally sacked two years later after a decline in form which saw them struggling at the wrong end of Division One.

Smith then went into semi-retirement and became chief-executive of the League Managers' Association in 1995. However, he returned to management that summer when offered the manager's position at Derby County. In his first full season in charge, Derby came second in Division One, and gained promotion to the FA Premier League. Smith was assisted by Steve McClaren, who has since found success as manager of Middlesbrough and is now the England manager. For three seasons Derby showed impressive improvements in the Premiership, finishing 12th, 9th and 8th. However, in the next two seasons Derby narrowly avoided relegation, finishing 16th and 17th. Smith resigned on 7 October 2001 after refusing an offer to become Director of Football. Subsequent managers Colin Todd and John Gregory were unable to stave off relegation.

In January 2002, Smith was appointed assistant manager at Coventry City, working alongside Roland Nilsson. Though results improved after he arrived, Smith was sacked, along with Coventry's entire management team, three months later, having failed to attain a playoff place. Later that year, former club Portsmouth offered Smith a position as assistant manager to Harry Redknapp. Having accepted, Smith helped Redknapp win the Division One title at the first attempt in 2002–03, and went on to become a major part of Pompey's consolidation process in the Premier League. In November 2004, both Smith and Redknapp resigned from Portsmouth after the appointment of a Director of Football. Both considered this to threaten their authority and control in team matters.

Redknapp soon became the manager of Southampton and Smith was appointed his assistant a few weeks later on December 22, 2004, having previously turned down the role of chief scout. However, Southampton were relegated at the end of the season and Smith's contract was not renewed due to cost-cutting.

Smith returned to front-line management a few months later when he was appointed manager of Oxford United again in March 2006. In addition, he also became a director of the club. He was unable to save them from relegation to the Conference National. They narrowly missed out on a return to the Football League in the 2006–07 season, but the board kept faith in him for the following season.

On November 9, 2007, after a poor start to the 2007-2008 season, Smith decided it was time to step down as Oxford United manager. He remains at the club as a member of the Board.

• Jim Smith management career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Boston United F.C. – Managers

Cringan (1934–35) • Vaughton (1935–36) • Greaves (1936–37) • Tunstall (1937–39) • Tunstall (1945–47) • McGraham (1948–49) • Ithell (1950–52) • Tunstall (1952–54) • Middleton (1954–56) • King (1957–59) • Middleton (1960–61) • Todd (1961–63) • Donovan (1965–69) • Smith (1969–72) • Jobling (1972–75) • Wilkinson (1975–77) • F. Taylor & Bolland (1977) • Walker (1977–78) • Phelan (1980–81) • Froggatt (1981–83) • Mann (1983–85) • O'Brien (1986–87) • Kerr (1987–89) • Cusack (1990–92) • Morris (1992–94) • Sterland (1994–96) • Fee (1996–98) • Evans (1998–2002) • Thompson (2002–04) • Rodwell (2004c) • Evans (2004–07) • T. Taylor (2007–) (c) caretaker

v • d • e Colchester United F.C. – Managers

Fenton (1946–48) • Allen (1948–53) • Butler (1953–55) • Fenton (1955–63) • Franklin (1963–68) • Graham (1968–72) • Mocham (1972) • Smith (1972–75) • Roberts (1975–82) • Hunter (1982–83) • Lea (1983–86) • Walker (1986–87) • Brown (1987–88) • Wallace, Jr. (1989–89) • Foley (1989–90) • Mills (1990) • Atkins (1990–91) • McDonough (1991–94) • Burley (1994) • Wignall (1995–99) • Cook (1999) • Whitton (1999) • Wadsworth (1999) • Whitton (1999–2003) • Williams (2003) • Parkinson (2003–06) • Williams (2006–)

v • d • e Blackburn Rovers F.C. – Managers

Mitchell (1884–96) • Walmsley (1896–03) • Middleton (1903–22) • Carr (1922–26) • Crompton (1926–31) • Barritt (1931–36) • Taylor (1936–38) • Crompton (1938–41) • Hapgood (1944–47) • Scott (1947–47) • Bruton (1947–49) • Bestall (1949–53) • Carey (1953–58) • Duncan (1958–60) • Marshall (1960–67) • Quigley (1967–70) • Carey (1970–71) • Furphy (1971–73) • Lee (1974–75) • Smith (1975–78) • Pickering (1978–79) • Iley (1978) • Kendall (1979–81) • Saxton (1981–86) • Mackay (1987–91) • Dalglish (1991–95) • Harford (1995–96) • Parkes (1996–97) • Hodgson (1997–98) • Parkes (1998) • Kidd (1998–99) • Parkes (1999–2000) • Souness (2000–04) • Parkes (2004) • Hughes (2004–)

v • d • e Birmingham City F.C. – Managers

Jones (1892–1908) • Watson (1908–10) • McRoberts (1910–15) • Richards (1915–23) • Beer (1923–27) • Harvey (1927–28) • Knighton (1928–33) • Liddell (1933–39) • Camkin (1939–44) • Storer (1945–49) • Brocklebank (1949–54) • Turner (1954–58) • Turner and Beasley (1958) • Beasley (1958–60) • Merrick (1960–64) • Mallett (1964–65) • Cullis (1965–70) • Goodwin (1970–75) • Bell (1975–77) • Ramsey (1977–78) • Smith (1978–82) • Saunders (1982–86) • Bond (1986–87) • Pendrey (1987–89) • Mackay (1989–91) • Macari (1991) • Cooper (1991–93) • Fry (1993–96) • Francis (1996–2001) • Bruce (2001–07) • McLeish (2007–)

v • d • e Oxford United F.C. – Managers

Thompson (1949–58) • Turner (1959–69) • Saunders (1969) • Summers (1969–75) • Brown (1975–79) • Asprey (1979–80) • Greaves (1980–82) • J. Smith (1982–85) • Evans (1985–88) • Lawrenson (1988) • Horton (1988–93) • D. Smith (1993–97) • Shotton (1998–99) • D. Smith (2000) • Kemp (2000–01) • Wright (2001) • Atkins (2001–04) • Rix (2004) • Ramón Díaz (2004–05) • Talbot (2005–06) • J. Smith (2006–07) • Patterson (2007–)

v • d • e Queens Park Rangers F.C. – Managers

Cowan (1913–20) • Howie (1913–20) • Liddell (1920–25) • Hewison (1925–31) • Mitchell (1931–33) • O'Brien (1939–44) • Birrell (1935–39) • Vizard (1939–44) • Mangnall (1944–52) • Taylor (1952–59) • Stock (1959–68) • Dodgin (1968) • Docherty (1968) • Allen (1968–71) • Jago (1971–74) • Sexton (1974–77) • Sibley (1977–78) • Burtenshaw (1978–79) • Docherty (1979–80) • Venables (1980–84) • Mullery (1984) • Sibley (1984–85) • Smith (1985–88) • T. Francis (1988–89) • Howe (1989–91) • G. Francis (1991–1994) • Wilkins (1994–96) • Houston (1996–97) • Hollins (1997) • R. Harford (1997–98) • Dowie (1998) • G. Francis (1998–2001) • Holloway (2001–06) • Waddock (2006) • Gregory (2006–07) • M. Harford (2007) • De Canio (2007–)

v • d • e Newcastle United F.C. – Managers

Selection committee (1892–1930) • Cunningham (1930–35) • Mather (1935–39) • Seymour (1939–47) • Martin (1947–50) • Livingstone (1954–56) • Mitten (1958–61) • N. Smith (1961–62) • Harvey (1962–75) • Lee (1975–77) • Dinnis (1977–77) • McGarry (1977–80) • Cox (1980–84) • Charlton (1984–85) • McFaul (1985–88) • J. Smith (1988–91) • Ardiles (1991–92) • Keegan (1992–97) • Dalglish (1997–98) • Gullit (1998–99) • Robson (1999–2004) • Souness (2004–06) • Roeder (2006–07) • Allardyce (2007–)

v • d • e Portsmouth F.C. – Managers

Brettell (1898–1901) • Blyth (1901–04) • Bonney (1904–08) • Brown (1911–20) • McCartney (1920–27) • Tinn (1927–47) • Jackson (1947–52) • Lever (1952–58) • Cox (1958–61) • G. Smith (1961–70) • Tindall (1970–73) • Mortimore (1973–74) • St. John (1974–77) • Dickinson (1977–79) • Burrows (1979–82) • Campbell (1982–84) • Ball (1984–89) • Gregory (1989–90) • Burrows (1990–91) • J. Smith (1991–95) • Fenwick (1995–98) • Ball (1998–99) • Pulis (2000) • Claridge (2000–01) • Rix (2001–02) • Redknapp (2002–04) • Zajec (2004–05) • Perrin (2005) • Redknapp (2005–)

v • d • e Derby County F.C. – Managers

Newbould (1896–1906) • Methven (1906–22) • Potter (1922–25) • Jobey (1925–41) • Magner (1944–46) • McMillan (1946–53) • Barker (1953–55) • Storer, Jr. (1955–62) • Ward (1962–67) • Clough (1967–73) • Mackay (1973–76) • Murphy (1976–77) • Docherty (1977–79) • Addison (1979–82) • Newman (1982) • Taylor (1982–84) • McFarland (1984) • Cox (1984–93) • McFarland (1993–95) • McEwan (1995) • Smith (1995–2001) • Todd (2001–02) • McEwan (2002) • Gregory (2002–03) • Lillis (2003) • Burley (2003–05) • Brown (2005–06) • Westley (2006) • Davies (2006–07) • Thelwell (2007) • Jewell (2007–)