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Born on 5th November 1950 in Chingford,
North-East London, England.
Height : - .m
Weight : - - kgs Jimmy
Neighbour was a player who came through the ranks at Spurs, making a
name for himself with his darting, jinking runs down the wing in an era
that saw the heady years of the early 1970s turn into the tougher times
of the mid-1970s. He was a notable
schoolboy player in the Chingford area before coming to the notice of
Spurs, who he ended up making
190 appearances for. Although not the slightest of players, his
balance was superb and he could throw defenders one way with a dip of
his shoulder and glide past them in the traditional winger's style.
Jimmy also got among the goals in his time, with a fine finish and the
knack of arriving in the area at the right time to get on the end of a
pass. Neighbour's schooling was at
Whitehall Road County Primary and Heathcote Secondary School, the latter
where him ability brought him schoolboy representative recognition with
Waltham Forest, Essex and London Schools. One of his London
Schools games was at White Hart Lane in 1966 against Birmingham Schools
before he signed for the club, although he was already training with
Spurs on Thursday evenings.
Jimmy joined Spurs in 1966 as a 15 year
old and his rise to fame was quick, getting into the first team in 1970 and
he was in the 1971 League Cup winning
side, when Spurs beat Aston Villa at Wembley in a game when he played a
part in one of the goals, although he was later replaced by Jimmy
Pearce. His first South-East
Counties match for the juniors saw him score against Brentford and
within a season he had moved into the Third 'A' team, who played in the
Metropolitan League. Still young enough to represent the Youth
team, his 1967-68 season brought him a London FA Youth Cup winners
medal, as the side beat Millwall in the final.
Moving up to the reserves when he signed
as a professional, there was a debut goal against Swindon Town in April
1969, one of 19 goals he scored that season in 52 games and was part of
two Combination League winning sides. In the club's reserve side,
Jimmy scored 37 goals in 138 matches, netting 11 for the 'A' Team in 46
games and 24 from 61 youth and junior appearances.
His performances made him a player who
was one for the future, making his debut in October 1970 as a substitute
for Alan Gilzean in a 3-0 win over Stoke City and then getting a first
game in the starting line-up in the second leg of the League Cup
semi-final against Bristol City, keeping his place for the final win
over Villa. While still turning out
for the reserves on occasion, such as the London Challenge Cup final
when he scored against Hayes in 1974, Jimmy was not a regular
first-teamer until 1975. Over the years, Bill
Nicholson stuck with Neighbour despite a number of alternatives
presenting themselves. His willingness to chase back helped the
midfield and he was always willing to run directly at his opponent to
get wide and cross for the likes of Chivers, Peters or Gilzean ... all
of whom were excellent with their heads and were grateful for his
supply.
Neighbour's time at Spurs was
inextricably linked with Bill Nicholson and he scored in the last game
Bill Nick took charge of as manager, hitting the target with both goals
in a 2-0 win over Derby County at White Hart Lane. After Nicholson left the
club, Jimmy fell out of favour and he moved on to Norwich City in
September 1976, where he had three years before he played in the US for
a short spell with Seattle Sounders before he returned to London
with West Ham United. The winger starred in the FA Cup run the
Second Division Hammers had in 1979-80, but was not among those who
played at Wembley, although he did feature for the side in the 1980-81
League Cup final and replay, which they lost to Liverpool.
When not in the first team at the end of
his time at West Ham, Neighbour went on a three month loan spell at
Bournemouth, playing his last league game on 12th February 1983 against
Wrexham. Having spent four years at the Boleyn
Ground, Neighbour retired from playing when released at the end of the
1982-82 season.
After hanging up his boots, Jimmy played a
few games for Enfield and did a short coaching stint at Wealdstone,
before he returned to manage Enfield, taking them to a FA Trophy win in 1988. Moved onto
West Ham United as the club's Youth Development Officer, before moving
to Doncaster Rovers as assistant manager in 1994, while also coaching
the Spurs Under-14 and Under-16 sides around this time. Spent two years
in charge at Clarence Park as St. Albans City manager, until dismissed
in 1998. Went to Charlton Athletic to head their Youth Development
scheme for a short while in 1999. Still living in Chingford,
Jimmy returned to Tottenham to coach the Under-17 side in July 2000 and later took on
the management of the U17 side, staying for four years in total, with
his last season back with the Under-16s. In 2002, he guided the
U17s to the Premier Academy League Group A Championship. Staying
with Spurs until 2005, Neighbour was a schools community coach and
worked with the Premier Academy League as a match-day assessor in the
2008-09 season. Had
his own sports shop in Chingford for many years.
Jimmy Neighbour passed away in a private
hospital in Buckhurst Hill of a heart attack on 11th April 2009
following a hip operation.
MIDDLE NAME : Edward
NICKNAME :
Career Record
| Club |
Signed |
Fee |
Debut |
Apps |
Goals |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
(apprentice) |
1966 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
(professional) |
November
1968 |
- |
24th
October 1970 v Stoke City (First Division) (home) won 3-0 |
134 + 22 as a sub |
11 |
|
Norwich City |
30th September 1976 |
£75,000 |
?? |
115 |
5 |
|
Seattle Sounders (US) |
May - August 1979 |
- |
?? |
21 |
1 |
|
West Ham United |
September 1979 |
£150,000 |
?? |
96 |
6 |
|
Bournemouth |
January 1983 |
Loan |
?? |
6 |
0 |
Career Record
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
104 + 15 as a sub League appearances; 8 goals
10 + 1 as a sub FA Cup appearances; 1 goal
14 + 3 as a sub League Cup appearances; 1 goal
6 + 3 as a sub European appearances; 1 goal
Norwich City
106 League appearances; 5 goals
- FA Cup appearances; goals
- League Cup appearances; goals
European appearances; goals
West Ham United
- League appearances; goals
- FA Cup appearances; goals
- League Cup appearances; goals
European appearances; goals
Honours
England international
- full caps; - goals
Under-21 caps; goals
League Cup winners medal 1970-71 (THFC)
UEFA Cup winners medal 1971-72 (THFC)
London FA Youth Cup winners medal 1967-68 (THFC)
FA Combination championship winners medal 1970-71, 1971-72 (THFC)
London Challenge Cup winners' medal 1973-74 (THFC)
League Cup runners-up medal 1980-81 (West Ham United)
FA Trophy 1988 (Enfield manager) |
