Jimmy Bloomfield
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Henry Bloomfield | ||
| Date of birth | 15 February 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Notting Hill, London, England | ||
| Date of death | 3 April 1983 (aged 49) | ||
| Place of death | Chingford, England | ||
| Playing position | Inside forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Hayes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1952–1954 | Brentford | 42 | (5) |
| 1954–1960 | Arsenal | 210 | (54) |
| 1960–1964 | Birmingham City | 123 | (28) |
| 1964–1965 | Brentford | 44 | (4) |
| 1965–1966 | West Ham United | 10 | (0) |
| 1966–1968 | Plymouth Argyle | 25 | (1) |
| 1968–1970 | Leyton Orient | 45 | (3) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1968–1971 | Leyton Orient | ||
| 1971–1977 | Leicester City | ||
| 1977–1981 | Leyton Orient | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
James Henry "Jimmy" Bloomfield (15 February 1934 – 3 April 1983) was an English football player and manager.
Born in Notting Hill, North Kensington, London, Bloomfield started his career at non-league Hayes before joining Second Division side Brentford in October 1952. After Brentford were relegated in 1954, Bloomfield was snapped up by Arsenal for £8,000 as a replacement for Jimmy Logie.
Bloomfield made his debut at the start of the season, against Everton on 25 August 1954, though he only played 19 times that season, and it was not until 1955–56 did he become a first-team regular. A powerful inside forward with a high work rate and accurate passing, Bloomfield was part of Arsenal's attack from 1955 to 1960, one of Arsenal's few stars during a mediocre period for the club. He won caps for England at U23 level (but never at full level) and the Football League XI, and also played in the London XI that lost the first Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final against FC Barcelona in 1958.
Bloomfield played 227 times for Arsenal, scoring 56 goals. However, with the arrival of George Eastham in 1960, Bloomfield lost his place in the team, and was sold to Birmingham City in November that year. Bloomfield spent four seasons with the Blues, reaching and losing another Fairs Cup final in 1961 (this time to Roma). He helped Birmingham win the 1963 League Cup, scoring a goal in the final itself as Birmingham overcame local rivals Aston Villa. In the summer of 1964 he returned to Brentford, and later had spells with West Ham United, Plymouth Argyle and Leyton Orient.
In 1969 he became Orient's player-manager, and won the Third Division in his second full season, using only 18 players in the process1969–70. He was appointed by newly promoted Leicester City in 1971, and kept the Foxes in the First Division for six years. They also reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1973–74 (which they lost, after a replay, to Liverpool). During his 6-year stint at Leicester, Bloomfield created a side of free-flowing skilful football on a shoe-string budget, featuring the likes of Frank Worthington, Keith Weller and Len Glover and is still considered one of the club's all-time great managers.[1] After his departure in 1977, Leicester went straight down the next season under Frank McLintock.
Bloomfield returned to manage Orient again in 1977, and his second spell in charge included a run to the FA Cup semi-finals in 1977–78, where they were defeated by Bloomfield's old club Arsenal. Bloomfield left in 1981 following a dispute with the club chairman, Brian Winstone, over the sale of Nigerian international winger John Chiedozie. After that he was a coach at Luton Town, until his sudden death in Chingford, Essex, in 1983, from cancer at the age of 49.
Personal life
Bloomfield's younger brother Billy was also a professional footballer for Brentford. His nephew Ray Bloomfield also featured for the Arsenal youths, and Aston Villa as a first team player, before moving onto to play soccer in America.[2]
References
- ↑ "the cunning fox - norfox.net - Leicester City FC". norfox.net. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ↑ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 23. ISBN 0955294916.
- Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony, ed. Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.
- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.