George Herd (born 6 May 1936) is a Scottish former
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 le ...
, who played for
Inverness Thistle
Inverness Thistle Football Club was a football club playing in the city of Inverness in northern Scotland.
Formation and timeline
They were members of the Highland Football League, winning the championship eight times, including its inaugur ...
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
,
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
,
Vancouver Royal Canadians
The Vancouver Royals were a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1967 as the Vancouver Royal Canadians, they were a charter member of the United Soccer Association (USA), and when the USA a ...
,
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Player
Herd began his professional football career in the Highland League with
Inverness Thistle
Inverness Thistle Football Club was a football club playing in the city of Inverness in northern Scotland.
Formation and timeline
They were members of the Highland Football League, winning the championship eight times, including its inaugur ...
whilst undertaking his
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
at Fort George Barracks, just outside
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
. Herd transferred from Inverness Thistle to
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
amateur club Queen's Park in 1956. He turned professional in May 1957 after moving to
Clyde Clyde may refer to:
People
* Clyde (given name)
* Clyde (surname)
Places
For townships see also Clyde Township
Australia
* Clyde, New South Wales
* Clyde, Victoria
* Clyde River, New South Wales
Canada
* Clyde, Alberta
* Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...
. In his first season at Clyde, he won the 1957–58 Scottish Cup and won his first Scotland
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. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
, a 4–0 defeat to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in April 1958. He won a further four Scotland caps during his time at Clyde before departing for Sunderland in 1961 where he also took up a coaching role in 1969.
He later had a spell at Hartlepool United in 1970–71 before retiring from playing.
Coach and manager
After his playing career, he had coaching spells at
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
and Sunderland.
Herd was appointed manager of
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
Allan Ball
Allan Ball (26 February 1943 – 21 July 2018) was an English footballer. Born in Hetton-le-Hole in County Durham, Ball played as a goalkeeper, spending most of his professional career with Scottish club Queen of the South in Dumfries. Ball ma ...
,
Iain McChesney
Iain McChesney is a former professional association footballer with Scottish Football League club Queen of the South from Dumfries. McChesney is the longest serving player in the club's history, playing with them from 1960 to 1981. McChesney ...
,
George Cloy
George Cloy is former professional footballer who played his entire 12-year senior career with Dumfries club Queen of the South as a utility player. Cloy also played for Kello Rovers, Threave Rovers, Dalbeattie Star and Crichton.
When late ...
, Nobby Clark and Jimmy Robertson. He left this position midway through the following season from which the club went on a promotion winning run.
Herd joined
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
in a coaching capacity.
At Northern League outfit Seaham Red Star in 2005, Herd began working with Neil Hixon and Stuart Gooden on the coaching staff. With Hixon as manager, Herd acted as
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
. They earned promotion to Division One of the Northern League, as Division Two runners up in 2006–07
Along with Nixon, Herd moved to Sunderland RCA the following season. They again got promotion from Northern League Division Two in their second season ( 2009–10).
Honours
Inverness Thistle
*
Inverness Cup
The Inverness Cup is a football competition for teams around Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. Originally, it was contested by the four Inverness based teams: Caledonian, Citadel, Clachnacuddin and Thistle, but became an invitational tournam ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1957–58
*
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...
Football League Second Division
The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...