James McCluskey (born 6 November 1987) 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 ...

. McCluskey, who started his career with Hibernian, set a record for the youngest player to play in the Scottish Premier League when he made his senior debut. He has also played for St Johnstone,

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, St Mirren,

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 ...

, Dundee,

Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

and Stranraer.

Career

McCluskey graduated from the Hibernian youth team and made fourteen first team appearances in the 2004–05 season. When McCluskey made his debut, he became the youngest-ever player to play in the Scottish Premier League. This record was broken by

Scott Robinson Scott Robinson may refer to: * Scott Robinson (jazz musician) (born 1959), American jazz musician * Scott Robinson (ice hockey) (born 1964), Canadian National Hockey League player * Scott Robinson (singer) (born 1979), English singer in the boy ban ...

of Hearts in April 2008. McCluskey was released by Hibs, however, in the summer of 2007, having had "a difference of opinion" with

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

John Collins. Another reason for being released was a lack of first team opportunities He was then signed by First Division club St Johnstone. McCluskey suffered terrible injury problems with St Johnstone, breaking the same foot twice. In March 2008, having required surgery, McCluskey was ruled out for the rest of the season. He only made five league appearances before being released at the end of the 2007–08 season. After his release by St Johnstone, McCluskey had a trial period with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n club

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

, but he failed to win a contract. He then went on trial with

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club Catania, but eventually signed for

until the end of the 2008–09 season. After signing a new deal, he remained with the club for the 2009–10 season, before being released at the end of the season. In July 2010, McCluskey went on trial at

, playing in trial games against

Hamilton Accies Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

and a Nigerian touring XI. In the friendly match against the Nigerian side, he scored a penalty in a 4–2 Morton victory. After the trial, manager

Allan Moore Allan Moore (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish football player and manager. Playing career During his playing career he turned out for several Scottish clubs including Dumbarton, Heart of Midlothian, St Johnstone, Partick Thistle and Mor ...

announced he had ended his interest signing McCluskey. After failing to win a contract at Morton, McCluskey signed a one-year contract with St Mirren on 24 September 2010. Having struggled to get in the first team at St Mirren, he, along with four youngsters, was linked with a temporary move to Irish side Galway United, but nothing came of it. In March 2011, McCluskey joined

on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Arbroath on 22 March 2011. Seven days later, on 29 March 2011, McCluskey scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 win over Annan Athletic. At the end of the season, he had made nine appearances, scoring once before returning to St Mirren, who then released him. Ahead of the new season, Dundee signed McCluskey on a one-year deal in July 2011. He made his debut for the club in the opening game of the season, a 1–0 win over Partick Thistle. After eight months at the club, McCluskey scored twice against

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

in a 3–2 win and scored again in the next match, a 4–1 win over

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

, also providing an assist for

Ryan Conroy Ryan Conroy (born 28 April 1987) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-winger for Peterhead. He can also play as a left-back. Conroy has previously played for Celtic, Queen of the South, Partick Thistle on loan, Dundee, R ...

. At the end of the season, he had made 27 appearances, scoring three times. The club would finish in second place but were promoted to the Scottish Premier League to replace Rangers, who had been placed in the Third Division. However, that season, McCluskey failed to make a first team appearance, suffering an Achilles tendon injury. At the end of the season McCluskey was amongst the players released by Dundee after their relegation. On 12 October 2013, McCluskey played as a trialist for

in their

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was ...

match against Stranraer. After making three appearances as a trialist, McCluskey signed a short-term contract with Forfar. On 30 July 2014, McCluskey signed for

on a one-month contract. This was extended until the end of the season, on 22 August 2014. McCluskey was released at the end of the season and signed for

side Stranraer in October 2015.

Personal life

Jamie's younger brother Stefan McCluskey is also a footballer and they once played together for Greenock Morton.

Career statistics

Honours

Morton *

: Winners 2014–15 St Johnstone * Scottish Challenge Cup: Winners 2007–08 Hibernian *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: Winners 2006–07

References

External links