Jim Barron (born 19 October 1943) is an English 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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He played over 400 games in the Football League for a number of clubs over a twenty-year career.

Playing career

Barron began his playing career at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in 1961. After time in the reserves, he made his league debut on 30 November 1963 in a goalless draw with Everton. He managed 7 starts in the 1963–64 season, deputising for Fred Davies, but apart from a solitary appearance the following season, these proved his only games for the club. He moved to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1965 but found opportunities just as limited. It was only when he joined lower league

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

the following year that he gained regular football. He went on to play for both Oxford (1966 to 1970) and, subsequently,

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

(1970 to 1974) over 150 times each. He also had spells at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

(1974 to 1977),

Connecticut Bicentennials The Connecticut Bicentennials were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977. Originally founded as the Hartford Bicentennials, the team relocated to New Haven, Connecticut after the 1 ...

(June to August 1977) and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

(1977 to 1981) during a twenty-year professional career.

Later career

Barron was Caretaker Manager at both

(May 1984) and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

(October to December 2001) and permanent manager of

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

in 1988–89. He was first team coach at

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

from 2002 to 2011. He was additionally appointed joint caretaker manager at Northampton on 20 December 2006, following the resignation of John Gorman. After the appointment of Stuart Gray as manager in January 2007, Barron reverted to his role as a first team coach. Barron's final post was as a scout for Everton from 2009 to 2020.

References

External links

*
Profile at Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Jim 1943 births Living people People from Tantobie Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. managers English expatriates in Iceland Expatriate football managers in Iceland Cheltenham Town F.C. managers English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Connecticut Bicentennials players Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff Íþróttabandalag Akraness managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers English football managers