John Lambie (19 March 1941 – 10 April 2018) was a Scottish
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player and
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 o ...
. Lambie made over 200 appearances for
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
and also had a successful time with
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
.
After retiring as a player, Lambie had four spells as manager of
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
. In his third spell, he guided them to consecutive promotions and entry to the
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
in 2002, while also leading them to the semi-finals of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...](_blank)
(twice, winning the
First Division in 1986) and Falkirk.
Lambie was known for his
eccentricity
Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to:
* Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"
Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics
* Off-center, in geometry
* Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...
, cigar smoking and fondness for pigeons. An occasion when he instructed for a concussed player to be told he was
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
and sent back onto the pitch is one of the most famous quotes in British football.
[
]
Playing career
Born in Whitburn, Lambie played for his hometown junior team Whitburn before signing for Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
in 1958, where he turned professional and switched position from inside forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
to full back. In August 1969 he joined St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
, where he played in the October 1969 Scottish League Cup Final (1–0 loss to Celtic) and took part in the Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
-based club's first European campaign (reaching the third round of the 1971–72 UEFA Cup).[
]
Coaching career
After retiring as a player in 1974, Lambie joined the St Johnstone coaching staff, and later moved to Hibernian.[ He became assistant manager at ]Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...
to his former Hibs colleague Bertie Auld
Robert Auld (23 March 1938 – 14 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was a member of Celtic's Lisbon Lions, who won the 1967 European Cup Final.
As a player, he made more than 200 appearances in the Scottish League f ...
, and succeeded him as manager in 1984.[ He led the ''Accies'' to the First Division title in 1985–86 and won away at Rangers in the next season's Scottish Cup.][
]
Partick Thistle
In 1988, Lambie was appointed manager for the first time at Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
, but a year later returned to Hamilton, before going back to Partick in 1990.[ He led Thistle to promotion to the top flight in 1992. Lambie subsequently kept Thistle, in the top flight for a following three seasons, and qualifying for the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, the first time The Jags had been in European Competition since, the 1970s. Lambie, however, left in 1995 for his former club Falkirk, but quit his post in March 1996.][ ''The Herald'' wrote in 2002 that "It is odd how, despite Lambie playing over 200 games for Falkirk, and scoring a decent haul of goals as a defender, he is only remembered for his disastrous managerial reign".][
Lambie returned for a third spell at Partick in 1999, with the club now in the third tier, the club had only just managed to save its existence through the ''Save the Jags'' campaign, run by the Thistle fans to save their club, which also attracted support from fans across Scottish Football, on an incredibly low budget, following a brush with potential liquidation, Lambie got them into the ]Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
in 2002 via back-to-back promotions, having rebuilt the team, by signing the likes of Stephen Craigan
Stephen James Craigan (born 29 October 1976) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer. He played in central defence, and spent his entire playing career in Scotland, playing for Motherwell (twice) and Partick Thistle. He has also pl ...
, Martin Hardie Martin Hardie may refer to:
* Martin Hardie (footballer)
* Martin Hardie (artist)
Martin Hardie (1875-1952) was painter, printmaker, writer and museum curator.
Born in London, Hardie was an expert on watercolours, and painted many himself. He ...
and Danny Lennon
Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde.
In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. ...
, as well as bringing on the youth players, such as Alan Archibald
Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Archibald, who played as a defender, has been associated with Partick Thistle for most of his career. Beginning his professional career with the club as a te ...
and Kenny Arthur[ Also in 2002, he guided the club to the ]Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[Hampden Park
Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...](_blank)
. The final stages of the season were chronicled in the BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
fly on the wall documentary ''Grasping the Thistle'', known for Lambie's use of profanity.
In January 2003, Lambie announced that he would retire at the end of the season as he did not agree with new regulations in football; he had attempted to sign Nathan Lowndes
Nathan Peter Lowndes (born 2 June 1977) is an English former footballer who played as a forward.
He began his career with Leeds United, but failed to break into the first before his move to Watford in 1995. After making little impact at Watfo ...
and Steven Ferguson
Steven Sean Ferguson (born 8 May 1980) is a sprint canoeist, surf lifesaver and former swimmer from New Zealand.
Ferguson was born in Auckland, New Zealand, the son of four-time Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist Ian Ferguson.
Steven Fer ...
on loan from English clubs but was barred by FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
as they had both recently played in Scotland for other teams. On 17 May 2003 he made his farewell in his last game at Firhill Stadium
Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as s ...
, a 1–0 loss to Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
, having already guaranteed survival in the SPL on a considerably lower budget than their competitors. He became a member of the club's board.[ In 2004, Lambie returned as manager for a fourth spell, this time as Caretaker, briefly around the end of 2004 and beginning of 2005, in a bid to help the team's struggles on the pitch under the new management foil of ]Derek Whyte
Derek Whyte (born 31 August 1968) is a Scottish former footballer, who played for Celtic, Middlesbrough, Aberdeen and Partick Thistle. He also won twelve caps for Scotland during his 18-year playing career. He participated at Euro 1992, Euro 199 ...
and Gerry Britton, who were later dismissed from their roles, as Dick Campbell took over reign at Firhill.
Lambie is remembered for his reaction when Partick player Colin McGlashan suffered a concussion; he ordered his assistant Gerry Collins to "Tell him he's Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
and get him back on". A book of football quotes titled ''Tell Him He's Pelé'' was released in 2010. He is also remembered for taming Chic Charnley
James Callaghan "Chic" Charnley (born 11 June 1963 in Glasgow) is a Scottish former football player and coach. Charnley's playing career lasted nearly 20 years, with spells at Hamilton Academical, St Mirren, Hibernian and Dundee, however he ...
, a player sent off 17 times in his career, whom he signed once for Hamilton and three times for Partick.[
In 2018, Partick Thistle, renamed the old ''North Stand'' at Firhill, after Lambie, which was unofficially opened in April 2018, after a 2–1 win at Firhill over Lambie's former club ]Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...
, a result, which Thistle manager Alan Archibald
Alan Archibald (born 13 December 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Archibald, who played as a defender, has been associated with Partick Thistle for most of his career. Beginning his professional career with the club as a te ...
and veteran striker Kris Doolan, who equalised for Thistle in the match, dedicated to Lambie.
Personal life and death
Lambie was known for his love of pigeon racing
Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of travel ...
and cigars.[ He spoke of the importance of his Christian faith in his life.] He was a member and activist for the Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
but said that he was not a suitable candidate to seek elected office.
He was awarded the position of Honorary Vice President of Partick Thistle F.C. in August 2006. He was inducted into the Halls of Fame at both Falkirk and Partick Thistle.
Lambie had three daughters with his wife Mamie, from whom he was separated at the time of his death at the age of 77 on 10 April 2018.
Honours
Manager
;Hamilton Academical
*Scottish Football League First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...
: 1985–86, 1987–88[
;Partick Thistle
*]Scottish Football League First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...
: 1991–92, 2001–02,
*Scottish Football League Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...
: 2000–01[
]
References
External links
Grasping the Thistle
2002 BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambie, John
1941 births
2018 deaths
People from Whitburn, West Lothian
Scottish Christians
Footballers from West Lothian
Scottish footballers
Association football defenders
Whitburn Junior F.C. players
Falkirk F.C. players
St Johnstone F.C. players
Scottish Junior Football Association players
Scottish Football League players
Scottish football managers
St Johnstone F.C. non-playing staff
Hibernian F.C. non-playing staff
Hamilton Academical F.C. non-playing staff
Hamilton Academical F.C. managers
Partick Thistle F.C. managers
Falkirk F.C. managers
Scottish Football League managers
Scottish Premier League managers