Ian Andrew Wallace (born 23 May 1956) is a Scottish former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He played as a striker in the 1970s and 1980s for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, Coventry City,

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, Brest,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, Marítimo and

Melbourne Croatia Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league ...

. Wallace played in three international matches for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the late 1970s.

Playing career

Career in Scotland

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Wallace started at Scottish Junior club Yoker Athletic. He then joined the senior ranks with

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct 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&nbs ...

club

Coventry City

Wallace was purchased for £70,000 by the then

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

manager Gordon Milne in 1976. Milne paired his small frame with his larger strike partner

Mick Ferguson Michael John Ferguson (born 3 October 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent the best years of his playing career at Coventry City. Although his career was plagued by injury, he managed a decent ...

. He emerged from a car accident whilst at the club sporting a deep scar on the forehead. He also suffered a detached retina whilst playing for Coventry at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. Coventry finished 7th in the 1977-78 Football League, their second best ever placing after the team of 1969–70. Unlike in 1969-70 they missed out on a UEFA competition place. Wallace played that season alongside Ferguson, Tommy Hutchison, Terry Yorath,

Graham Oakey Graham Oakey (born 5 October 1954) is an English former footballer who made 88 Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 a ...

, Bobby MacDonald and Jim Blyth. Wallace scored 23 goals that season, his first of three in a row as Coventry's top scorer. He was later inducted in to the Coventry City Hall of Fame.

Nottingham Forest

Wallace moved to then-reigning European champions

in July 1980 for £1.25 million, making him one of the world's most expensive players. Wallace went on to be Forest's top scorer for the first three of the four seasons he played there, scoring 13 goals in each season he top scored.

Later career

Wallace moved to French club Brest for a short spell in 1984. He returned to English football with

around New Year in season 1984–85. In 1986 he joined Portuguese club Marítimo. In 1987 he signed for

in Australia, where he ended his playing career.

International

Wallace scored his on his full international debut, a 2–1 win against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

in February 1978. Coventry team-mate Jim Blyth was in goal for Scotland. He then came on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in November 1978 and started in a 3–0 loss in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in May of the following year. All three of his caps came when he was playing for Coventry City.

Managerial career

Wallace returned to

as manager in November 1996 replacing Jim Fallon. He was dismissed from this job in October 1999 and was replaced by Jimmy Brown.

Statistics

Honours

* Coventry City Hall of Fame

References

External links

*
Scotland U21 stats
at Fitbastats {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Ian 1956 births Living people Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Scottish expatriate sportspeople in France Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Dumbarton F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Stade Brestois 29 players Sunderland A.F.C. players C.S. Marítimo players Scottish football managers Footballers from Glasgow Dumbarton F.C. managers National Soccer League (Australia) players Melbourne Knights FC players Yoker Athletic F.C. players Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League players English Football League players Primeira Liga players Men's association football forwards Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland men's junior international footballers