James Mullen (born 8 November 1952 in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

, County Durham) is an English

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 ...

manager who last managed at Market Drayton Town. He twice won promotion with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, in 1991–92 and 1993–94.

Playing career

In his playing days, Mullen spent most of his career at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, and was their captain when they won promotion from Division Three in 1979/80. The following season, however, he went one better with

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

, captaining the Millers to the Division Three title. After a short loan spell at Preston, he moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, where he again won promotion in 1982/83. Following the resignation of Cardiff manager Len Ashurst in March 1984, Mullen and Assistant Manager Jimmy Goodfellow were appointed joint Caretaker Managers until the end of the 1983/84 season. At the end of the season, Goodfellow was appointed as sole manager of the club, and Mullen continued as a player under Goodfellow and Alan Durban upon Goodfellow's sacking. After Durban led the club to two successive relegations, leaving them in the old Fourth Division, he was sacked and Mullen was appointed caretaker manager until the end of the season. Mullen was replaced by

Frank Burrows Frank Burrows (30 January 1944 – 24 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager who played as a central defender. Life and career Frank Burrows began his football career at Scottish club Raith Rovers. In 1965, he moved south t ...

in the summer of 1986 and he then moved on to near-neighbours Newport County, where he would end his playing days.

Management

On 28 March 1989 Mullen was asked to take charge of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

for the last eleven games of the season after the departure of Sam Ellis. With the help of Len Ashurst, he guided ''the Seasiders'' to five victories and avoided relegation. Soon afterwards, Mullen was given the job on a full-time basis. In light of Ellis' success and popularity at

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...

, Mullen only lasted eleven months before being replaced by

Graham Carr William Graham Carr (born 25 October 1944) is an English former professional footballer, manager and scout. He is currently an associate director for Northampton Town. Club career Carr, a half-back, joined his first professional club, North ...

. One notable signing made by Mullen in his short stay at the seaside was

David Eyres David Eyres (born 26 February 1964) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career A relative latecomer to the professional game, Liverpool-born Eyres began his career at then Northern Premier League side Morec ...

from

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

. In 1990–91, Mullen was offered and accepted the assistant-manager role at

by manager Frank Casper. Casper resigned eight games into the 1991–92 season, and Mullen was put in temporary charge of team affairs. Mullen managed to guide ''the Clarets'' to promotion to the new Division Two as the old Fourth Division champions. His success continued in 1993–94. Burnley won promotion to the First Division via the play-offs, and Mullen's hero-like status was confirmed. His fourth season at the Turf would prove a difficult one. Mullen survived eight consecutive defeats in the New Year of 1995, but it resulted in ''the Clarets'' returning to Division Two. After another unsuccessful 1995–96 season, Mullen was given the sack by the Burnley board and subsequently had short spells scouting for the likes of

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. He then took over at Irish side

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...

during the 1996–97 campaign and stayed until the end of the season before departing for family reasons and began to work for the Welsh FA while assisting

Neville Southall Neville Southall (born 16 September 1958) is a Welsh Manager (association football), football manager and former international association football, footballer. He has been described as one of the best Goalkeeper (association football), goalk ...

with the Welsh under-19s. He was appointed manager of Bridgnorth Town during the 2002–03 season, but left at the end of the season. Mullen later managed Welsh outfit

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

but resigned after only one season in charge. He also managed Market Drayton and Telford United. He then joined Bromsgrove Rovers as manager, until his resignation in 2006. In May 2007, Mullen was appointed the assistant manager of

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

. On 28 September 2007, it was announced that Mullen had joined the backroom staff at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. In April 2008, he was appointed

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

of Walsall following

Richard Money Richard Money (born 13 October 1955) is an English former footballer and manager who was most recently manager of National League club Hartlepool United. Before this, he managed Cambridge United, overseeing the side's return to the Football Leag ...

's resignation. The position was made permanent the following month, but on 10 January 2009 he was sacked as manager following a run of four wins in sixteen games. On 24 September 2009, Mullen was appointed the assistant manager of

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

under

Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs, including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He is currently the chief scout at Hartlepool ...

. In October 2011 he was appointed caretaker manager at Market Drayton Town. He left as manager of Market Drayton in 2013.

References

External links

Clarets MAD Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullen, Jimmy 1952 births Living people English men's footballers English football managers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. managers Blackpool F.C. managers Burnley F.C. managers Telford United F.C. managers Newport County A.F.C. managers Walsall F.C. managers League of Ireland managers English Football League players Sligo Rovers F.C. managers A.F.C. Bridgnorth managers Colwyn Bay F.C. managers Footballers from Jarrow Market Drayton Town F.C. managers Men's association football defenders