James Anthony McNichol (born 9 June 1958) is a Scottish former professional footballer who is most noted for his career at Torquay United and Exeter City. He was capped by Scotland at U21 level.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Anthony McNichol[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1958-06-09) 9 June 1958 (age 64) | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Central defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–1976 | Ipswich Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1978 | Luton Town | 15 | (0) |
| 1978–1984 | Brentford | 155 | (22) |
| 1984–1986 | Exeter City | 87 | (10) |
| 1986–1989 | Torquay United | 124 | (13) |
| 1989–1991 | Exeter City | 42 | (8) |
| 1991–1992 | Torquay United | 2 | (0) |
| Torrington | |||
| Total | 425 | (53) | |
| National team | |||
| 1978–1980 | Scotland U21 | 7 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
An apprentice at Ipswich Town, McNichol joined Luton Town in July 1976.[1] He later played for Brentford (his transfer setting a new club record incoming fee of £33,000),[3] before moving on to Exeter City.[1] In July 1986 he joined Torquay United.[1] On 9 May 1987 Torquay were heading out of the Football League, 2–0, down to Crewe Alexandra at half-time in the last game of the season, they needed two more goals to ensure survival—McNichol, Paul Dobson and a German shepherd called Bryn saved the day for Torquay.[4] McNichol scored from a free-kick, then in the dying moments ran to the corner flag to whip in a cross, little realizing his run would confuse the police dog into thinking he was about to attack his handler.[4] The dog bit McNichol on the leg and the player had to be treated; during the minutes added on due to the injury, Dobson scored and Lincoln City were the ones to lose their league status on goal difference.[4] The story of McNichol's injury was featured in the Netflix documentary series Losers.[5]
McNichol was appointed captain and led the club to the Football League Trophy final in 1989, before returning to Exeter in August 1989.[1] He helped City take the Football League Fourth Division title in 1989–90, before he made the switch from Exeter to Torquay a second time in July 1991.[1] After leaving the Gulls he later played for Torrington. An ankle ligament injury ended his career.[6]
After his retirement from football, McNichol settled in Exeter and became a publican, operating The Exeter Inn in Ashburton.[7]
Brentford F.C. – Player of the Year | |
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Torquay United F.C. Player of the Year | |
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