 Chisholm outsidePalmerston Park,Dumfries. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gordon William Chisholm[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1960-04-08)8 April 1960 (age 65) | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Position | Central defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1985 | Sunderland | 197 | (10) |
| 1985–1987 | Hibernian | 59 | (4) |
| 1987–1992 | Dundee | 155 | (15) |
| 1992 | Partick Thistle | 9 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Dundee United | ||
| 2007–2010 | Queen of the South | ||
| 2010 | Dundee | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gordon William Chisholm (born 8 April 1960 inGlasgow) is a Scottish professionalfootball former player and manager. Chisholm played as acentral defender forSunderland,Hibernian,Dundee andPartick Thistle.
After retiring as a player, Chisholm became acoach, working in some of his roles as assistant toIan McCall. Chisholm succeeded McCall asmanager ofDundee United in 2005, and guided the club to the2005 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 1–0 toCeltic. He was sacked the following season, however, and was subsequently appointed manager ofScottish First Division clubQueen of the South. Chisholm guided the club to the2008 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 3–2 toRangers. Chisholm left Queens in 2010 to manageDundee, but was made redundant when the club went intoadministration in October 2010.
Chisholm started his career atSunderland where he spent seven years and was a member of the side that reached the final of theFootball League Cup in March 1985, where they lost 1–0 toNorwich City. Unfortunately for Chisholm, he deflectedAsa Hartford's shot into the net for Norwich's winning goal.
Chisholm moved back to Scotland later that year, when he joinedHibernian for a £65,000 fee.[2] He scored a goal on his Hibs debut, aScottish League Cup semi-final win againstRangers.[2] This meant that Chisholm achieved the unusual feat of playing in League Cup Finals in the same calendar year in both England and Scotland.[2] Unfortunately for Chisholm, both finals were lost, as Hibs lost 3–0 toAberdeen.[3] He later had spells atDundee andPartick Thistle before retiring in 1992. Chisholm was a "tall, commandingcentral defender" who "could also play in theholding midfield role".[2]
Chisholm had assistant manager roles atPartick Thistle,Clydebank,Ross County,Airdrie,Falkirk andDundee United, primarily working withIan McCall.[2]
Chisholm was appointed as caretaker manager of Dundee United on 14 March 2005, following the sacking ofIan McCall. Chisholm suffered 3–2 defeats against bothCeltic andHibernian in his first two matches in charge. The following week, however, Chisholm's team triumphed over Hibernian,Rangers andHearts. United then went on to end a run of eight games over three years without a win against neighbours Dundee, with goals byMark Wilson andJim McIntyre sealing a 2–1 win. These results meant that Chisholm won theSPL manager of the month award in his first full month in charge of the team (April 2005). Chisholm's team then retained SPL status in dramatic style with a lateBarry Robson penalty atInverness on the final day of the season.
United's victory against Hibs meant that they reached the2005 Scottish Cup Final, which they lost 1–0 against Celtic. As Celtic had already qualified for theUEFA Champions League, however, United qualified for theUEFA Cup. Chisholm was given the position of manager on a permanent basis on 24 May 2005. Despite spending considerable money on players such asLee Miller, Dundee United were eliminated in the qualifying stage of theUEFA Cup by Finnish teamMyPa. Poor league form and a 3–2 defeat against Aberdeen in the third round of theScottish Cup, after having led 2–0, led to Chisholm being sacked on 10 January 2006 by Dundee United chairmanEddie Thompson.
Chisholm again became Ian McCall's assistant, this time atDumfries clubQueen of the South, until McCall's departure from the club at the end of the2006–07 season. Chisholm then accepted the role as manager, appointingKenny Brannigan as his assistant manager. ChairmanDavie Rae also announced that the club would become fully professional that season. In March 2008, Chisholm guided Queens to only their second everScottish Cup semi-final appearance with a 2–0 quarter final victory againstDundee, a game notable for a goal from 84 yards byRyan McCann. Queens followed this with a 4–3 win against Aberdeen in the semi-final, which meant that Chisholm had guided Queens to their first everScottish Cup Final appearance. Despite second half Queens goals bySteve Tosh andJim Thomson, Rangers ran out 3–2 winners in theFinal. Queens finished fourth in theScottish First Division.[4]
As Rangers had already qualified for the2008–09 UEFA Champions League through their league position, Queens entered the2008–09 UEFA Cup competition. They were drawn in a qualification round againstDanish clubFC Nordsjælland. The first leg, hosted at theExcelsior Stadium inAirdrie, was played in a quagmire with the Danes running out 2–1 winners. Queens delivered a stronger performance in the return leg, controlling most of the game but with only one goal to show for their superiority. With a 1–0 victory of no value in an aggregate result due to theaway goals rule and Queens pushing all out for the second goal, the Danes took advantage to score two goals in the last five minutes.[4] Chisholm's team selection for the UEFA Cup ties caused some surprise. WithStephen Dobbie the most prolific striker at the club in a generation, Chisholm started with Dobbie on the bench for both ties instead preferring the workmanlikeStewart Kean.[5]
A strong start to the 2008–09 league campaign saw the club sitting top of the table in October.[6][7] At the same time, Chisholm was linked with the vacant position atDundee, butDavie Rae refused Chisholm permission to talk to theDark Blues.[6][7] This coincided with Queens losing form, as they gained only three draws from the next 12 games placing them only one place above bottom.[8] Their form improved in the latter part of the season and the club finished in mid-table.[8]
The 2009–10 season progressed in a similar fashion to the season before. Queens were top of the table, but poorer results followed that dragged the club into a mid table position. The club also suffered a 4–0 defeat in theScottish Cup againstAirdrie.[9] Chisholm applied for the vacant managerial position atKilmarnock,[10] but the job was taken byJimmy Calderwood. Two months later, Chisholm was offered the vacant position atDundee. Chisholm made the following comments after leaving QoS:[11]
I had an excellent working relationship with ChairmanDavie Rae, a person I always had a tremendous respect for. I'll always remember the great support shown by Queens' fans over the past two and a half years and the players themselves have been fantastic and a pleasure to work with. We had some great times getting to the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden and playing in Europe and those memories will live with me for the rest of my life. I'd just like to add a big 'thank you' to all at Queen of the South and wish them all the best for the future. And I genuinely mean that!
Chisholm took the Dundee job while they were top of the First Division, although the club had just sackedJocky Scott after going four games without a win.[12] Chisholm said ahead of his first game in charge, "It was an opportunity I just couldn't pass by at my time of life, but it will be a strange experience being on opposite sides tomorrow night." Chisholm was the first person to manage both major Dundee clubs.[11]Billy Dodds, who was the Queen of the South strikers coach under Chisholm, joined him at Dens Park as his assistant.[11]
Dundee failed to win promotion at the end of the 2009–10 season and entered administration a few months later.[13] The administrator made Chisholm and Dodds redundant the following day.[13]
After leavingDundee in October 2010 and spending over a year out of professional football, Chisholm set up an estate agent business with his wife.[14] In March 2012, Chisholm was appointed assistant manager ofEast Fife byGordon Durie on a part-time basis.[14] After Durie took ill during a game, Chisholm took control of the team.[14] He resigned from his position at East Fife in October 2012 due to the pressures of combining both tasks and commuting fromLenzie toMethil.[14] Chisholm was then appointed as international development coach with Sunderland.[15]