| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Calderwood[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1955-02-28)28 February 1955[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland[1] | ||
| Date of death | 19 January 2025(2025-01-19) (aged 69) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Glasgow Amateurs | |||
| 1971–1972 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1980 | Birmingham City | 145 | (4) |
| 1979–1980 | →Cambridge United (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 1980 | →Sparta Rotterdam (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 1980–1982 | Willem II Tilburg | 44 | (1) |
| 1982–1987 | Roda JC | 124 | (1) |
| 1987–1989 | Heracles Almelo | 33 | (7) |
| International career | |||
| 1974 | Scotland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1996–1997 | Willem II Tilburg | ||
| 1997–1999 | NEC Nijmegen | ||
| 1999–2004 | Dunfermline Athletic | ||
| 2004–2009 | Aberdeen | ||
| 2010 | Kilmarnock | ||
| 2011 | Ross County | ||
| 2012 | Go Ahead Eagles | ||
| 2014 | De Graafschap | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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James Calderwood (28 February 1955 – 19 January 2025) was a Scottishfootball player andmanager. Calderwood played forBirmingham City and Dutch clubsSparta Rotterdam,Willem II Tilburg,Roda JC andHeracles Almelo. After retiring as a player, Calderwood stayed in the Netherlands and became a coach, becoming a manager ofWillem II Tilburg andNEC Nijmegen.
Calderwood returned to his native Scotland in 1999 to become manager ofDunfermline Athletic, guiding them to the2004 Scottish Cup Final. Calderwood left Dunfermline that summer to become manager ofAberdeen, a position he held for five seasons. Aberdeen performed relatively well in theSPL under Calderwood and reached the last 32 of the2007–08 UEFA Cup, but suffered a number of domestic cup defeats by lower league opponents. He then had brief stints withKilmarnock andRoss County, helping each club retain their league status. Calderwood returned to the Netherlands in March 2012, withGo Ahead Eagles.
In January 2014, Calderwood spent just under a month as manager ofDe Graafschap before resigning. Calderwood cited the sale of several of De Graafschap's key players without adequate replacement as the reason for his resignation from the post. In July 2016, Calderwood was appointed to the board of directors atCowdenbeath.[3]
In August 2017, Calderwood revealed that he had had earlier-onset dementia for the past two years and was being treated for the condition.[4] He died on 19 January 2025. His funeral procession on 19 February 2025 passed right byIbrox Park, home ofRangers F.C.
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Born inGovan,Glasgow, Calderwood was raised in theCastlemilk housing scheme in the city. He played in youth teams withRicky Sbragia who also became a footballer and later a manager,[5][6] and also played at schoolboy level with future Scotland captainWillie Miller.[7]
He started his professional career withBirmingham City as an apprentice in 1971, making his first team debut againstStoke City in 1972[8] (Sbragia joined him a year later).[6] He made 159 appearances for the club before spending a couple of months on loan atCambridge United in 1979 and early 1980 and at Dutch clubSparta Rotterdam from March 1980 to the end of the season.[9] Calderwood chose to reject Birmingham's offer of a new contract,[10] and he moved on to another Dutch club,Willem II, for a £50,000 fee.[11] After two years with Willem II and a further six withRoda JC, Calderwood spent a short spell withHeracles Almelo before retiring in 1989.[8]
Calderwood first became a coach in 1991, of amateur clubRietvogels of Almelo.[8] A year later he became an assistant coach of professional clubFC Zwolle,[8] before moving in 1993 toCambuur Leeuwarden.[8] He returned toWillem II Tilburg in 1995, initially as assistant coach before becoming the manager of the club a year later.[8] A year later, he moved to the managerial position atNEC Nijmegen.[8]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(May 2009) |
After a two-year spell with NEC,Scottish First Division sideDunfermline Athletic moved to make him their new manager. Calderwood spent five seasons atEast End Park, where he led the club to promotion to the SPL in hisfirst season in charge.[8] He also led them to their highest ever SPL position, finishing fourth in2003–04. That season the side also reached the2004 Scottish Cup Final,[8] guaranteeing their return to European competition[8] for the first time in 35 years as opponentsCeltic had already earnedChampions League qualification.
In the summer of 2004Willie Miller, returning toPittodrie as director of football, brought Calderwood toAberdeen to replaceSteve Paterson as manager.[12] Calderwood oversaw an improvement in Aberdeen's fortunes on the playing field. They narrowly missed out on qualifying for European competition in2004–05 and2005–06 but finished the2006–07 league campaign in third place, ensuringUEFA Cup qualification. However, there was humiliation for his team when they were eliminated from the2006–07 Scottish League Cup by the amateur clubQueen's Park.[13][14]
In December 2007, Calderwood led Aberdeen to the last 32 of European competition for the first time since 1986 with a surprising 4–0 demolition ofFC Copenhagen at Pittodrie. With this great achievement, the Dons were rewarded by drawingFC Bayern Munich. Calderwood's team drew 2–2 with Bayern at Pittodrie on 14 February 2008, but the Germans pulled off a convincing 5–1 win the following week. Calderwood signed a3+1⁄2-year contract to end a month of speculation about his future, along with assistant managerJimmy Nicholl and coachSandy Clark.
Calderwood took Aberdeen to the2007–08 Scottish Cup semi final, where they lost 4–3 toDumfries First Division side,Queen of the South. This was despite two goals and an assist fromBarry Nicholson playing against his hometown club.
The2008–09 season saw Calderwood come in for some stern criticism following the club's poor start to the campaign. The Dons failed to win any of their opening four home matches, and were beaten 4–2 by Kilmarnock in the League Cup. Fans became impatient with some claiming it was time for a fresh start just as the team recovered form and were in the race for third place.[15] On 18 January 2009, Calderwood led Aberdeen to a memorable 4–2 victory over Celtic that propelled Aberdeen to third in the league. However, just three league wins followed in the next 16 and Calderwood left the club "by mutual consent" on 24 May 2009, after the team had qualified for a place in theUEFA Europa League with a 2–1 victory over Hibernian.[16]
Calderwood was appointed manager ofKilmarnock on 14 January 2010, succeedingJim Jefferies.[8] He agreed to a contract with the club until the end of the 2009–10 season.[8] Calderwood managed to secure Kilmarnock's SPL status for another season, but left the club in the summer after disagreeing with chairman Michael Johnston about the player and coaching budgets.[17]
On 16 February 2011, Calderwood agreed to fill the managerial post atFirst Division clubRoss County until the end of the season.[18]
Calderwood was appointed coach ofGo Ahead Eagles in theEerste Divisie on 30 March 2012.[19][20] He left theDeventer club after they were knocked out of the promotion play-offs byFC Den Bosch after the second leg of their double-header on 13 May.[21]
Calderwood was appointed manager ofDe Graafschap in January 2014.[22] He left the club after less than a month in the job, furious at the sale of two key players before the start of the season. His decision to quit was not well received by the players, with club captainEdwin Linssen saying: "When we were told, we were very depressed. It's not good, it's a sad day for the club."[23]
In a 1978 pen picture inShoot! magazine, the then 22-year-old Calderwood namedEddie Gray as his favourite player,Rangers as his favourite team, andTrevor Brooking as the toughest opponent he had faced. His most memorable match was his Birmingham City debut, againstStoke City in November 1972, his "biggest thrill" was being picked to represent his country atunder-23 level, and he had been disappointed to be dropped for the1975 FA Cup semi-finals againstFulham. Apart from his father, he cited former Birmingham coachWillie Bell as having had the greatest influence on his career. Away from football, he enjoyed snooker, golf and badminton and namedNeil Diamond andDiana Ross as his favourite singers.[24]
Calderwood died from complications of dementia on 19 January 2025, at the age of 69.[25][26] His funeral procession one month later was driven past Rangers stadium Ibrox Park.[27]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Willem II Tilburg | 1996 | 1997 | |||||
| NEC Nijmegen | 1997 | 1999 | |||||
| Dunfermline Athletic | 30 November 1999 | 28 May 2004 | 202 | 77 | 47 | 78 | 038.12 |
| Aberdeen | 28 May 2004 | 24 May 2009 | 227 | 94 | 60 | 73 | 041.41 |
| Kilmarnock | 11 January 2010 | 31 May 2010 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 030.43 |
| Ross County | 17 February 2011 | 7 May 2011 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 041.18 |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 30 March 2012 | 13 May 2012 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 057.14 |
Dunfermline Athletic
Ross County