Jim Shirley
Sun 22nd March 2015 | Formby | By Ian Templeman
It is with regret we have to report the death of Jim Shirley, who was joint-manager of Formby from 2011 until the club left the NWCFL in 2014.
Pictured left along with fellow joint-manager Kev Dally, Jim led the Squirrels to the Division One title and the League Challenge Cup final in 2013, and last season the club won the Division One Trophy and finished runners-up in Division One.
Adrian Cork, the former Secretary of Formby, has written a tribute to Jim, which we reproduce below.
"It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of our last manager, Jim Shirley. Jim's passion was youth football and it was through that he came, with his great friend Kev Dally, to Formby FC.
The team they had was packed with exceptional players, and for two years were all but invincible. Following a period of change at the club Jim was appointed first team manager at the start of 2011-12.
Such was his confidence in the players, most of whom he had coached from the age of 7, that he had no hesitation in putting them straight into the first team.
They made a good start, but fell away as the season progressed. Jim recognised the need to add experience to the squad, so he brought in some older players. He also made it clear Kev Dally was joint manager as his incisive fire complemented perfectly Jim's keen eye for detail and perceptive insight.
They hit the ground running for 2013-14, and our final two seasons were the best of our 94 year history. We stormed to our first league title since 1949 and beat off a swathe of higher sides to get to the League Challenge Cup Final.
It wasn't just winning football - Jim's team played the beautiful game with a style and grace that carried all before them. He firmly believed a team could play its way out of the Division and he was right.
Last season we won the First Division Trophy and were runners up in the league, having gone 21 games - over half the season - unbeaten. For me Jim's legacy was that in that second season, more teams adopted the passing game as the days of the long ball appeared over.
After every game Jim would have photographic recall of every moment, the positions of every player and the possibilities. A voracious reader of every manager's book, even after the biggest win, he'd be analysing and theorising.
His clarity as a strategist was matched by his ability to inspire and develop players individually, and as a team with vision, imagination, warmth and wit. Some of the players he brought up from the youth team played over 100 first team games, becoming champions along the way.
Without Jim's guidance and support, who knows what direction their lives would have taken.
In my role as Secretary, Jim was great to deal with. Memories of being in the office with him and Kev as they discussed team selection and tactics an hour before kick off will stay with me, as will the Sunday morning post match phone calls.
Jim would always give me a different angle for my match report, an insight into the game from the manager's point of view. Jim will be missed by all of us who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him. Our thoughts are with his family at this time".
Jim Shirley
Sun 22nd March 2015 | Formby
By Ian Templeman
It is with regret we have to report the death of Jim Shirley, who was joint-manager of Formby from 2011 until the club left the NWCFL in 2014.
Pictured left along with fellow joint-manager Kev Dally, Jim led the Squirrels to the Division One title and the League Challenge Cup final in 2013, and last season the club won the Division One Trophy and finished runners-up in Division One.
Adrian Cork, the former Secretary of Formby, has written a tribute to Jim, which we reproduce below.
"It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of our last manager, Jim Shirley. Jim's passion was youth football and it was through that he came, with his great friend Kev Dally, to Formby FC.
The team they had was packed with exceptional players, and for two years were all but invincible. Following a period of change at the club Jim was appointed first team manager at the start of 2011-12.
Such was his confidence in the players, most of whom he had coached from the age of 7, that he had no hesitation in putting them straight into the first team.
They made a good start, but fell away as the season progressed. Jim recognised the need to add experience to the squad, so he brought in some older players. He also made it clear Kev Dally was joint manager as his incisive fire complemented perfectly Jim's keen eye for detail and perceptive insight.
They hit the ground running for 2013-14, and our final two seasons were the best of our 94 year history. We stormed to our first league title since 1949 and beat off a swathe of higher sides to get to the League Challenge Cup Final.
It wasn't just winning football - Jim's team played the beautiful game with a style and grace that carried all before them. He firmly believed a team could play its way out of the Division and he was right.
Last season we won the First Division Trophy and were runners up in the league, having gone 21 games - over half the season - unbeaten. For me Jim's legacy was that in that second season, more teams adopted the passing game as the days of the long ball appeared over.
After every game Jim would have photographic recall of every moment, the positions of every player and the possibilities. A voracious reader of every manager's book, even after the biggest win, he'd be analysing and theorising.
His clarity as a strategist was matched by his ability to inspire and develop players individually, and as a team with vision, imagination, warmth and wit. Some of the players he brought up from the youth team played over 100 first team games, becoming champions along the way.
Without Jim's guidance and support, who knows what direction their lives would have taken.
In my role as Secretary, Jim was great to deal with. Memories of being in the office with him and Kev as they discussed team selection and tactics an hour before kick off will stay with me, as will the Sunday morning post match phone calls.
Jim would always give me a different angle for my match report, an insight into the game from the manager's point of view. Jim will be missed by all of us who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him. Our thoughts are with his family at this time".
