JIM FURNELL

Born: 23 November 1937

Came from: Rotherham United   Went to: Retired

First game: 07 November 1970   Last game: 24 April 1976

Appearances: 207 (207/0)   Goals: 0

Born in Manchester, Furnell’s family moved to Clitheroe in Lancashire when he was just an infant and his career began at nearby Burnley at the age of 17. Given his youth and the fact he was effectively the third-choice 'keeper, he made only two appearances for the Clarets before Bill Shankly, perhaps surprisingly, signed him for Liverpool, for £12,000, with Furnell, shortly before, having declined a move to city rivals Everton.

Shankly's 'spot' seemed highly valid as Furnell helped the club regain a place in the top-flight. 'Pool's Bert Slater had been dropped and Furnell played the last 13 games of the 1961-62 season as the Reds clinched the Second Division title. He started the next season as first-choice in the First Division but broke his finger 13 games into the campaign, in a freak training ground incident which required a bone graft and surgery. Tommy Lawrence was to replace him and he stayed in goal for years. In total, Furnell had played 28 times for Liverpool, split across the end and start of those two seasons.

Spotting an opportunity, the Arsenal manager, the legendary former England star, Billy Wright (in his only managerial role), made his move and persuaded Shankly to sell Furnell to Arsenal for £15,000 in November 1963.

In the late 1990s, Furnell gave an insightful interview to the Lancashire Telegraph about the impact of being injured under the legendary Shankly. "If you were injured, it was as though you stopped existing. He didn't come to visit me and more or less ignored me when I reported in at the club for daily treatment. Tommy Lawrence came up from the reserves to take my place and the team just went from strength to strength. It was the start of the Liverpool domination - two championships in three years, the European Cup, the FA Cup. You name it, they won it and, but for the injury, the person wearing the green jersey and picking up the medals would probably have been me. That's fate, that's football and that's life. By the time I was fit again, Lawrence was established and it was back to reserve team football. I knew I had to move on and was fortunate enough to get a move to Arsenal, where I had four great years and around 150 games".

At Highbury, Furnell proved to be something of a 'sandwich' keeper, his respectable Gunners career falling in between the legendary reigns of Jack Kelsey and the young Bob Wilson. He had made his debut the day after signing for the club and became the club's first choice for the next five seasons, getting the nod to take his place between the sticks for the Gunners’ League Cup Final defeat against Leeds United in 1968.

However, in the very next match, an FA Cup tie against Birmingham City, his mistake led to an unlikely Blues’ equaliser. He was duly dropped and never played for Arsenal’s first team again, with young understudy Bob Wilson taking the mantle and, like Lawrence at Liverpool, remaining for years.

Having played 167 matches for Arsenal in total, he was sold in September 1968 for £8,000 to Rotherham United. After two seasons at Millmoor and 76 league games, he moved to Home Park in 1970, initially as cover for Pat Dunne on a one-month loan deal under Ellis Stuttard.

At nearly 33 years old, Furnell was now a veteran goalkeeper with flecks of grey, and many regarded him to be just a stopgap for the Pilgrims. However, he had other plans and with the loan move made permanent (for a modest £2,500), he won the Player of the Year award after his first full season at Home Park. Playing some of the best football of his career, he also helped Argyle reach the League Cup semi-final in 1973-74 and gain promotion to Division Two the following year.

As the Your Contribution feature shows below, Furnell also etched himself further into Argyle folklore with a last-minute penalty save from none other than future England Manager, Terry Venables, to deny Crystal Palace an equaliser and seal a 2-1 win for Argyle in an FA Cup 2nd round match in November 1974.

He had a number of superstitious rituals that were adhered to before every game, including a hot bath, putting on his right boot first and being the first player kitted up. Furnell remained an agile goalkeeper in his late thirties and his handling was impeccable

He played for five and a half years for the club before his retirement in the summer of 1976. After his playing career was over, he remained at Argyle as sponsorship manager, which he combined with coaching, having recently qualified. He also pursued his other love, cricket, and was a regular for a local side in Roborough.

On 24th May 1977, he was awarded a close-season Testimonial, which was billed as Plymouth Argyle vs Jim Furnell's All Stars, with Paul Mariner lining up for Jim's side, along with Bobby Saxton and Trevor Francis. The match ended 3-3 in front of 9,713.

After hanging up his gloves, he worked as a coach at Home Park and then a scout for Exeter City when former team-mate Bobby Saxton was in charge there. He later moved back to his native Lancashire with Blackburn Rovers, where he joined up again with Saxton, who had been appointed manager at Ewood Park. He was later the FA's Academy Director for the north-west. He remained as a coach at Rovers until his retirement in 1998, having recently turned 60.

As part of the club's centenary in 2003, the ever-popular Furnell was unsurprisingly named as the goalkeeper in the club's 'Team of the Century' following a supporters' poll.