- Mar 25, 2015
- 3 min read

Last manager of Formby Football Club passes away

Photo: Former Formby manager Jim Shirley (right) with Kev Dally on the Altcar Road turf at the start of their three year tenure, August 2011.

Officials of Formby Football Club have paid tribute to their last manager, Jim Shirley, who has passed away.

A statement from the former North West Counties side, which folded last season, read: "It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of our last manager, Jim Shirley. "Jim's passion was youth football and after many years as a coach and mentor on Merseyside he came to Formby FC in 2009, teaming up with Kev Dally to manage the youth team. The squad they had was packed with exceptional players and for two years were all but invincible, winning a league and cup double in 2010-11. "Following a period of change at the club Jim was appointed first team manager at the start of 2011-12, with Dally as his assistant. 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. He handed the captain’s armband to 18 year old Paul Speed. "They made a good start but fell away as the season progressed. Jim recognised the need to add experience to the squad so brought in some older players. He also made it clear Kev Dally was joint manager as his incisive fire perfectly complemented Jim's keen eye for detail and perceptive insight. "They hit the ground running for 2013-14, and Formby’s final two seasons were the best of in the 94 year history of the club. They stormed to their first league title since 1949 and beat off a swathe of higher sides to get to the League 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, an elegant, swift passing game rather than the familiar non-league hoofing of long balls. He firmly believed a team could play its way out of the Division and he was right.

Jim Shirley (right) gazes with satisfaction at his creation, a Formby squad celebrating their first league title since 1949.

"Last season they won the First Division Trophy and were runners up in the league having gone 21 games - over half the season - unbeaten. Jim's legacy was that in that second season more opponents adopted the passing game his team had displayed, and the standard of play was lifted throughout the league. "After every game, even after the biggest win, Jim would be analysing and theorising. He would have photographic recall of every moment, the positions of every player and the possibilities. " Formby club secretary Adrian Cork remembered: "Jim was great to deal with. Memories of being in the office with him and Kev as they did their rapidfire team selection and tactics an hour before kick off will stay with me, as will the Sunday morning post match phone calls. A voracious reader of every manager's book, Jim knew so many ways to see every aspect of the game. He would always give me a different angle for my match report, an insight from a master tactician’s point of view’. "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. "Paul Speed, now playing for Cammell Laird 1907 where he’s poised to win his third promotion in as many seasons, said, ‘devastated isn’t the word. He’s been a big part of my life since he age of 7. It was a pleasure knowing him for so many years. Never known a person with as much knowledge about football and life itself’. "Jim will be missed by all of us who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him. Our deepest condolences go to his family."