John Henderson Blackley (born 12 May 1948 in Westquarter

Westquarter

Westquarter is a village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is west of Polmont and south-east of the town of Falkirk.Westquarter can be accessed from the north via the A803 road and from the south via the B805 road....

, near Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

) is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 football coach and former player.

Blackley made 279 appearances at centre-half for Hibernian

Hibernian F.C.

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

 and also represented Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

, Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

 and Hamilton Academical. He won seven Scottish

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 international caps and represented his country in the 1974 FIFA World Cup

1974 FIFA World Cup

The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...

, playing in the 2–0 win against Zaire.

Blackley began a managerial career with Hamilton in October 1981, while continuing his playing career. He left Hamilton in 1983 and became a player/coach at Hibs, his first senior club, and was then promoted to the manager's position at Easter Road

Easter Road

Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian . The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of 20,421, which makes it the fifth-largest football stadium in Scotland. Easter Road is also...

 in 1984. His final managerial role was at Cowdenbeath

Cowdenbeath F.C.

Cowdenbeath Football Club are a professional Scottish football team based in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife. They currently play in the Second Division of the Scottish Football League. The club plays its home games at Central Park in the centre of the town which has the unusual feature of a motor...

, which he left to become Gordon Wallace

Gordon Wallace (Scottish footballer)

Gordon Wallace is a former Scottish professional footballer who was a record-setting goal-scorer in the Scottish league. He was named Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year for 1967-68. Wallace is currently director of youth football for Dundee F.C..A native of Dundee, Wallace began his...

's assistant at Dundee

Dundee F.C.

Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...

.

Blackley has since worked at several clubs with Paul Sturrock

Paul Sturrock

Paul Whitehead Sturrock is a Scottish football manager who, since July 2010, is the manager of Southend United. Until this appointment, Sturrock had most recently been at English League 1 club Plymouth Argyle in a business support role, having been relieved of his managerial duties, until he quit...

, including St Johnstone

St Johnstone F.C.

St. Johnstone F.C. is a professional football club based in Perth, Scotland. Although it is officially recorded as being formed in 1884, the club did not play its first game until February 1885. The club's home since 1989 has been McDiarmid Park....

, Dundee United

Dundee United F.C.

Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club located in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923...

, Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

 twice, Sheffield Wednesday and Swindon Town

Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

. His brief has been to work specifically with the defenders, passing on the experience he accrued in his 17-year playing career. Blackley was part of a successful coaching trio alongside Paul Sturrock

Paul Sturrock

Paul Whitehead Sturrock is a Scottish football manager who, since July 2010, is the manager of Southend United. Until this appointment, Sturrock had most recently been at English League 1 club Plymouth Argyle in a business support role, having been relieved of his managerial duties, until he quit...

 and Kevin Summerfield

Kevin Summerfield

Kevin Summerfield is an English football coach and retired player.He began his career with West Bromwich Albion as a forward, making his first team debut in 1977, before joining Birmingham City five years later...

 that saw them achieve four promotions in six seasons. Blackley and Summerfield left Plymouth in October 2009 after being advised their contracts, which were due to expire at the end of the 2009–10 season, were not going to be renewed.

Blackley is currently the assistant manager of Stirling Albion

Stirling Albion F.C.

Stirling Albion F.C. are a Scottish football club currently playing in the Scottish Second Division. The club are nicknamed The Binos . They play at Doubletree Dunblane Stadium in Stirling, on the outskirts of the city near the River Forth...

, working alongside Jocky Scott

Jocky Scott

John Alexander Scott is a Scottish football coach and former player probably best known for his playing career, and three managerial spells with Dundee. Scott is currently the manager of Scottish Football League club Stirling Albion.- Club career :Scott played for Scotland, Dundee and Aberdeen...

.

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