Ian Wallace (footballer, born 1956)

Ian Andrew Wallace (born 23 May 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He played as a striker in the 1970s and 1980s for Dumbarton, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Brest, Sunderland, Marítimo and Melbourne Croatia. Wallace played in three international matches for Scotland in the late 1970s.

Ian Wallace
Personal information
Full name Ian Andrew Wallace[1]
Date of birth (1956-05-23) 23 May 1956
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1974 Yoker Athletic
1974–1976 Dumbarton 34 (11)
1976–1980 Coventry City 130 (58)
1980–1984 Nottingham Forest 134 (36)
1984 Brest 16 (3)
1984–1986 Sunderland 34 (6)
1986–1987 Marítimo 9 (0)
1987 Melbourne Croatia 24 (6)
National team
1977 Scotland U21 1 (2)
1978–1979 Scotland 3 (1)
Teams managed
1996–1999 Dumbarton
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Career in Scotland

Born in Glasgow, Wallace started at Scottish Junior club Yoker Athletic. He then joined the senior ranks with Scottish Football League club Dumbarton.

Coventry City

Wallace was purchased for £70,000 by the then Coventry manager Gordon Milne in 1976. Milne paired his small frame with his larger strike partner Mick Ferguson. He emerged from a car accident whilst at the club sporting a deep scar on the forehead. He also suffered a detached a retina whilst playing for Coventry at Norwich. Coventry finished 7th in the 1977-78 Football League, their second best ever placing after the team of 1969-70. Unlike in 1969-70 they missed out on a UEFA competition place. Wallace played that season alongside Ferguson, Tommy Hutchison, Terry Yorath, Graham Oakey, Bobby MacDonald and Jim Blyth. Wallace scored 23 goals that season, his first of three in a row as Coventry's top scorer. He was later inducted in to the Coventry City Hall of Fame.

Nottingham Forest

Wallace moved then reigning European champions Nottingham Forest in July 1980 for £1.25 million making him one of the world's most expensive players. His first game was their UEFA Super Cup defeat to Valencia that summer. Wallace went on to be Forest's top scorer for the first three of the four seasons he played there, scoring 13 goals in each season he top scored.

Later career

Wallace moved to French club Brest for a short spell in 1984. He returned to English football with Sunderland around New Year in season 1984–85.

In 1986 he joined Portuguese club Marítimo. In 1987 he signed for Melbourne Croatia in Australia, where he ended his playing career.

International

Wallace scored his on his full international debut, a 2–1 win against Bulgaria in February 1978. Coventry team-mate Jim Blyth was in goal for Scotland. He then played in a 1–0 defeat in Portugal in May 1978 and in a 3–0 loss in Wales in November of the following year. All three of his caps came when he was playing for Coventry City.

Managerial career

Wallace returned to Dumbarton as manager in November 1996 replacing Jim Fallon. He was dismissed from this job in October 1999 and was replaced by Jimmy Brown.

Statistics

As of March 1999

Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Dumbarton November 1996 March 1999 75 26 24 25 034.67

Honours

References
  1. "Ian Wallace". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  2. "Coventry City | Club | History | History | Hall of Fame". 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  • Brown, Jim (2000). Coventry City: An Illustrated History. Desert Island Books Ltd. ISBN 1-874287-36-8.
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