Michael Oliver (footballer, born 1957)
Michael Oliver (born 16 November 1957) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 November 1957 | ||
| Place of birth | Kirkintilloch, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Campsie Black Watch | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1983 | Falkirk | 79 | (6) |
| 1983–1984 | Cowdenbeath | 39 | (4) |
| 1984–1985 | Queen of the South | 42 | (2) |
| 1985–1986 | Stenhousemuir | 2 | (0) |
| 1986 | Albion Rovers | 2 | (0) |
| 1986 | Stranraer | 1 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | East Stirlingshire | 5 | (0) |
| 1987–1988 | Queen of the South | 4 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Albion Rovers | 61 | (3) |
| 1990–1991 | Arbroath | 13 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1991–1992 | Albion Rovers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Career
Oliver had successful spells at QOS and Albion Rovers, winning the Division 2 championship.[1] After retiring as a player, Oliver was appointed manager of Albion Rovers[1] in 1991. He also worked as assistant manager to Gordon Dalziel at Ayr United, where he was building a growing reputation as a coach and especially in developing young players. Oliver then moved to be general manager at Clydebank.[1]
Since leaving the latter of those positions, Oliver has build up a great reputation in the area of player identification and has worked as a scout for Dundee United, Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City.[1] Oliver was hired by the Scottish Football Association after Craig Levein was appointed as national team manager.[1] Levein explained at the time of Oliver's appointment that he wanted to inform his players about all of their opponents, which necessitated the hiring of a full-time scout.[1]
References
- Oliver named as scout to Levein, BBC Sport, 8 January 2010.