Tam McManus

Scottish footballer

For other people named Thomas McManus, see Thomas McManus (disambiguation).

Tam McManusPersonal information

Full name|  Thomas Kelly McManus[1]
Date of birth|  (1981-02-28) 28 February 1981 (age 44)
Place of birth|  Balornock, Scotland
Position(s)|  Forward
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1997–2005|  Hibernian|  109|  (19)
2000|  → East Fife (loan)|  11|  (3)
2000–2001|  → Airdrieonians (loan)|  1|  (0)
2004|  → Boston United (loan)|  8|  (2)
2005–2006|  Dundee|  37|  (10)
2006–2007|  Falkirk|  5|  (0)
2007–2008|  Dunfermline Athletic|  26|  (3)
2008–2009|  Colorado Rapids|  20|  (6)
2009|  Derry City|  22|  (8)
2010|  Ayr United|  17|  (5)
2010–2011|  Falkirk|  16|  (7)
2011–2012|  Ayr United|  5|  (0)
2012–2013|  Rochester Rhinos|  49|  (8)
2014|  Limerick|  13|  (4)
2015–2016|  Gartcairn Juniors|  8|  (7)
Total|  |  343|  (82)
International career‡
2001–2003|  Scotland U21[2]|  14|  (0)
|  Scotland Future|  |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:16, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 March 2010

Thomas Kelly "Tam" McManus (born 28 February 1981) is a Scottish former footballer.

McManus started his career with Hibernian, making over 100 league appearances for the Edinburgh club. During his time there, McManus represented the Scotland national under-21 football team and the Scotland Future team. After leaving Hibs in January 2005, McManus had a nomadic career, including two spells in both the US and the Republic of Ireland.

## Career

[edit]

### Early career

[edit]

McManus grew up in Balornock and Bishopbriggs in the north of Glasgow as a boyhood Celtic supporter,[3] and he started his career with Hibernian, making his debut against Stranraer in 1999. He made his first start in an Edinburgh derby against Heart of Midlothian a year later. He had earlier gained first-team experience with loan spells at East Fife and then Airdrieonians. McManus went on to become a first-team regular for Hibs, enjoying his best season in 2002–03, when he scored 11 goals finishing top goalscorer at the club. On 23 August 2003, McManus scored "a magnificent volley" in a 5–2 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.[4]

In August 2004, new Hibs manager Tony Mowbray decided McManus would not feature in Hibs' first team plans and he was loaned to Boston United. McManus failed to settle in Lincolnshire, and returned north to sign for Dundee in January 2005. The Dark Blues were struggling in the league, and despite Calum McDonald's goal in a relegation-decider against Livingston, Dundee were demoted to the Scottish First Division. After the game McManus was photographed lying on the pitch in floods of tears. Financial difficulties at Dundee, resultant from relegation and an earlier spell in administration required them to remove the highest-earners from their wage bill and along with Lee Wilkie, McManus negotiated a release settlement in mid-2006.

### Falkirk and Dunfermline Athletic

[edit]

McManus signed for Falkirk in August 2006,[5] but after playing a largely peripheral role in the first half of the 2006–07 season, he was released by the Bairns.[6] Four weeks later, McManus signed a short-term contract with Dunfermline for the remainder of the current season.[7] He scored two goals in six games. In June, he signed a new two-year deal at East End Park despite interest from at least three other SPL clubs.[8] He appeared as a substitute in the UEFA Cup against BK Häcken of Sweden on 30 August 2007 and scored the winning goal on 6 October 2007 against Queen of the South.

### Colorado Rapids

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In March 2008, McManus was approached by MLS side Colorado Rapids and offered a trial while the club were playing friendlies in England. McManus played 45 minutes against Ipswich Town[9] in a pre-season game for the American side and was widely expected to sign for the side.[10][11] After over a week of extensive medicals, McManus eventually signed for the MLS outfit on 28 March 2008.[12] McManus made his Colorado Rapids debut on 12 April 2008, coming on as a half-time substitute in the game against New England Revolution. He scored his first Rapids goal in a 2–1 loss to Chicago Fire on 26 April 2008. McManus won the Week 9 Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honour for his 40-yard strike against Chivas USA on 24 May 2008.[13] He was released by the club after refusing to accept a cut in wages.

### Derry City

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McManus signed for League of Ireland club Derry City on 26 March 2009.[14] McManus was signed for a second time by Stephen Kenny, who was previously his manager at Dunfermline Athletic. McManus scored his first competitive goal for Derry City on 16 July 2009, in their Europa League Second Qualifying Round first leg match away to Latvian side Skonto FC in a 1–1 draw. He left Derry City and returned to Scotland as a free agent due to an illegal contract scandal whereby Derry City were found to be paying salaries more than the 65% of turnover stipulated by the League rules.

### Return to Scotland

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McManus trained with Ayr United during December 2009.[15] He then went on trial with Grimsby Town for a week, but left after the trial period ended to go back to Scotland.[16] McManus subsequently signed for Ayr United on a deal that tied him to the club until the end of the 2009–10 season.[17] McManus scored on his debut in a 2–1 defeat against Dundee in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup, but left the club at the end of the season.

McManus signed a short-term contract with Falkirk, one of his former clubs, on 2 September 2010.[18] He scored two goals on his second debut for Falkirk, in a 3–1 win against Queen of the South.[19] Despite hitting 7 goals in 11 league starts, McManus was unable to agree to new terms and left the club. McManus signed for Ayr United on a short-term contract in November 2011.[20]

### Later career

[edit]

On 6 February 2012 the Rochester Rhinos of USL Pro announced the signing of McManus.[21] On 20 March 2014 McManus confirmed his signing for League of Ireland Premier Division team Limerick. In June 2015, McManus came out of retirement to sign for newly formed Gartcairn Juniors in the SJFA Central District League Second Division but a hamstring injury ended his playing career for a second time in February 2016.[22][23]

## After playing

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### Radio

[edit]

McManus is now a regular live match reporter on BBC Radio Scotland's football coverage of Scottish football on Sportsound: Open All Mics.[24]

### Journalism

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McManus has also moved into football journalism writing regularly about Scottish football for The Herald newspaper.[25] He speaks on the daily Glasgow internet football programme, PLZ Football Show.

### Hibs TV

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As of season 20/21 Tam has been a regular co-commentator for matches broadcast on Hibs TV to season ticket holders/International Hibs TV subscribers.

## See also

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* Dunfermline Athletic F.C. season 2007-08

## References

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1. ^ "Tam McManus". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
2. ^ "Scotland U21 Player Tam McManus Details".
3. ^ Effervescent McManus gets a lucky break at last The Scotsman (14 December 2002) Archived 19 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Rangers see off unlucky Hibs BBC (23 August 2003) Archived 24 August 2003 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ "McManus wins contract with Bairns". BBC Sport. 8 September 2006.
6. ^ "McManus allowed to leave Falkirk". BBC Sport. 31 January 2007.
7. ^ "Dunfermline sign striker McManus". BBC Sport. 26 February 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
8. ^ "McManus agrees new deal at Pars". BBC Sport. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
9. ^ "Rapids Record 3–2 Victory over Ipswich in England". Retrieved 8 March 2008.
10. ^ "Jim McIntyre on Friday". DAFC.co.uk. 8 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
11. ^ "Three more signings as McIntyre builds his side". The Courier. DC Thomson. 8 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
12. ^ "McManus makes a rapid Pars exit". BBC. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
13. ^ "McManus Wins MLS Goal of the Week Honors". Retrieved 30 May 2008.
14. ^ "Derry move to snap up Scottish striker McManus". Belfast Telegraph. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
15. ^ Wilson, Mike (15 January 2010). "Ayr United release Bryan Prunty". Ayrshire Post. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
16. ^ "Town Hoping To Tie Up Duo". Grimsby Town F.C. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
17. ^ McConnell, Stewart (4 February 2010). "TAM's THE MAN FOR AYR". Ayr Advertiser. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
18. ^ "Bairns Complete McManus Signing". Falkirk F.C. official website. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
19. ^ "Falkirk 3–1 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
20. ^ "McManus set for Ayr bow". Soccernet. ESPN. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
21. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
22. ^ Paterson, Colin (24 June 2015). "Former Hibernian star Tam McManus comes out of retirement to sign for Gartcairn Juniors". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Daily Record. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
23. ^ Paterson, Colin (5 February 2016). "Gartcairn boss sets challenge as Tam McManus calls it a day". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. Daily Record. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
24. ^ Cameron, Neil (21 September 2016). "Tam McManus interview: Keeping quiet was never a strong point but now he's putting that to use as a pundit". The Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
25. ^ "Profile: Tam McManus".

## External links

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* Tam McManus at Soccerbase

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals