James Robert Case was born and raised in Allerton, Liverpool on the 18th of May 1954. Overlooked for the Liverpool Schoolboys team whose head coach at the time was ironically Tom Saunders, the man who eventually nurtured him once he had become Liverpool’s Youth Development Officer, Jimmy’s physical stature was against him as he entered his teenage years. He wasn't physically intimidated by playing against adults in local amateur football but he recognised that he was "too small and had to do something about it." Turned away by Dave Merrington at Burnley, having been told he didn't have what it takes to be a professional footballer, Jimmy found his niche at Holly Park, via the tough Dockers affiliated team, Blue Union. The hard work and countless hours he spent in a gym ultimately saw him force himself into South Liverpool’s team and not long after that Tom Saunders, who also worked as a club scout, came into the picture with the offer of a trial at Liverpool. Jimmy came to Anfield in May 1973, shortly before the start of what would be Bill Shankly's final season as a club manager and, as he was training to become an electrician, was working all day but training with Liverpool two mornings and two nights a week. Initially he rejected the club's offer of a professional contract following a successful trial. Jimmy knew it was important to have something to fall back on if he did not make it as a footballer, so with just two years left of an electrician’s apprenticeship, he took a risk and called the club's bluff in an attempt to find out how much they wanted him. They wanted him very much and a compromise was reached by which Liverpool took over his South Liverpool contract which meant that he could continue being an electrician as well.
Given his winning league debut at Anfield on the 26th of April 1975 against QPR, by 1976 he was a first-choice midfielder who was a prolific goalscorer for someone in his position; his first goal for the club came in the 68th minute of the 3–2 league win over Spurs at Anfield on the 23rd of August 1975. At the end of his first full season, he helped Liverpool to victory in the League Championship and the UEFA Cup, scoring in the first leg of the final of the latter against FC Bruges. He maintained his place the following year (1976–77) as Liverpool chased a unique treble of League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup. They were league champions for the second season in a row, but lost in the 1977 FA Cup Final to Manchester United, although Jimmy scored Liverpool's goal, a typical Case goal, a thundering shot from outside the penalty area following a neat turn on the ball. He was in the team again a few days later when Liverpool won the 1977 European Cup Final beating Mönchengladbach 3–1 in Rome, and he won both the League (1978–79, 1979–80) and the European Cup twice more, in 1978 and 1981 and added a League Cup winners' medal in 1981. However that season he found himself out of favour as Bob Paisley was concerned by Jimmy's close friendship with fellow midfielder Ray Kennedy, with the two regularly embroiled in off-the-pitch escapades, culminating in their both being charged with assault in the spring of 1980. At the very peak of his powers at the age of twenty-seven his Liverpool time was up and within a short time only Phil Neal remained at Anfield from the quintet that had appeared in all three European Cup finals, (Ray Clemence to Tottenham, Ray Kennedy to Swansea and Terry McDermott to Newcastle were the others who moved on). Jimmy wasn't desperate to leave but he knew that he faced a tough battle with Sammy Lee to retain his place in the team.
Bob Paisley transferred him to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 1981, part of a makeweight £450,000 deal when Mark Lawrenson went the other way, and he signed a five-year contract. Staying for nearly four years, he moved on to Southampton in the spring of 1985 having helped the Seagulls reach the F.A. Cup final of 1983. Jimmy's mother tragically died during the evening of the final. Southampton was a good move for Jimmy where, having moved into central midfield, Southampton revolved around him and his experience was vital at The Dell. Six years with the Saints took Jimmy up to the age of thirty-seven but he still felt fit enough to contribute on the field and, unhappy with the tactical approach of new Saints manager Ian Branfoot, was approached by Bournemouth manager Harry Redknapp just a few hours after he had been released by Southampton. This led to a happy season further down the south coast, a season in which he played forty-nine matches to prove that he was still looking after his body well enough to cope with the physical side of the game. Jimmy became a bit of a football nomad for a few years before returning to Brighton as a player/coach as his fortieth birthday approached and then replaced Liam Brady as the club’s manager in November 1995, the same month in which he announced that his playing days were now over. He played his last professional game at 42 before Bashley, a small village club with big plans, put in an audacious bid for his services in 1997. Jimmy joined as manager, and in between marking out the pitch and sorting kit, almost clinched promotion in his first season.
When Kenny Sansom once taunted him over his Three Lions snub by asking, "How many England caps did you win, Jimmy?" he got an answer of "Three!" But when the former Arsenal man claimed that figure was wrong Jimmy's response was, "Sorry Kenny, I thought you said European cups!!"
With a record of three European Cups, four League titles and all the other trophies he won, plus European Young Player of the Year, it is no surprise that Jimmy was voted No. 45 in the 2006 poll '100 Players Who Shook The Kop', taken by the Official Liverpool Football Club website in which over 110,000 fans worldwide nominated their personal Top 10 players.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/10/merseyside-for-sport-ronnie-moore.html
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