James Michael Vincent (born 27 September 1989) is an English former professional footballer and coach who is a youth coach at Stockport County.
Over his career, Vincent played for Stockport County, Kidderminster Harriers, Inverness Caledonian Thistle (two spells), Dundee, Hereford, F.C. United of Manchester, Stockport Town, and had two loan spells with Dunfermline Athletic. He is most notable for scoring Inverness CT's winning goal in the 2015 Scottish Cup final over Falkirk to give the Highland side its first-ever major trophy.
Club career Stockport County Born in Glossop, Vincent joined Stockport County 'Centre of Excellence' when he was eight years old, having previously started out at Glossop Juniors. When Vincent was ten years old, he then joined Centre of Excellence at Stockport. Vincent then progressed through the ranks to earn a two-year Youth Team scholarship. He played for the Youth Team, winning the Puma Youth Alliance trophy before making his first-team debut, in his second year Youth Team contract, as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Brentford on the last day of the 2007–08 season.
Vincent made his first appearance of the 2008–09 season, coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute, in a 3–0 loss against Scunthorpe United on 30 August 2008. Following this, he received a handful of first team football, mostly coming from the substitute bench. Vincent scored his first goal for the club on 18 November 2008 in a 5–0 win over Yeovil Town in the FA Cup. On 10 March 2009, he scored his first league goal for Stockport County in a 2–1 win over Hartlepool United. After the match, manager Jim Gannon praised the performance of Vincent, Matty Mainwaring and Greg Tansey, calling them as 'just three fantastic players'. On 24 April 2009, he scored his second league goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against Crewe Alexandra. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Vincent made nineteen appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
Following Stockport County entering administration in the 2009–10 season, Vincent became a first team regular, playing in the midfield position. On 18 August 2009, he set up a goal that led to Richard Keogh scoring an own goal, in a 2–1 loss against Carlisle United. Two months later on 12 October 2009, Vincent played a role when he won a penalty, leading Carl Baker score a penalty, in a 1–0 win against Tranmere Rovers. However, Vincent was unable to help Stockport County avoid relegation in League One after losing 3–1 loss against Yeovil Town on 10 April 2010. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Vincent made thirty–nine appearances in all competitions. Following this, he was offered a new contract by the club, who will be playing in the League Two next season.
In the 2010–11 season, Vincent found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench. Towards the end of the season, he suffered an injury that saw him out for the remaining matches of the season. On 30 April 2011, Stockport County was relegated from the Football League after losing 2–0 against Crewe Alexandra. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Vincent made nineteen appearances in all competitions. Following this, Vincent was informed that he would not be offered a further contract by Stockport due to the club's financial position as they struggled with administration.
Kidderminster Harriers On 23 June 2011, Vincent joined Conference National outfit Kidderminster Harriers on a one-year contract under the management of Steve Burr.
He made his debut for the club, starting the whole game, in a 3–2 defeat to Gateshead in the opening game of the season. Manager Burr assured that Vincent will eventually score for Kidderminster Harriers. After missing one match, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 2–0 loss against Wrexham on 3 September 2011. On 17 September 2011, Vincent scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–1 win against Alfreton Town. However, in a match against Fleetwood Town on 20 September 2011, he suffered a groin injury and was substituted at half-time, as Kidderminster Harriers loss 5–2. After missing two matches, Vincent returned to the first team, coming on as a 55th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Kettering Town on 1 October 2011. Following his return from injury, he became a first team regular, playing in the midfield position. On 18 October 2011, Vincent scored twice for the club, in a 5–4 win over Braintree Town. After missing three matches due to a knee injury, he returned to the first team, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Forest Green Rovers on 26 December 2011. However, his return was short–lived when Vincent suffered a knee injury once again and was out for a month. On 15 February 2012, he returned to the starting line–up, in a 6–2 win against Evesham United in the semi–final of Worcestershire Senior Cup. After not playing for a month, Vincent returned to the first team, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute, in a 3–1 win against Darlington on 24 March 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he made twenty–eight appearances and scoring three goals in all competitions. Following this, Vincent signed a new one-year contract with Kidderminster Harriers.
At the start of the 2012–13 season, Vincent started in the first four league matches of the season before missing two matches, due to a groin injury. On 4 September 2012, he returned to the first team, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Braintree Town. Since returning from injury, Vincent regained his first team place, playing in the midfield position. On 9 October 2012, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Hyde. After missing two matches with a groin injury, Vincent returned to the starting line–up, in a 1–0 win against Tamworth on 4 December 2012. However, his return was short–lived when he suffered a knee injury and missed two matches. On 5 February 2013, Vincent returned to the first team, in a 2–1 loss against Redditch United in the semi–final of Worcestershire Senior Cup. After being dropped for one match, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against Ebbsfleet United on 2 March 2013. Despite the injuries Vincent faced, he continued to remain in the first team in the second half of the season. After missing one match, Vincent scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Wrexham on 13 April 2013. However, he was unable to help Kidderminster Harriers’ promotion after losing in both legs against Wrexham. Following this, the club triggered Vincent’s contract for another season. However, it was later emerged that he yet to sign for Kidderminster Harriers, leading him to be linked with a move to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Vincent made forty appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle On 3 June 2013, Vincent signed for Scottish Premiership side Inverness Caledonian Thistle on an initial one-year contract. Manager Burr claimed that Kidderminster Harriers would be entitled to compensation, as Vincent was under-23. But Kidderminster Harriers would not get compensation for him, due to international borders.
He scored on his Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s debut in the opening game of the 2013–14 season, winning 3–0 over St Mirren. After his debut, Vincent stated that he believed his move to Inverness was a "step up in my career." After the match, manager Terry Butcher praised his performance, saying: "James is someone I really like. He's one of several players to come to us from non-league football down south and they are making their mark." Since joining the club, Vincent became a first team regular, playing in the midfield position. However, he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the year. On 18 January 2014, Vincent returned from injury, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Aberdeen. In a follow–up match against Hearts in the semi–finals of the Scottish League Cup, he played a role of setting up two goals that send the match to extra time and penalty shootout, as the club won on penalties to reach the Scottish League Cup final. On 15 February 2014, after a reported interest from other clubs south of the border, Vincent signed a contract extension with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, keeping him until 2016. Following his return from injury, he regained his first team place, playing in the midfield position. Vincent started in the Scottish League Cup Final against Aberdeen, playing 63 minutes before being substituted, as the club lost 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw. However, he suffered a knee injury that saw him out for three matches. But Vincent made his return to the starting line–up, in a 2–2 draw against St Johnstone on the last game of the season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he made twenty–seven appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Vincent said: "The gaffer came in last season and wanted to change things. He wanted to do it differently, do it his way. All the lads have bought into that. We want to get the ball down and play. I started the season and played the first 10 or so games but, unfortunately, I fractured my leg and was out for four months. I managed to get into the team again at the end of the season but I never got up to the pace I set at the start of the season. I’m looking to get going again." However, he suffered a groin injury. Shortly after, Vincent suffered ankle injury and was out for two months. On 18 October 2014, he made his return from injury, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against St Mirren. On 8 November 2014, Vincent scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–2 win against Hamilton Academical. Following his return from injury, his playing time was soon reduced, coming from the substitute bench. He soon found himself out of the first team, due to his own injury concern once again. On 11 April 2015, Vincent returned to the first team, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Celtic. Following his return from injury, Inverness Caledonian Thistle went onto have the most successful period in their history finishing 3rd in the Scottish Premiership and qualifying to play in Europe. On 30 May 2015, Vincent came on as a substitute with twenty minutes of the Scottish Cup Final remaining at Hampden Park and scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 victory against Falkirk, winning the club their first Scottish Cup. After the match, he said: "I dreamt about this all week. I knew I wasn’t playing, so I knew I had to come on and make an impact. To get the winning goal…I am over the moon. It’s fantastic, it’s the pinnacle and the sort of game you want to be playing in." Vincent also dedicated his goal to his family and said "it was the greatest moment of his life". At the end of the 2014–15 season, he made twenty–four appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.