On 24th August 2000, Norwich signed Manchester City midfielder Jim Whitley on a month's loan. The 25 year old Northern Ireland international midfielder was known to the likes of Bryan Hamilton and Nigel Worthington. Jim had made 38 appearances for Man City but was on their transfer list. He has also spent a loan period at Blackpool where he made 8 appearances.

Although Jim's loan was extended until the end of October 2000, he returned to Man City on 26th October, replaced by Danny Granville heading to Carrow Road on loan the following day.

Jim later headed to Swindon on loan but played just 2 games. On returning to Manchester, it was suggested that Jim would rejoin Blackpool at the end of the 2000/01 season as he would be available on a Bosman Free Transfer. The BBC Ceefax service reported on 27th February 2001 that Jim had joined Northampton on loan for whom he made 13 appearances

Jim signed for Wrexham in August 2001. He remained in North Wales until June 2006 when a knee injury forced him to retire from football. He changed direction and can now be found on stage as Sammy Davis Jr in the tribute group The Rat Pack's Back. He also appeared as Nat King Cole in the Christmas Crooners. He is also a portraint painter and had an exhibition at Maine Road..

Whitley returned to football on 30th October 2022 joining Macclesfield FC as their Under-18 coach. He knows Macclesfield's Director of Football Robbie Savage from childhood. Macclesfield FC are a phoenix club formed in 2020 after Macclesfield Town went bust. Macclesfield currently play in the Northern Premier League West Division