Date / Year of birth: 11th January 1955

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 1974/75

Season of last appearance: 1975/76

Also played for: Charlton Athletic (0), Gillingham (1+1,0), Dover, Luton Town (0), Weymouth, Maidstone United, Gravesend & Northfleet, Dartford, Crawley Town, Harrow Borough, Sheppey United, Bromley, Littlehampton Town and Steyning Town

5' 10" tall, well-built opportunist goalscorer born in Belfast, Northern Ireland who moved to England aged seven.

Brian began his career as an associated schoolboy at Charlton, signing for them on 1.7.70 aged 15. He played for Charlton's Colts side during the early part of the 1970/71 season but in December 1970 his registration was cancelled.

Later in 1970/71 Brian joined Gillingham and he became known as 'Quacker' at Priestfield. Right from the start he was a great success in the Gills' junior sides and he was top scorer for the South East Counties League Division 2 side during the 1970/71 campaign. In the seasons that followed Brian progressed through the Gills' ranks and he was ever-present for the reserves during 1973/74, top scoring with 15 goals from 28 appearances.

On 17.8.74 he made his first team debut, coming on as a sub in a home game against Walsall, and later that month Brian made his full debut in a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth but an injury crisis meant that he had to play in midfield. Shortly after those games he was transfer-listed and in September 1974 Brian joined Dover on loan. He was expected to make the move permanent but returned to Priestfield in October 1974 having failed to score in six appearances for Dover. Brian then played for the Gills' reserves until he joined Margate in January 1975, initially on a month's loan.

Brian made an instant impact by scoring a hat-trick on his debut for Margate in a 3-1 win at Canterbury on 7.1.75 and one of his goals was a diving header. Before the month was up Brian had scored five times and his goals included a superb volley in a 3-1 defeat at Burton on 18.1.75. His free transfer soon became permanent and Brian was referred to as being a "scoring sensation" by the Thanet Times. He was also said to possess "a tremendous appetite for goals" and to be "razor sharp" in the penalty area. After Brian had taken his tally to 12 goals in eight games Margate manager Les Riggs said "I didn't expect anything like this when I signed him, players normally take time to settle in." Brian went on to score 18 goals in only 27 appearances (one as sub) before the end of the 1974/75 season. On 5.3.75 he scored two goals described by the Isle of Thanet Gazette as "splendid" during a 2-0 win over Bedford and one of them was another diving header. The Gazette said that Brian was "a goal-grabbing revelation".

The 1975/76 season was a fantastic one for Brian and he scored a remarkable 43 goals in 61 appearances (one as sub). He was the leading scorer in the entire Southern League competition and the local press said he was "absolute dynamite in the penalty box". Brian was also described as being a "hot shot" and on 13.9.75 he scored four goals in an 8-0 win over Bexhill in an FA Cup tie at Hartsdown Park.

On 20.9.75 Brian got both goals in a 2-1 home win over Wealdstone and one of his efforts finished off an attack that the Thanet Times described as being "poetry in motion". The move had also involved Barry Thornley and Brian's strike partner Carl Gilbert. On 6.12.75 Brian bagged a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over visitors Cambridge City and on 13.12.75 he scored with a diving header in a 2-0 win at Maidstone. Other notable goals included a clever lob in a 4-1 win at Wealdstone on 1.1.76 and a superb volley in a 3-1 win at Stourbridge on 24.1.76.

In February 1976 Brian asked for a transfer, saying that the club had failed to keep "certain promises" made to him when he signed. Les Riggs made it clear that Brian had no problem with him, and vice versa. Riggs told the local press "naturally we shall be very sorry to lose Brian. He has made a big impact here...some doubts were expressed when I obtained Brian for nothing, but he immediately hit the goal trail and has exceeded my expectations." Riggs continued "I recognised in Brian the goal-grabbing sixth sense shown by Jimmy Greaves in the 18-yard box. He has a magic quality and it was an appreciation of his skill which allowed me to let Barry Brown go to Maidstone."

Even after requesting a move Brian continued to score freely and remarkably found the net from 40 yards out in a 4-0 win over Dover at Hartsdown Park on 24.2.76, a goal described as "a stunner" by the Isle of Thanet Gazette. A diving header in a 3-1 home win over Hillingdon on 2.3.76 was "a goal of stunning excellence" in the Gazette's opinion and Brian also scored in the 1st Leg of the Kent Floodlight Trophy Final at Canterbury on 22.4.76 as Margate won 2-0. He then featured in the 2nd Leg at Hartsdown Park on 24.4.76 which the visitors won 2-1 after extra time. The result meant Margate took the trophy with a 3-2 aggregate win but Brian only played once more - in a 3-1 defeat at Telford on 26.4.76 - before leaving the club.

In June 1976 2nd Division Luton Town signed him on a two-year contract for an initial fee of £1,500 and there were additional clauses involved in the deal. It was agreed that Margate would receive further payments based on Brian's first team appearances and would also get a percentage of any future transfer fee Luton might receive for him. The Hatters also agreed to play a friendly at Margate.

Brian became a regular in Luton's reserve team and played alongside former Margate defender Dave Carr for them. His eight goals from 21 outings (three as sub) in the Hatters' Football Combination side made Brian their leading goalscorer but he was never given a first team chance.

In March 1977 he returned to the Southern League when Weymouth bought him for £1,000 and Brian went on to score eight goals for Weymouth before the end of 1976/77.

In November 1977 he returned to Kent when he moved to Maidstone and Brian scored 25 goals for them during the 1978/79 season.

In the summer of 1979 he joined Gravesend & Northfleet and scored four goals in 32 appearances (six as sub) for the Fleet during 1979/80. Brian made a further 13 appearances during the 1980/81 season and scored twice.

He joined Dover for the start of the 1981/82 campaign and scored three goals there before moving on once more.

Brian's next port of call was Dartford and he scored eight times in 23 appearances (four as sub) for them during the second half of the 1981/82 season. His goals included a hat-trick in the last eight minutes of a 5-0 home win over Yeovil on 5.12.81.

Brian later became a popular player at Crawley. He joined them in July 1982 and he was their top scorer for two consecutive seasons. Brian scored 32 goals during the 1982/83 season, including a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Thanet United at Hartsdown on 31.8.82, two more in another 3-1 win over Thanet at Crawley on 11.9.82 and one in a 3-1 win at Thanet on 11.12.82.

He then bagged a club record 53 goals during the 1983/84 campaign and Brian's 34 Southern League goals made him the leading scorer in the whole competition for the second time in his career. Once again he did well against Thanet, scoring twice in a 6-0 win at Hartsdown on 31.12.83 and getting the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at Crawley on 7.4.84.

He left Crawley early in the 1984/85 season after scoring 75 goals from 107 appearances and had short spells with Harrow Borough and Sheppey where his friend (and former Margate player) Andy Woolford was in charge before linking up with Bromley in December 1984.

Brian scored 15 goals for Bromley before the end of the 1984/85 campaign and struck another 25 goals during the 1985/86 season. In September 1985 he played for Bromley in their FA Cup tie against Thanet at Hartsdown and the Thanet Times said that he looked "more like comedian Eddie Large" and "had a game to forget".

Brian later returned to Crawley but left them again during the 1986/87 season when his work in insurance led to him relocating to Worthing.

After his move to Sussex Brian joined Littlehampton and he was their joint leading scorer for the 1987/88 campaign. Thanet played at Littlehampton in the FA Cup that season but Brian wasn't part of their side that day.

After a couple of years at Littlehampton Brian had a short spell with Steyning before finally retiring in 1990.

He worked as an accountant during his time with Margate.

In 2011 Brian was living in Spain, playing a lot of golf and enjoying his retirement. He was also a Malaga FC season ticket holder.

On 12.4.14 he was one of the many former Margate players who attended the club's 'Legends Day' at Hartsdown Park.

Brian completed a questionnaire for this site which you can see here.