Brendan Bradley (footballer)

Last updated

Brendan Bradley
Personal information
Full name Brendan Bradley
Date of birth (1950-06-07) 7 June 1950 (age 73)
Place of birth Derry, Northern Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1966–1969 Derry City 4 (1)
1969–1972 Finn Harps 79 (58)
1972–1973 Lincoln City 31 (12)
1973–1978 Finn Harps 115 (82)
1976 →Toronto Metros-Croatia (loan) 1 (0)
1978–1979 Athlone Town 21 (6)
1979–1982 Sligo Rovers 90 (44)
1982–1985 Finn Harps 74 (41)
1985–1986 Derry City 10 (4)
Total425(248)
International career
1976–1978 League of Ireland XI 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brendan Bradley (born 7 June 1950) is an Irish former footballer. He holds the record for the highest number of goals, 235, scored by an individual in the League of Ireland with a club record 181 for Finn Harps [1]

Contents

Career

Derry City

A talented youngster, appearing in the Derry and District League at the age of 15, Bradley signed for Derry City at the age of sixteen. Although a regular in the club's reserve team he only made a handful of first team appearances during his three seasons with the club; his route to the first team being blocked by the form of regular striker Danny Hale.

Finn Harps

Despite his limited appearances for Derry, Bradley had impressed Finn Harps manager Patsy McGowan and a fee of £100 secured Bradley's services for the Harps' League of Ireland debut season, 1969–1970. The season saw him score his and the club's first hat-trick in senior football in the away fixture with Athlone Town [2] and his tally of 18 league goals was the highest in the league. The following season once again saw Bradley top the list of leading scorers, this time with 20 league goals whilst the 1971–1972 season saw his goal help Finn Harps secure their first major honour with a 1–0 victory over Cork Hibernians in the Dublin City Cup.

Lincoln City

In July 1972, Bradley moved to the Football League with Lincoln City manager David Herd paying £6,000 for his services. He made his league debut for the club in the 1–1 away draw with Darlington on 19 August 1972 [3] His first goals for the club came in his third league game when he netted twice in the 3–0 away victory over Workington on 30 August 1972 and he then scored in the following four league fixtures. He went on to score 11 goals in his first 18 league appearances before Herd left as manager following the 3–1 defeat at Bradford City on 2 December 1972. Although he found the net in the new manager Graham Taylor's first game in charge, a 2–2 draw at Newport County on 16 December 1972, that would prove to be his final goal for the Imps as he failed to score in his final 12 appearances that season.

Return to Finn Harps

With Graham Taylor rebuilding the Sincil Bank based club, Bradley returned to Finn Harps for £4,000 on 22 March 1973 and ended the 1973–1974 season by scoring the final two goals as Harps won the FAI Cup with a 3–1 victory against St Patrick's Athletic at Dalymount Park. The victory saw Harps qualify for the following season's European Cup Winners Cup where they were drawn against Bursaspor. Bradley scored in the away leg, a 4–2 defeat on 18 September 1974; the 0–0 home leg on 2 October 1974 seeing the club fall out of the competition. His total of 21 league goals saw him head the league scorers chart for a third time. The 1975–1976 season saw him head the scoring charts for a fourth time with 29 league goals, [4] which included all six in the 6–1 victory over Sligo Rovers at Finn Park. These exploits saw him voted the Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland Personality of the Year for 1976. [5] The close season saw him head for the North American Soccer League where he made a single appearance for Toronto Metros-Croatia. [6]

Later career

In 1978, he moved to Athlone Town before linking once more with his erstwhile Finn Harps manager Patsy McGowan at Sligo Rovers. He netted 44 league goals for the club, collecting a FAI Cup runners-up medal from the 1981 final with Dundalk. He returned to Harps for the 1982–1983 season, staying a further four seasons, before re-joining Derry City in the January 1986 season, helping the club capture the League of Ireland First Division Shield.

Post career

Bradley resides in Derry, relaxing with playing golf and walking. He resisted the urge of management after his playing retirement commenting that "it would never take the place of playing for me" and is an occasional visitor to the Brandywell Stadium. After 13 years at Finn Park he retains "a soft spot for Harps". [7]

In 2019, Bradley was honoured with a Special Merit Award, at the 2019 FAI International Awards, for his outstanding contributions to domestic club football in Ireland. [8]

Honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derry City F.C.</span> Association football club in Northern Ireland

Derry City Football Club are a professional association football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of league football in the Republic of Ireland, and are the League of Ireland's only participant from Northern Ireland. The club's home ground is the Brandywell Stadium and the players wear red and white striped shirts from which their nickname, the Candystripes, derives. The club are also known as the Red and White Army, Derry or City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finn Harps F.C.</span> Football club

Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their home matches at Finn Park in Ballybofey. The club's colours are blue and white, and they go by the nickname Harps. The main successes of the club include winning an FAI Cup in 1973–74 and the First Division title in 2004. They also contested the 1999 FAI Cup Final, a second replay of which ended in a narrow defeat, the first replay having been lost to a draw with 30 seconds left to play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin McHugh</span> Irish footballer and manager

Kevin McHugh is an Irish former footballer and current manager of Finn Harps F.C. under-15 League of Ireland team. Considered one of Donegal's best-known sportstars, McHugh is fifth in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 174 league goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Byrne (footballer)</span> Irish footballer (born 1978)

Jason Byrne is an Irish retired footballer who played as a forward. He is the second highest ever goal scorer in the history of the League of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Farren</span> Irish association footballer

Mark Farren was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for Derry City in his prime.

Patrick James McCourt is a Northern Irish former footballer who played as a winger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hutton (footballer)</span> Northern Irish footballer (born 1973)

Peter Hutton is a Northern Irish football coach and former player. A centre back, he spent the majority of his 21 years playing career with Derry City, and set a club record of over 670 appearances in the League of Ireland. His father, also named Peter, played for Finn Harps in the 1970s.

Liam Coyle is a former Northern Irish footballer.

Jonathan Speak is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. Speak was top scorer in the 1987–88 League of Ireland Premier Division and in the 1995–96 League of Ireland First Division. He is joint thirteenth in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 135 league goals.

Felix Healy is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and singer who played for Coleraine and then became a football manager. He has also worked as a media pundit and is currently part of the management team at First Division club Finn Harps, taking on the role of Director of football alongside manager Peter Hutton.

Paul Gerard McGee is an Irish former footballer who played as a forward.

Paul Curran is a football manager and former player. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. Throughout his playing career, Curran represented several clubs, including Ards F.C., Finn Harps F.C., Derry City F.C., and Dundalk F.C.

Paul Carlyle is a Northern Irish former footballer and currently a manager.

John Terence Harkin is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He scored 125 goals in 260 league games in nine seasons in the Football League. He also scored 66 goals in 142 games in the League of Ireland, and scored five goals in 11 North American Soccer League games. At international level, he made five appearances scoring two goals for the Northern Ireland national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick McEleney</span> Irish professional footballer (born 1992)

Patrick McEleney is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Derry City in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He has previously played for Sunderland, Oldham Athletic and Dundalk. McEleney has represented Dundalk and Derry City in European competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Timlin (footballer)</span> Irish footballer

Mark Timlin is an Irish former professional footballer that played for League of Ireland clubs Derry City, St Patrick's Athletic and Finn Harps.

Matthew Smith is a Scottish footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division side Shelbourne. He started his career with Dundee United and made his first team debut in May 2016, and subsequently had loan periods with Montrose and Cove Rangers before moving to Ireland with Waterford, St Patrick's Athletic and Derry City.

Darragh Markey is an Irish professional footballer playing for League of Ireland Premier Division club, Drogheda United, having previously spent six seasons with St Patrick's Athletic, the club he started his professional career with.

Dundalk entered the 2021 season as the FAI Cup holders, and were still the League of Ireland Cup holders, having won it in 2019, because of the competition not running in 2020. Having qualified for European football for the eighth season in a row, they were entered in the new UEFA Europa Conference League. 2021 was Dundalk's 13th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 86th in all, and their 95th in the League of Ireland.

Dundalk entered the 2022 season having finished in sixth place in the league the previous season and having failed to qualify for European football for the first time since the 2012 season. They were still the League of Ireland Cup holders because, after they had won it in 2019, the competition was not held in 2020 or 2021. 2022 was Dundalk's 14th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 87th in all, and their 96th in the League of Ireland. The 100th anniversary of the club's entry to the Leinster Senior League and therefore its first match as a senior club passed on 7th October 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Ireland – List of Topscorers". Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Finn Harps to mark 40 years in senior football". Ocean FM (Ireland) . Retrieved 11 August 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Brendan Bradley Profile". Lincoln City F.C. Official Archive. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Ireland – List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "SWAI Personality of the Year". The Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland Official Website. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  6. ↑ "North American Soccer League Rosters – Toronto Metros/Metros-Croatia". nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "Kelly's eye way off the ball in referee howler". Irish Independent . 27 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "29th FAI International Awards". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.