Brian Irvine (footballer)

Last updated

Brian Irvine
Brian Irvine (3446110960).jpg
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-05-24) 24 May 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Position(s) Central defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1983–1985 Falkirk 38 (0)
1985–1997 Aberdeen 311 (30)
1997–1999 Dundee 69 (4)
1999–2003 Ross County 119 (13)
Total537(47)
International career
1990–1994 Scotland 9 (0)
Managerial career
2006 Elgin City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Irvine (born 24 May 1965 in Bellshill, Scotland) is a former international footballer who played as a central defender for Falkirk, Aberdeen, Dundee, Ross County and managed Elgin City. He was capped nine times by Scotland. [2] [3]

Contents

Career

After working in a bank on leaving school, [3] Irvine began his professional career with Falkirk in 1983, aged 18. [4] During his spell with the Bairns, he became an evangelical Christian. [4] [2] [3]

After two years and nearly forty league appearances at Brockville, Irvine moved to Aberdeen, the team he had supported as a child, [3] for a fee of £110,000. [3] During twelve years with the Dons, Irvine made over 350 appearances in all competitions, gradually becoming a regular in the defence alongside Alex McLeish as veteran captain Willie Miller's career came to an end. [2] [1]

Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1990, with Irvine scoring the winning penalty in a 9–8 shootout win against Celtic in the final, [4] [2] [3] [5] having also scored in the quarter-final and semi-final. [6] [2] He had already come on as a substitute in the League Cup final victory in the same season, [2] and played a part in two other finals [7] and five runners-up finishes in the Scottish Premier Division [8] (losing out to Rangers on every occasion), as well as helping the club avoid what would have been a first-ever relegation via a play-off in 1995. [9] He took over in goals in emergencies (if the goalkeeper was injured or sent off) on several occasions, saving a penalty in a match against Hibernian in 1991. [1] [10]

In June 1995 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, [2] [3] returning to action four months after the diagnosis. [4] Irvine left Pittodrie in 1997 (following a testimonial match against Wimbledon) [11] and moved to Dundee, featuring nearly 70 times in two years. In 1999, Irvine moved to Ross County, where he finished his playing career in 2003. [3]

Coaching career / later work

After retiring, Irvine stayed with County as a coach, taking his first managerial job in January 2006 with Elgin City. [12] In December that year, with the club bottom of the table, Irvine left the club. [13] [2] In March 2009, Irvine was named assistant manager to Martin Rennie of USL First Division side Carolina RailHawks FC. He was previously Rennie's assistant at USL-2 side Cleveland City Stars. [2]

He has been involved in charity work, [2] [3] and in 2016 became a police officer. [6]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [14] [15] [16] [17]
ClubSeasonLeagueScottish CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Falkirk 1983–84 Scottish First Division 30000000--30
1984–85 350201000--380
Total380201000--410
Aberdeen 1985–86 Scottish Premier Division 10000000--10
1986–87 203002010--233
1987–88 171104210--233
1988–89 272503010--362
1989–90 311523010--403
1990–91 302104140--393
1991–92 414102020--464
1992–93 395623100--488
1993–94 427602041--548
1994–95 191102020--241
1995–96 183300000--213
1996–97 261001051--322
Total31130294264212--38740
Dundee 1997–98 Scottish First Division 36150210010442
1998–99 SPL 333001000--343
Total69450310010785
Ross County 1999–2000 Scottish Second Division 326212100323910
2000–01 Scottish First Division 26220200020322
2001–02 30210410010363
2002–03 31310300010363
Total1191361112007214318
Career total537474254172128265163

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [18]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Scotland 199010
1991—
1992—
199360
199420
Total90

Managerial record

[19]

TeamFromToRecord
PWLDWin %
Elgin City August 2006December 2006381422236.84%

Honours

Aberdeen [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkirk F.C.</span> Association football club in Scotland

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1876 and competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of Scottish football, as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club was elected to the Second Division of the Scottish Football League in 1902–03, was promoted to the First Division after two seasons and achieved its highest league position in the early 1900s when it was runner-up to Celtic in 1907–08 and 1909–10. The football club was registered as a Limited Liability Company in April 1905 – Falkirk Football & Athletic Club Ltd.

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

Elgin City Football Club is a professional senior football club based in Elgin, Moray.

Alex Smith MBE is a Scottish former football player and manager. His major achievements over close to five decades as a manager include winning the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren and 1990 with Aberdeen, where he also won the Scottish League Cup in 1989. He had a role in the development of many prominent players, and the 2005 book on Scottish football, The Final Whistle? was described as "the nearest thing the Scottish game has to a father figure".

Stephen Crawford is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the interim manager of Lowland League club Cowdenbeath.

Gary Smith is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Neilson</span> Scottish professional football manager and former player

Robbie Neilson is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Dodds</span> Scottish footballer (born 1969)

William Dodds is a Scottish football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Championship club Inverness Caledonian Thistle and works with BBC Scotland match commentary these days.

James Bett is a Scottish former professional association footballer who played in central or left midfield. He played with Aberdeen for nine seasons and had shorter spells at other clubs in Belgium, Iceland and Scotland. He earned 26 caps for the Scotland national team over eight years.

Brian Grant is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer who is who played as a midfielder. He is currently head of player pathway and loans at Scottish Premiership club Dundee United. He spent twelve years as a player with Aberdeen, making over 300 appearances and winning three major trophies. He also played for Stirling Albion, Hibernian and Dundee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Women's Football League First Division</span> Football league

The Scottish Women's Football League First Division was a division in the Scottish women's football pyramid between 1999 and 2019. The second league tier from 1999 to 2015, it was later the third tier from 2016 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Rennie (football manager)</span> Scottish footballer and manager

Martin Rennie is a Scottish football coach, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One side Falkirk.

Jimmy Wilson is a Scottish former football player and manager, who played for Newcastle United, Morton, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Dundee and Falkirk. Wilson also represented the Scottish League once, in 1967. He later became player–manager of Elgin City, while they were a Highland Football League club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–12 Scottish Cup</span> Football tournament season

The 2011–12 Scottish Cup was the 127th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 24 September 2011 and ended on 19 May 2012. It was sponsored by William Hill in the first season of a three-year partnership, known as the William Hill Scottish Cup. The winner of the competition qualified for the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Heart of Midlothian won 5–1 against city rivals Hibernian at Hampden Park.

Alex Cooper is a Scottish footballer who plays as a left-back.

The 2012–13 Scottish Cup was the 128th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 4 August 2012 and ended on 26 May 2013. It was sponsored by bookmaker William Hill in the second season of a three-year partnership and is known as the William Hill Scottish Cup. The winner of the competition qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. The holders Hearts were knocked out by their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian in the fourth round, in a repeat of the previous season's final.

The 1913 Scottish Cup Final was the 40th final of the Scottish Cup, Scottish football's most prestigious knockout association football competition. The match took place at Celtic Park on 12 April 1913 and was contested by Division One clubs Falkirk and Raith Rovers. It was both Falkirk's and Raith's début appearance in the Scottish Cup Final.

The 2015–16 Scottish League Cup was the 70th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition. It is also known as The Scottish League Cup presented by Utilita for sponsorship reasons.

The 2015–16 season was the club's 3rd season in the Scottish Premiership and their fourth consecutive appearance in the top flight of Scottish football. Ross County also competed in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 in Scottish football</span>

The 2017–18 season was the 121st season of competitive football in Scotland. The domestic season began on 15 July 2017, with the first round of matches in the 2017–18 Scottish League Cup. The 2017–18 Scottish Professional Football League season commenced on 5 August.

The 2022–23 season was St Johnstone's tenth season in the Scottish Premiership and their fourteenth consecutively in the top flight of Scottish football. Saints were eliminated from the League Cup at the group stage. They also competed in the Scottish Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Brian Irvine". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Andrew Smith (1 December 2003). "Brian Irvine on past glories and Aberdeen revival". The Scotsman . Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Brian Irvine - Footballer". Evangelical Alliance . 8 March 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Brian Irvine's Story". Christians Together in the Highlands and Islands. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Don Morrison (13 May 1990). "Cheers and tears". Sunday Mail. The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 Charlie Allan (21 April 2017). "Aberdeen hero-turned-policeman Brian Irvine believes Dons can lock up the cup this year". Evening Express . Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Football: Hateley cleans up for Rangers". The Independent . 29 May 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Flashback: 1991, Mark Walters and Scott Booth recall their part in Smith's maiden final-day triumph". The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  9. ↑ David McKinney (26 May 1995). "Aberdeen find form to preserve Premier status". The Independent . Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Snelders hits a bad note". The Herald. 25 November 1991. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Match Report: Aberdeen 1 - 2 Wimbledon". AFC Heritage Trust. 26 March 1997. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Irvine takes over as Elgin boss". BBC News. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  13. ↑ "Irvine set to step down at Elgin". BBC News. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  14. ↑ "bettermeddle..." bettermeddle.org.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  15. ↑ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "Brian Irvine | Player Statistics | Dundee (Dee Archive)". deearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Brian Irvine | Player Statistics | Ross County (Staggie Archive)". staggiearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  18. ↑ Brian Irvine at the Scottish Football Association
  19. ↑ "Elgin City Manager Brian Irvine Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
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.