Brian Talbot

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Brian Talbot
Brian Talbot (1978).jpg
Talbot in 1978
Personal information
Full name Brian Ernest Talbot [1]
Date of birth (1953-07-21) 21 July 1953 (age 70) [1]
Place of birth Ipswich, [1] England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1968–1971 Ipswich Town
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1971–1979 Ipswich Town 177 (25)
1971Toronto Metros (loan) 10 (2)
1972Toronto Metros (loan) 10 (2)
1979–1985 Arsenal 254 (40)
1985–1986 Watford 48 (8)
1986–1988 Stoke City 54 (5)
1988–1990 West Bromwich Albion 74 (5)
1990–1991 Fulham 5 (1)
1990–1992 Aldershot 11 (0)
1992–1993 Sudbury Town 6 (0)
Total621(89)
International career
1976 England U21 1 (0)
1977–1980 England 6 (0)
1978–1980 England B 8 (3)
Managerial career
1988–1991 West Bromwich Albion
1991 Aldershot
1993–1996 Hibernians
1997–2004 Rushden & Diamonds
2004–2005 Oldham Athletic
2005–2006 Oxford United
2006–2008 Marsaxlokk
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team.

Contents

Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Fulham and Aldershot of the Football League, for non-league club Sudbury Town, [3] and for the Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League. He then went into management with West Bromwich Albion, Aldershot, Rushden & Diamonds, Oldham Athletic, Oxford United, and two Maltese clubs, Hibernians and Marsaxlokk.

Between 1984 and 1988, Talbot was chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association. [4]

Club career

A midfielder, Talbot began his football apprenticeship with Ipswich Town in 1968, during which he spent two seasons on loan with Canadian club Toronto Metros of the North American Soccer League, turning professional in 1972. [5] [6] He made 227 appearances for Ipswich, [7] and won the 1977–78 FA Cup with the club. [8] In the semi-final against West Bromwich Albion, Talbot scored the first goal after seven minutes, but was injured in the act of scoring when he collided head-to-head with Albion's skipper, John Wile. Wile played with a bandaged head for the remainder of the contest while Talbot needed three stitches in a cut above the eye and was unable to continue. [9] In 2013, Talbot was inducted into the Ipswich Town F.C. Hall of Fame. [10]

In January 1979, Talbot moved to Arsenal for a fee of £450,000. [8] He went straight into the first team and played for the Gunners in that year's FA Cup final, scoring in a 3–2 victory over Manchester United, the first player for more than 100 years to win the FA Cup with two different teams in consecutive seasons. [11] The following year he set a club record, as an ever-present in Arsenal's marathon 70-match 1979–80 season; [11] the club reached the finals of both the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup, but lost them both. [12]

Because of his stamina and fitness, Talbot missed "at most, a handful" of Arsenal's first-team matches. In all, he played 327 first-team matches for the Gunners, scoring 49 goals, [13] and was voted in at number 23 in a 2016 poll of Arsenal's greatest 50 players. [11]

He left Arsenal in June 1985, spending a season and a half at Watford before joining his old Ipswich Town teammate Mick Mills at Stoke City in October 1986, [14] where he helped the Potters climb the table only to fall six points short of a play-off place. [14] During the 1987–88 he made 27 appearances before he left in January 1988 for West Bromwich. Talbot played three years for the Baggies, mostly as player-manager, [14] ending his Football League career with brief spells at Fulham in March 1991, then with Aldershot, [1] [15] and finally with Sudbury Town of the Eastern Counties League. [3] [16]

International career

Talbot played as an over-age player in England's first match at under-21 level, a goalless friendly with Wales in December 1976. [17] He made his senior debut on 28 May 1977, as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 win against Northern Ireland in the 1976–77 British Home Championship, and his first start on 4 June in the same competition against Scotland at Wembley. He started England's next three matches, on a South American tour later in June. [18] Between 1978 and 1980, he played eight matches for England B, scoring three goals, [19] and made his sixth and final senior appearance the only one he made as an Arsenal player in May 1980 against Australia in Sydney. [18] [20]

Managerial career

Talbot's managerial debut came with West Bromwich Albion, where he served as player-manager from February 1989 to January 1991. His tenure started well, with the side challenging for promotion. But a collapse during the final weeks of the 1988–89 season meant they failed even to qualify for the playoffs. The following season saw the team only narrowly survive in the Second Division, and the struggle continued into the 1990–91 season. Talbot was dismissed by Albion after a 4–2 FA Cup defeat at the hands of non-league Woking; the team ended the season with relegation to the Third Division for the first time ever. [21] After leaving Albion, he joined Fulham and played five times in the Third Division, scoring once, before being appointed player-manager of Fourth Division strugglers Aldershot, who were deep in debt. After a dismal start to the 1991–92 season, Talbot left the Shots in November 1991 and was succeeded by Ian McDonald; four months later the club went bust and were forced out of the Football League. [22] Talbot then led Maltese Premier League club Hibernians to the league title in 1993 and 1994. [23]

He returned to English club football as part of the coaching staff of Rushden and Diamonds, then in the Football Conference, in 1997. After a spell as head coach he was appointed club manager before the start of the 1999–2000 season. At the end of the 2000–01 season Rushden secured promotion to the Football League under his management. The team reached the Division Three playoffs in 2002 but lost in the final. In their second season in the League they secured the 2002–03 Division Three title, but were relegated the following season, Talbot having left the club in March 2004 after seven years to take over at Oldham Athletic. [24]

Talbot succeeded in keeping Oldham in Division Two in 2004, then the following season he took them into the third round of the FA Cup, in which the Latics produced a shock result to beat local Premier League team Manchester City 1–0 thanks to a goal from Scott Vernon. [25] But results in the League were not the same: following a defeat to Bolton Wanderers, the team went on a seven-match losing streak which led to Talbot's departure by mutual consent on 24 February 2005 following a 5–1 defeat at Bristol City. [26] He signed a two-year contract as manager of Oxford United before the final game of the 2004–05 season. [27] After an unsuccessful stint in charge, Talbot was sacked in mid-March 2006 with the team 22nd in League Two, having not won since 2 January and destined to lose their League status at the end of the season. [28]

Talbot made a quick return to management in Malta with Marsaxlokk, and guided them to the domestic league title and a place in the UEFA Champions League. [23] Following a disappointing start to the 2008–09 Maltese Premier League season, Marsaxlokk appointed former Msida Saint-Joseph manager Patrick Curmi as the club's new head coach on 17 December 2008. Talbot remained with the club until early 2011 in the role of technical director. [29]

In February 2011, he joined English Premier League club Fulham as European scout. [8] He was promoted to chief scout and assistant director of football operations in February 2017. [30]

Personal life

Talbot has a son, Daniel Talbot, who is also a footballer. [31]

Career statistics

As a player

Source: [32]

ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup League Cup Other [A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ipswich Town 1973–74 First Division 153100020183
1974–75 First Division4089051215610
1975–76 First Division192301000232
1976–77 First Division425303061546
1977–78 First Division404733061568
1978–79 First Division213001040262
Total1772523313120323332
Toronto Metros (loan) 1971 NASL 102102
1972 NASL 102102
Total204204
Arsenal 1978–79 First Division200620000262
1979–80 First Division42111271100704
1980–81 First Division407104000457
1981–82 First Division427105041528
1982–83 First Division4297170205810
1983–84 First Division276101000296
1984–85 First Division41103230004712
Total2544030727115132749
Watford 1985–86 First Division417802000517
1986–87 First Division7000100080
Total487803000597
Stoke City 1986–87 Second Division 323510000374
1987–88 Second Division222201120273
Total545711120647
West Bromwich Albion 1987–88 Second Division152000000152
1988–89 Second Division392200010422
1989–90 Second Division201203110262
Total745403120836
Fulham 1990–91 Third Division 5100000051
Aldershot 1990–91 Fourth Division 100000000100
1991–92 Fourth Division1000100020
Total110001000120
Career Total643877211484394803106
A.  ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Charity Shield, Football League Trophy, UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

International

Source: [33]

National teamYearAppsGoals
England 197750
198010
Total60

As a manager

TeamFromToRecord
GWDLWin %
West Bromwich Albion 2 November 19888 January 1991114343941029.82
Rushden & Diamonds 1 March 19978 March 20043411638890047.80
Oldham Athletic 10 March 200425 February 200555201421036.36
Oxford United 6 May 200514 March 200644101618022.73
Total554227157170040.97

Honours

As a player

Ipswich Town

Arsenal

Individual

As a manager

Hibernians

Rushden & Diamonds

Marsaxlokk

Individual

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References

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  24. "Rushden & Diamonds Football Club History". Rushden & Diamonds F.C. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2017 via rdfc1992.com.
    Nisbet, John (11 March 2004). "Talbot takes Oldham offer after quitting Diamonds". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  25. Whittell, Ian (9 January 2005). "Vernon's cool finish puts freeze on City". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
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  33. Talbot, Brian at National-Football-Teams.com
  34. Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 141.