John Brayford

John Brayford

Brayford in 2024.
Personal information
Full name	John Robert Brayford [1]
Date of birth	(1987-12-29) 29 December 1987 (age 36) [2]
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [3]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Burton Albion (first-team coach)
Youth career
	Manchester City
0000–2006	Burton Albion
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	Burton Albion	77	(7)
2008–2010	Crewe Alexandra	81	(2)
2010–2013	Derby County	109	(3)
2013–2015	Cardiff City	26	(0)
2014	→ Sheffield United (loan)	15	(1)
2015–2017	Sheffield United	44	(2)
2016–2017	→ Burton Albion (loan)	33	(0)
2017–2024	Burton Albion	249	(21)
Total		634	(36)
International career
2007–2008	England C	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:40, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

John Robert Brayford (born 29 December 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently First Team Coach at Burton Albion.

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, he began his career at Burton Albion, which was then a non-League club, before moves to Crewe Alexandra and Derby County preceded his time at Cardiff City. He also spent time on loan at Sheffield United prior to joining permanently, and returned to Burton on a permanent basis in 2017. He has made seven appearances for the England C team.

Career

Early career

As a youth player, Brayford had played for Manchester City but was released by the club at a young age. He instead joined non-League side Burton Albion, becoming the first graduate of the club's revamped youth academy. ^[4] He made almost 80 league appearances, before signing for League One side Crewe Alexandra on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 1 September 2008. ^[5] Burton later revealed that the fee was an initial up-front payment of £80,000, which would be raised to £130,000 if he were to progress into the first team. ^[6] He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 defeat to Scunthorpe United on 11 October. ^[7] Although Brayford's first season with Crewe ended in relegation for the club, it was a successful season on a personal level, as he won the Fans' Player of the Season, ^[8] and attracted the interest of several bigger clubs.

In the summer of 2009, Crewe confirmed Brayford's former manager Nigel Clough was interested in taking Brayford to Derby County, ^[9] and that they were prepared to sell him to a club that matched Crewe's valuation of the player. ^[10] No deal materialised however and Brayford remained with Crewe for the full 2009–10 season, missing just one game and being named captain. Starting the season at right back, he finished it at centre half and earned a place in the PFA League Two Team of the Season as well as retaining the club's Player of the Season award.

With this form, Derby's long standing interest seemed to have reached its conclusion with reports that the Crewe had agreed a deal for £400,000 plus add-ons, ^[11] though this was denied by Crewe boss Dario Gradi. ^[12] Brayford was again linked with Derby as part of a joint £1m move to the Rams with teammate James Bailey, ^[13] with Crewe confirming that an offer for the pair, of around £1m, rising to £1.3m with add-ons and a percentage sell on clause, had been accepted. ^[14]

Derby County

Brayford formally completed his move to Derby County on 19 May 2010 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal. ^[15] With the sale of Paul Connolly to Leeds United, Brayford found himself as the only naturally right sided defender at the club and was placed straight into the first team during the club's 2010–11 pre-season fixtures. ^[16] Brayford kept his place when the 2010–11 Championship season began, and played every minute of all Derby's 48 league and cup matches during the season. Although primarily employed as a right back, consistent injuries to other members of the Derby defence saw Brayford employed at centre-back and left-back through the course of the campaign. Earning plaudits for his ability to combine an attacking role with his defensive duties, Brayford scored once (in a 4–1 home victory over Watford) and assisted three times, and was considered one of the star performers as Derby initially challenged for promotion (being 4th in the table in November 2010) before a run of 4 wins in 24 games saw them plummet down to 19th in the table by the end of April. He was named the Derby County Supporters' Club Player of the Year at a Gala Dinner on 19 April 2011, ^[17] before picking up the Jack Stamps Trophy before the final home game of the season against Bristol City on 30 April, having won the voting by a "considerable margin." ^[18]

In August 2011, Brayford signed a new contract extending his stay at the club until the summer of 2014. ^[19] He appeared in Derby's first ten games of the season, as Derby had their best start to a season for over 106 years, picking up 19 points from the first 10 games to sit third in the table. However, an injury in training, prior to the match against league leaders Southampton, ended a run of 59 consecutive appearances and caused him to miss his first minutes of Derby action since joining 15 months previously. ^[20] In his absence, Derby recorded just five points from six games to fall out of the play off places. Brayford returned in a 2–0 defeat against Hull City on 19 November 2011, ^[21] however he picked up a thigh injury in the following game. ^[22] keeping him out of action for a further three weeks. ^[23] Having returned to the side, a recurrence of his thigh injury in February ruled Brayford out for a further six weeks. ^[24] Brayford returned to the first team squad in April 2012, ^[25] but was unable to reclaim a regular spot in Derby's starting eleven.

Brayford playing for Derby County in 2012

Brayford started the 2012–13 season as the regular starter at right back once more and scored his first goal in over two years in a 4–1 win at home to Blackpool. ^[26] In November, Brayford was linked with a move to Premier League side West Ham United amid rumours that Derby needed to raise funds in the summer, ^[27] although Rams manager Nigel Clough denied the rumours. ^[28] During the January transfer window, Brayford was linked with a move to Championship leaders Cardiff City, but after the window closed he dismissed the rumours and stated his intention to stay at Derby. ^[29] Brayford's ever-present role in Derby's starting eleven during the season was apparently ended in early March when he sustained a torn hamstring. ^[30] Brayford did return for the final five games of the season, but having only a year left on his contract, manager Nigel Clough expected Brayford to move to a Premier League club during the summer of 2013. ^[31] The first confirmed interest in Brayford came at the end of June 2013, when a £1m bid from Wigan Athletic was rejected by Derby. ^[32] A month later, a £1.5 million bid from Premier League newcomers Cardiff City was accepted. ^[32]

Cardiff City

Brayford playing for Cardiff City in 2013.

On 26 July 2013 Brayford signed a four-year contract with Cardiff City, becoming their second signing of the summer. ^[32] Brayford was unable to make the break into Cardiff's first team however, playing only two League Cup matches during the first half of the 2013–14 season. He failed to even make the substitutes' bench in any other match, and did not even make the Cardiff bench for their league games. ^[33]

On 24 January 2014 Brayford joined Sheffield United on loan until the end of the season, to be reunited with Nigel Clough for the third time in his career, ^[34] and made his debut two days later in a 1–1 FA Cup draw with Fulham. ^[35] Sporting a beard during his time with the Blades, Brayford became a cult figure with the fans, ^[36] as the team rose from the bottom of the table to finish seventh and reach the FA Cup semi-final. Brayford finished his loan having played 20 times, scoring twice. ^[37] Sheffield United had hoped to resign Brayford in the summer transfer window, however Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær insisted that he wanted to give Brayford a chance in the first team following his successful loan. ^[38]

With Cardiff City back in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League, Brayford became first choice right-back for the Bluebirds and played 28 times in all competitions during the first half of the 2014–15 season. ^[39] On 23 January 2015, it was confirmed that Cardiff City had rejected a £1.2 million bid from Sheffield United for Brayford. ^[40]

Sheffield United

On 24 January 2015, Brayford signed for former loan club Sheffield United on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £1.5 million. ^{[39] [40]} Brayford later revealed that he took a pay cut to rejoin Sheffield United. ^[41]

Burton Albion

Brayford was released by Sheffield United after two and a half years and returned to Burton on 31 August 2017 for a third spell. He signed a two-year deal and would be playing under Nigel Clough's management for a fourth time. ^[42] He signed a new one-year contract in June 2019. ^[43] Brayford signed a new two-year contract in June 2022. ^[44]

Brayford retired from football after his Burton Albion contract ended in July 2024, however was announced as the clubs first team coach. ^[45]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup [a]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burton Albion	2005–06 [46] [47]	Conference Premier	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	2006–07 [48] [49]	Conference Premier	25	1	0	0	0	0	2 [b]	0	27	1
	2007–08 [50] [51]	Conference Premier	45	5	4	0	1 [c]	0	8 [d]	1	58	6
	2008–09 [52]	Conference Premier	6	1	—		—		—		6	1
	Total		77	7	4	0	1	0	10	1	92	8
Crewe Alexandra	2008–09 [52]	League One	36	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	40	2
	2009–10 [53]	League Two	45	0	1	0	1	0	1 [e]	0	48	0
	Total		81	2	5	0	1	0	1	0	88	2
Derby County	2010–11 [54]	Championship	46	1	1	0	1	0	—		48	1
	2011–12 [55]	Championship	23	0	2	0	1	0	—		26	0
	2012–13 [56]	Championship	40	2	2	1	1	0	—		43	3
	Total		109	3	5	1	3	0	—		117	4
Cardiff City	2013–14 [37]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	2	0	—		2	0
	2014–15 [57]	Championship	26	0	1	0	1	0	—		28	0
	Total		26	0	1	0	3	0	—		30	0
Sheffield United (loan)	2013–14 [37]	League One	15	1	5	1	—		—		20	2
Sheffield United	2014–15 [57]	League One	22	1	—		—		1 [f]	0	23	1
	2015–16 [58]	League One	19	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	21	1
	2016–17 [59]	League One	3	0	—		1	0	—		4	0
	2017–18 [60]	Championship	0	0	—		1	0	—		1	0
	Total		59	3	7	1	2	0	1	0	69	4
Burton Albion (loan)	2016–17 [59]	Championship	33	0	1	0	—		—		34	0
Burton Albion	2017–18 [60]	Championship	28	0	1	0	—		—		29	0
	2018–19 [61]	League One	41	3	1	0	6	0	0	0	48	3
	2019–20 [62]	League One	32	2	3	1	3	0	2 [g]	0	40	3
	2020–21 [63]	League One	41	4	1	0	2	0	2 [g]	0	46	4
	2021–22 [64]	League One	33	6	0	0	1	0	0	0	34	6
	2022–23 [65]	League One	43	3	2	0	1	0	4 [g]	0	50	3
	2023–24 [66]	League One	31	3	0	0	1	0	2 [g]	0	34	3
	Total		282	21	9	1	14	0	10	0	315	22
Career total			634	36	31	3	26	0	22	1	711	40

1. Includes Football League Cup/EFL Cup, Conference League Cup
2. Appearances in FA Trophy
3. Missing source for lineup in Conference League Cup (Setanta Shield) fifth round against Droylsden
4. Six appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, two appearances in play-offs
5. Appearance in EFL Trophy
6. Appearance in League One play-offs
7. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 2009–10 League Two ^[67]
• Crewe Alexandra Fans' Player of the Year: 2008–09, 2009–10
• Derby County Fans' Player of the Year: 2010–11 ^[68]
• Burton Albion Players' Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[69]
• Burton Albion Fans' Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[69]
• Burton Albion Community Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[69]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Burton Albion" (PDF). English Football League. p. 15. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2009). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2009–10. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84596-474-0.
3. "John Brayford – Defender – Men – Burton Albion". burtonalbionfc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
4. "John Brayford". Burton Albion F.C. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
5. "Crewe snap up Burton's Brayford". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
6. "Burton release Brayford details". BBC Sport. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
7. "Scunthorpe 3–0 Crewe". BBC Sport. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
8. Morse, Peter (6 May 2009). "Brayford wins Player of the Year". The Crewe Chronicle. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
9. "Brayford flattered by Derby link". BBC Sport. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
10. "Crewe confirm Brayford interest". BBC Sport. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
11. Griffiths, Gwyn (4 May 2010). "Crewe Alex: Brayford set for Derby move". This Is Staffordshire. Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
12. "Gradi – No Brayford bids". Sky Sports. 4 May 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
13. "Derby weigh up move for Crewe's Brayford and Bailey". BBC Sport. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
14. Griffiths, Gwyn (18 May 2010). "Crewe Duo Set For Derby". This Is Staffordshire. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
15. "Derby Land Brayford & Bailey". Derby County F.C. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
16. "Chesterfield 4–5 Derby". Derby County F.C. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
17. "Brayford Claims Supporters Club Award". Derby County F.C. 19 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
18. "Brayford Named Player of the Season". Deby County F.C. 30 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
19. "Brayford Commits His Future To Derby". Derby County. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
20. "Clough pleased with Derby character". BBC Sport. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
21. "Derby 0–2 Hull". BBC Sport. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
22. "Brayford injury is concern for boss Clough". This is Derbyshire. 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
23. "Ipswich 1–0 Derby". BBC Sport. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
24. "Derby defender John Brayford ruled out for six weeks". BBC Sport. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
25. "Clough is hoping that his side can follow high standard set by the consistent Bluebirds". This is Derbyshire. 17 April 2012. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
26. "Derby 4–1 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
27. Nixon, Alan (14 November 2012). "Ram raid: West Ham line up move for Derby defender John Brayford". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
28. "No bids for promising Ram". Eurosport. PA Sport. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
29. Nicholson, Steve (1 February 2013). "Window talk was not a distraction for Derby County's John Brayford". This is Derbyshire. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
30. "John Brayford set to make an early return to action for Derby County". This is Derbyshire. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
31. "Derby County: Nigel Clough fears John Brayford could leave". BBC Sport. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
32. "Cardiff City sign John Brayford from Derby County". BBC Sport. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
33. Phillips, Terry (3 January 2014). "Cardiff City defender Kevin McNaughton determined to get more Premier League football after surprise call-up". Wales Online. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
34. "Transfer window: Scougall and Brayford join Sheffield United". BBC Sport. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
35. Shield, James (28 January 2014). "Defender's debt of gratitude to Clough". Sheffield Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
36. "Robbie Savage with Sheffield United's John Brayford". BBC Sport. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
37. "Games played by John Brayford in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
38. "Sheffield United: Brayford blow for Blades". The Sheffield Star. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
39. "John Brayford: Sheffield United sign Cardiff City full-back". BBC Sport. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
40. Rogers, Gareth (23 January 2015). "Cardiff City defender John Brayford on brink of Sheffield United switch as Lee Peltier deal nears completion". Wales Online. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
41. "John Brayford: Sheffield United return delights former Cardiff man". BBC Sport. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
42. "Brayford back for Brewers". Burton Albion F.C. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
43. "John Brayford: Burton Albion defender signs new one-year deal". BBC Sport. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
44. "BRAYFORD SIGNS NEW TWO-YEAR DEAL". burtonalbionfc.co.uk. 16 June 2022.
45. "Brewers offered new deals". Instagram.
46. "Games played by John Brayford in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
47. For cup appearances, see match reports linked from "Results and Fixtures 2005/2006 season". Burton Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006.
48. "Games played by John Brayford in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
49. For cup appearances, see match reports linked from "Results and Fixtures 2006/2007 season". Burton Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007.
50. "Games played by John Brayford in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
51. For cup appearances, see match reports linked from "Results and Fixtures 2007/2008 season". Burton Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 13 March 2008.
52. "Games played by John Brayford in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
53. "Games played by John Brayford in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
54. "Games played by John Brayford in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
55. "Games played by John Brayford in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
56. "Games played by John Brayford in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
57. "Games played by John Brayford in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
58. "Games played by John Brayford in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
59. "Games played by John Brayford in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
60. "Games played by John Brayford in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
61. "Games played by John Brayford in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
62. "Games played by John Brayford in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
63. "Games played by John Brayford in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
64. "Games played by John Brayford in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
65. "Games played by John Brayford in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
66. "Games played by John Brayford in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
67. "Rooney is PFA player of the year". BBC Sport. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
68. "John Brayford signs extended Derby County contract". BBC Sport. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
69. Nigel Powlson (29 April 2022). "Awards Interview - John Brayford scoops treble". Burton Albion FC. Retrieved 20 February 2023.

External links

• John Brayford at Soccerbase
• Football cards featuring John Brayford