Position : Defender
Played : 1982-3 to 1983-4
Appearances : 16
Goals : 0
It was perhaps inevitable that Jimmy's younger brother Brian would follow him to the club. Brian had started at Manchester United and progressed through the ranks and into the England team but then lost his regular place to Gordon McQueen and eventually went in the opposite direction joining Leeds in 1979 for £350,000. He had two good seasons before injury struck and when he returned there were question marks about his general fitness. At the end of 1981-2 Leeds were relegated and Brian joined a number of big name signings who had come to the end of their three-year deal and couldn't get a new one in recession-hit Britain. He then drew opprobrium by leading Jimmy Hill's squad of players in a similar situation to South Africa for a boycott-busting tour that failed miserably. He lay low playing in Finland until Jimmy gave him the call.
As Brian was still only 29 I was quite excited about him coming to Spotland but unfortunately some other "fans" didn't share my enthusiasm and started shouting "Big Fat Brian " whenever he played. Though he wasn't overweight he didn't do much in the 7 games he played that season. The following year he was nowhere to be seen until December perhaps enticed back by the player-coach role now that Roy Greaves had left.
He played a further 9 games at right back and was much better although that still didn't silence the idiots.
He left Dale when his brother was sacked and that ended his League career. He later played at Chadderton and managed Whitworth Valley. He fell foul of the law on a drink driving charge not helping his case with a ridiculous story about consuming numerous whiskeys after the accident. He lived in Rochdale for a long time working as a rep for a sportswear company but now resides in Spain.
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