Place of birth Seaham, England 1984–1988 Sheffield Wednesday 1976–1979 Hull City Name Brian Marwood | Years Team Role Footballer 1979–1984 Hull City | |
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Date of birth (1960-02-02) 2 February 1960 (age 55) Similar People Garry Cook, James Marwood, Txiki Begiristain, Ferran Soriano, Brian Kidd | ||
MARWOOD EXCLUSIVE City Today
Brian Marwood (born 2 February 1960) is an English former footballer and is currently one of the main executive staff at Manchester City F.C. under the role of Football Administration Officer.
Contents
- MARWOOD EXCLUSIVE City Today
- Hull City
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Arsenal
- Sheffield United
- Barnet
- International career
- Professional Footballers Association
- Career after retirement
- Manchester City
- Family
- References
Hull City
Born in Seaham, County Durham, Marwood started his career at Hull City, joining in 1976 as an apprentice and making his way up through the youth and reserve ranks. A pacy and tricky winger, he made his debut aged 19 in a Third Division match against Mansfield Town on 12 January 1980. He spent five seasons with the Tigers, during which time they were relegated to the Fourth Division and then promoted back to the third. After 1983–84, in which Hull City reached the Associate Members' Cup Final and narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division, Marwood attracted the interest of Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday
Marwood was signed by Sheffield Wednesday for £115,000. In all he played 191 times for Hull and scored 53 goals.
At Wednesday, he became known as one of the First Division's most consistent and productive wingers, thanks to his pace and close ball control. The newly promoted Owls had a strong return to the top-flight, finishing eighth and fifth in Marwood's first two seasons at the club, although Wednesday were unable to compete in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup due to the ban on English clubs in European competitions as a result of the Heysel disaster in 1985.
Arsenal
Despite Wednesday's form tailing off after that, Marwood still shone in the side and he was signed by Arsenal for £800,000 in March 1988, as manager George Graham was searching for a more dependable alternative to the erratic and injury prone Martin Hayes. He made his Arsenal debut against Oxford United on 30 March 1988.
Marwood's impact at Arsenal was nearly immediate; his crosses supplied striker Alan Smith with goals throughout the 1988–89 season, in which Arsenal won the First Division title for the first time since 1971. Smith himself credits Marwood as being the most prolific supplier of assists while he was at Arsenal. During this time, Marwood firmly established himself as the club's first choice left winger ahead of Martin Hayes.[1] Unfortunately for Marwood, injury forced him to miss the last five matches of the season, which included Arsenal's title-winning match against Liverpool at Anfield. Nevertheless, he still took away a league winners medal with 31 appearances that season. However, with the ban on English clubs in Europe still in place, Marwood was unable to have a crack at the European Cup.
However, injury restricted Marwood's chances in the 1989–90 season, and he only managed nineteen matches that season. After Arsenal signed Swedish international winger Anders Limpar in the summer of 1990, it was clear Marwood would no longer be an automatic first choice.
Sheffield United
He was sold to Sheffield United for £350,000 in September 1990; in all he played 60 matches for Arsenal, scoring 17 goals.
In three seasons at United, Marwood only managed 22 appearances, and was loaned to Middlesbrough before making a permanent move to Swindon Town midway through 1992–93; Marwood played eleven times as Swindon won promotion to the Premier League, but was released by the club that summer.
Barnet
He finished his career at Barnet where he spent one season, playing 23 games as Barnet were relegated from Division Two.
International career
Marwood's performances for Arsenal earned him an England cap, in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia on 16 November 1988.
Professional Footballers' Association
Marwood was chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association between 1990 and 1993.
Career after retirement
Since retirement, Marwood has written his autobiography, The Life of Brian (ISBN 1-85158-367-X), and has become a commentator on Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports and STAR Sports. He worked as a marketing manager for Nike and was seen on Sky Sports News defending their product with regards to the strength of boot with regards to Wayne Rooney's frequent metatarsal injuries.
Manchester City
He joined Manchester City with the title of football administrator, being an ex-colleague of former executive chairman, Garry Cook, at Nike.
Family
His son James currently plays for Conference Premier side Gateshead F.C..