Full name Brian Kevin McGlinchey Name Brian McGlinchey Playing position Role Football player | Years Team Height 1.70 m 1995–1998 Manchester City Position Defender | |
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Date of birth (1977-10-26) 26 October 1977 (age 38) Place of birth Derry, Northern Ireland | ||
Brian Kevin McGlinchey (born 26 October 1977) is a Northern Irish former football defender. He made a total of 195 competitive appearances in an eleven-year career as a professional player before he was forced to retire in 2006, aged 28, due to injury. He also won 14 caps for Northern Ireland under-21's and one cap for the Northern Ireland B team.
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Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, he started his career with Manchester City, but joined Port Vale in 1998 having never made a first team appearance at City. The next year he moved on to Gillingham, before he signed with Plymouth Argyle in 2000. He enjoyed a four-year spell with Plymouth, before he joined Torquay United in 2004, having spent some time on loan at the club the previous year. He stayed with Torquay until his retirement two years later. His honours included three promotion campaigns, once each with Gillingham, Plymouth, and Torquay.
Playing career
McGlinchey started his career with Manchester City in 1995, but never made a first team appearance in his three seasons with the club. In June 1998, he was signed by Port Vale manager John Rudge. He played 15 First Division games for "Valiants" during the 1998–99 season, bagging his first senior goal in a 2–1 defeat at Oxford United on 21 November 1998.
He was released by manager Brian Horton, and subsequently joined Peter Taylor's Second Division side Gillingham in August 1999. He started just six games in the 1999–2000 promotion season, and did not feature in the play-off final victory over Wigan Athletic. He made just one appearance in the First Division under new boss Andy Hessenthaler, before he left Priestfield Stadium, dropping down two tiers to the Third Division with Plymouth Argyle in December 2000.
He featured 22 times at left-back in 2000–01, as Paul Sturrock's "Pilgrims" posted a mid-table finish. He then made 29 league appearances in 2001–02, as Plymouth topped the Third Division table; his contribution was limited after he broke his foot. He was limited to 21 appearances at Home Park in 2002–03 by new signing Hasney Aljofree, and played no part of the club's success in 2003–04. He was instead loaned out to Third Division side Torquay United in October 2003, with the deal being made permanent in January 2004.
He played 34 league games in 2003–04, as the "Gulls" secured promotion into League One. Manager Leroy Rosenior could not keep the Plainmoor outfit in the third tier, however, and McGlinchey played 37 games as Torquay were relegated into League Two in 2004–05. He signed a 12-month contract in January 2005, but picked up a hamstring injury two months later. After a further medical examination in April his injury turned out actually to be a slipped disc. An operation was necessary, and in September 2005 he went under the knife. However this did not solve the problem and he was forced to retire in May 2006.