Brian Statham (born 21 May 1969) is an English retired professional footballer who made over 160 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a right back. He also played league football for Tottenham Hotspur, Gillingham, Reading, Bournemouth and was capped by England at U21 level.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Brian Statham[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1969-05-21) 21 May 1969 (age 53) | ||
Place of birth | Harare, Rhodesia | ||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Right back, midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–1987 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1987–1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | (0) |
1991 | → Reading | 8 | (0) |
1991 | → Bournemouth (loan) | 2 | (0) |
1992 | → Brentford (loan) | 1 | (0) |
1992–1997 | Brentford | 161 | (1) |
1997–1999 | Gillingham | 20 | (0) |
1998 | → Woking (loan) | ||
1999 | → Stevenage Borough (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2000–2001 | Chesham United | ||
2001–2003 | Chelmsford City | 66 | (0) |
2003–2004 | Welling United | 25 | (0) |
2004 | East Thurrock United | ||
2004–2005 | Erith & Belvedere | ||
2005 | Heybridge Swifts | 1 | (0) |
National team | |||
1988 | England U21 | 3 | (0) |
Teams managed | |||
2005–2008 | Heybridge Swifts | ||
2009–2010 | Billericay Town | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
A right back, Statham began his career in the youth system at First Division club Tottenham Hotspur and turned professional in 1987.[3] He broke through into the first team during the 1987–88 season and made 19 appearances.[2] Statham managed eight further appearances during the 1988–89 season, before dropping out of the squad.[2] He spent time away on loan during the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons and departed White Hart Lane in February 1992.[4] Statham was awarded a benefit match by the club in July 2000.[5]
In January 1992, Statham joined high-flying Third Division club Brentford on a one-month loan, with a view to a permanent transfer.[6] He made just one appearance during his spell and rejected the contract offered, before reconsidering and joining the club on a permanent deal for a £70,000 fee on 28 February.[6][4] Statham was a regular in the team during the last three months of the 1991–92 season,[7] making 18 appearances and he won the first silverware of his career when Brentford secured the Third Division title on the final day.[8] Statham's 58 appearances during the 1992–93 season in the reclassified First Division was a career-high,[7] but the season ended on a disappointing note, with relegation straight back to the third-tier.[8]
Back in the Second Division for the 1993–94 season, Statham made 36 appearances and scored what would be the only goal of his professional career in a 3–3 draw with Cambridge United on 26 March 1993.[7][9] Despite appearing regularly during the first half of the 1994–95 season,[10] he was transfer listed in December 1994.[11] Statham made 44 appearances during a season in which the Bees were denied promotion after defeat to Huddersfield Town in the playoff semi-finals.[7][8] During the 1995 off-season, Statham rejected a new contract in favour of a week-to-week deal.[12] He made 24 appearances before suffering a double fracture of his right leg during a 1–0 FA Cup second round victory over Bournemouth on 2 December 1995.[13] Though he was still on the weekly contract, the club would honour the terms of its initial contract offer until the end of the 1995–96 season.[13]
Statham returned to training November 1996 and made his first appearance in nearly 13 months as a 79th-minute substitute for Carl Asaba in a 4–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle on 26 December 1996.[14][15] Featuring mostly as a substitute,[16] Statham finished with the 1996–97 season with 25 appearances,[15] but his Brentford career would end in ignominy, after he was sent off after being shown a second yellow card late in the 1997 Second Division playoff Final, which was lost 1–0 to Crewe Alexandra.[17] Statham departed Brentford in August 1997, having made 201 appearances and scored one goal during five-and-a-half years at Griffin Park.[4]
On 22 August 1997, Statham joined Second Division club Gillingham for a £10,000 fee, with two further £10,000 fees to be paid based on appearances.[18] He made just 24 appearances before departing Priestfield in October 1999.[4]
After loan spells with Woking and Stevenage Borough while a Gillingham player, Statham dropped back into non-League football upon his release from Gillingham.[4] Between 2000 and 2005 he played for Chesham United, Chelmsford City, Welling United, East Thurrock United, Erith & Belvedere and Heybridge Swifts.[19]
Statham won three caps for the England U21 team in 1988.[2]
Statham was appointed as manager of Isthmian League Premier Division club Heybridge Swifts in January 2005.[20] He guided the club to a runners-up finish in the 2005–06 season, but the Swifts were denied promotion after falling to Hampton & Richmond Borough in the playoff semi-finals.[21] After two mid-table finishes,[21] Statham resigned on 28 August 2008.[22]
On 23 April 2009, Statham was announced as manager of Isthmian League Premier Division club Billericay Town.[23] With relegation at the end of the 2009–10 season looking a possibility, Statham was sacked on 29 March 2010.[24]
Statham was born in Harare, Rhodesia and later lived in Saudi Arabia, before his parents moved to Essex.[3] The namesake of a former England international cricketer, he represented Essex in school cricket.[3] Statham's son Maxwell is also a footballer and plays in non-League football.[25] After retiring from football, Statham became a businessman, with interests in media, insurance and investments.[26][27] He is also a football agent.[28]
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Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Tottenham Hotspur | 1987–88[2] | First Division | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
1988–89[2] | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
Total | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |||
Reading (loan) | 1990–91[4] | Third Division | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
Bournemouth (loan) | 1991–92[4] | Third Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
Brentford | 1991–92[7] | Third Division | 18 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 0 | |||
1992–93[7] | First Division | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 58 | 0 | |
1993–94[7] | Second Division | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 36 | 1 | |
1994–95[7] | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
1995–96[7] | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
1996–97[15] | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
Total | 166 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 201 | 1 | ||
Gillingham | 1997–98[29] | Second Division | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 23 | 0 |
1998–99[30] | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
Stevenage Borough (loan) | 1998–99[31] | Conference | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
Chesham United | 2001–02[32] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
Chelmsford City | 2001–02[32] | Southern League Premier Division | 27 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
2002–03[33] | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |||
Total | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 66 | 0 | |||
Welling United | 2003–04[34] | Southern League Premier Division | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
Erith & Belvedere | 2004–05[35] | Southern League First Division East | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Heybridge Swifts | 2004–05[35] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Career total | 324 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 367 | 2 |