Brian Irvine (footballer)

Brian Irvine
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-05-24) 24 May 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Position(s) Central defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1985 Falkirk 38 (0)
1985–1997 Aberdeen 311 (30)
1997–1999 Dundee 69 (4)
1999–2003 Ross County 119 (13)
Total 537 (47)
International career
1990–1994 Scotland 9 (0)
Managerial career
2006 Elgin City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Irvine (born 24 May 1965 in Bellshill, Scotland) is a former international footballer who played as a central defender for Falkirk, Aberdeen, Dundee, Ross County and managed Elgin City. He was capped nine times by Scotland.[2][3]

Career

After working in a bank on leaving school,[3] Irvine began his professional career with Falkirk in 1983, aged 18.[4] During his spell with the Bairns, he became an evangelical Christian.[4][2][3]

After two years and nearly forty league appearances at Brockville, Irvine moved to Aberdeen, the team he had supported as a child,[3] for a fee of £110,000.[3] During twelve years with the Dons, Irvine made over 350 appearances in all competitions, gradually becoming a regular in the defence alongside Alex McLeish as veteran captain Willie Miller's career came to an end.[2] [1]

Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1990, with Irvine scoring the winning penalty in a 9–8 shootout win against Celtic in the final,[4][2][3][5] having also scored in the quarter-final and semi-final.[6][2] He had already come on as a substitute in the League Cup final victory in the same season,[2] and played a part in two other finals[7] and five runners-up finishes in the Scottish Premier Division[8] (losing out to Rangers on every occasion), as well as helping the club avoid what would have been a first-ever relegation via a play-off in 1995.[9] He took over in goals in emergencies (if the goalkeeper was injured or sent off) on several occasions, saving a penalty in a match against Hibernian in 1991.[1][10]

In June 1995 he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,[2][3] returning to action four months after the diagnosis.[4] Irvine left Pittodrie in 1997 (following a testimonial match against Wimbledon)[11] and moved to Dundee, featuring nearly 70 times in two years. In 1999, Irvine moved to Ross County, where he finished his playing career in 2003.[3]

Coaching career / later work

After retiring, Irvine stayed with County as a coach, taking his first managerial job in January 2006 with Elgin City.[12] In December that year, with the club bottom of the table, Irvine left the club.[13][2] In March 2009, Irvine was named assistant manager to Martin Rennie of USL First Division side Carolina RailHawks FC. He was previously Rennie's assistant at USL-2 side Cleveland City Stars.[2]

He has been involved in charity work,[2][3] and in 2016 became a police officer.[6]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[14][15][16][17]
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Falkirk 1983–84 Scottish First Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 3 0
1984–85 35 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 - - 38 0
Total 38 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 - - 41 0
Aberdeen 1985–86 Scottish Premier Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 1 0
1986–87 20 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 - - 23 3
1987–88 17 1 1 0 4 2 1 0 - - 23 3
1988–89 27 2 5 0 3 0 1 0 - - 36 2
1989–90 31 1 5 2 3 0 1 0 - - 40 3
1990–91 30 2 1 0 4 1 4 0 - - 39 3
1991–92 41 4 1 0 2 0 2 0 - - 46 4
1992–93 39 5 6 2 3 1 0 0 - - 48 8
1993–94 42 7 6 0 2 0 4 1 - - 54 8
1994–95 19 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 - - 24 1
1995–96 18 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 - - 21 3
1996–97 26 1 0 0 1 0 5 1 - - 32 2
Total 311 30 29 4 26 4 21 2 - - 387 40
Dundee 1997–98 Scottish First Division 36 1 5 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 44 2
1998–99 SPL 33 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 - - 34 3
Total 69 4 5 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 78 5
Ross County 1999–2000 Scottish Second Division 32 6 2 1 2 1 0 0 3 2 39 10
2000–01 Scottish First Division 26 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 32 2
2001–02 30 2 1 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 36 3
2002–03 31 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 36 3
Total 119 13 6 1 11 2 0 0 7 2 143 18
Career total 537 47 42 5 41 7 21 2 8 2 651 63

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[18]
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1990 1 0
1991 —
1992 —
1993 6 0
1994 2 0
Total 9 0

Managerial record

[19]

Team From To Record
P W L D Win %
Elgin City August 2006 December 2006 38 14 2 22 36.84%

Honours

Aberdeen[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Brian Irvine". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Andrew Smith (1 December 2003). "Brian Irvine on past glories and Aberdeen revival". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Brian Irvine - Footballer". Evangelical Alliance. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Brian Irvine's Story". Christians Together in the Highlands and Islands. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. ^ Don Morrison (13 May 1990). "Cheers and tears". Sunday Mail. The Celtic Wiki. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. ^ a b Charlie Allan (21 April 2017). "Aberdeen hero-turned-policeman Brian Irvine believes Dons can lock up the cup this year". Evening Express. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Football: Hateley cleans up for Rangers". The Independent. 29 May 1993. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Flashback: 1991, Mark Walters and Scott Booth recall their part in Smith's maiden final-day triumph". The Herald. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  9. ^ David McKinney (26 May 1995). "Aberdeen find form to preserve Premier status". The Independent. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Snelders hits a bad note". The Herald. 25 November 1991. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Match Report: Aberdeen 1 - 2 Wimbledon". AFC Heritage Trust. 26 March 1997. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Irvine takes over as Elgin boss". BBC News. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  13. ^ "Irvine set to step down at Elgin". BBC News. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  14. ^ "bettermeddle..." bettermeddle.org.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Brian Irvine | Player Statistics | Dundee (Dee Archive)". deearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Brian Irvine | Player Statistics | Ross County (Staggie Archive)". staggiearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  18. ^ Brian Irvine at the Scottish Football Association
  19. ^ "Elgin City Manager Brian Irvine Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.