Paul Brush

Paul Brush
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-02-22) 22 February 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Plaistow, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1985 West Ham United 151 (1)
1985–1988 Crystal Palace 50 (3)
1987–1990 Southend United 73 (1)
Enfield
Heybridge Swifts
Total 274 (5)
Managerial career
2001–2003 Leyton Orient
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul Brush (born 22 February 1958) is an English former professional footballer and coach who played in the Football League for West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Southend United.[2] He is best known for his time with West Ham United, for whom he played from 1976 until 1985.

Playing career

Brush came through West Ham United's academy[3] to make his first-team debut as a 19-year-old, on 20 August 1977 in a 3–1 defeat against Norwich City in the First Division.[4] He was an unused substitute for West Ham in the 1980 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium,[5] when the Hammers became the last team (as of 2023) from outside the top flight to win the trophy. He was able to appear at Wembley just a few months later in the starting eleven for West Ham in the Charity Shield against Liverpool.[5] In all, he made 151 League appearances for the east London club and scored one goal (against Queens Park Rangers on 1 January 1985), before leaving the club in September 1985 for Crystal Palace. He spent three seasons with Palace, followed by another three with Southend United, then moved into non-league football with clubs including Enfield[2] and Heybridge Swifts.[6]

Coaching career

Brush joined Leyton Orient as youth coach in 1994, was appointed manager in October 2001,[5] and was sacked after two years in charge with the club second bottom of the league.[7] Steve Tilson, appointed manager of Southend United in late 2003, brought in Brush as his assistant, and the pair led the club to two successive promotions, from League Two to the Championship.[8] After not recording a league win in 2010, the club slipped into the League One relegation zone and he was sacked as assistant manager on 8 March. Chairman Ron Martin stated he wanted a positive approach to the on-field activities. The next day former manager David Webb replaced Brush until the end of the season.[9]

On 15 October 2010, he renewed his partnership with Tilson when he was appointed assistant manager at Lincoln City upon Tilson's appointment as manager.[10] In October 2011 both Tilson and Brush were sacked by Lincoln City.[11]

In 2012 Brush became an academy development coach at Tottenham Hotspur.[12] From 2021 he has been a self-employed coach and scout and is a scout for Cambridge United.

Honours

West Ham United

References

  1. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ^ a b "Paul Brush". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Graduates". West Ham United F.C. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Paul Brush West Ham United FC". Football Heroes. Sporting Heroes Collections. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Dyer, Ken (23 October 2001). "Brush is ready to draw on his past ordeals". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  6. ^ Metcalf, Rupert (28 October 1994). "Non-League Football: Swifts hoping to soar high". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  7. ^ Gray, William (29 September 2003). "Mathias and Brush dismissed". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  8. ^ "A Potted History". Southend United F.C. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Club Statement: Paul Brush". Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Tilson named as new manager". Lincoln City F.C. Official Website. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Steve Tilson sacked as Lincoln City manager". BBC Sport. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Paul Brush". Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  • Paul Brush at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database