Brian Clifton (15 March 1934 – 12 January 2020) was an English retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played at either

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

or half-back for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Football career

Clifton was born in

Whitchurch, Hampshire Whitchurch is a town in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, south of Newbury, Berkshire, north of Winchester, east of Andover and west of Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. ...

and played football for Hampshire Schools as well as for various local clubs in the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides of ...

, while serving his apprenticeship at the Portals papermill at

Laverstoke Laverstoke is a village in north west Hampshire, England. In the early 18th century, Laverstoke Mill was purchased by the Portals, a family of Huguenot immigrants from Languedoc who were establishing a successful paper making business. Henry de ...

. While playing for Whitchurch United he was spotted by

Stan Woodhouse Stanley Woodhouse (10 February 1899 – 18 March 1977) was an English footballer who played initially as an inside forward and later as a half back with Bury and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Playing career Woodhouse was born in Warringt ...

, who had played for

in the 1920s and 1930s. He joined Southampton in 1952, making his debut in the reserves on 3 January 1953. He signed for Southampton in February 1953, shortly before his 19th birthday and continued to make occasional appearances for the reserves over the next four years. His football career was interrupted by his

National service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, which he spent with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, and it was not until 28 September 1957 that he made his first-team debut when he took the place of Derek Reeves at

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for a

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

match against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. Clifton scored twice with a lob and a header as the "Saints" won 5–0. Clifton retained his place at centre-forward for the next six matches, with Reeves returning at

inside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, and scored another

brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

in a 7–0 rout of

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

on 5 October. In November, he lost his place to Reeves, with Don Roper returning at inside-right, after which he only made five further appearances in 1957–58, this time at inside-right. Over the next three seasons, Clifton was in and out of the side, playing in various positions in the forward line or as a

wing-half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, although he did score eight goals from his eight appearances at

in 1959–60. It was not until 1961–62 (with Southampton now in the Second Division) that he became a settled member of the side, playing the entire season at

right-half A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

until April when he was switched back to the forward line, with

Ken Wimshurst Kenneth Pinkney Wimshurst (23 March 1938 – 6 July 2017) was an English footballer who played as a right half. He made over 300 Football League appearances in the years after the Second World War. Career Ken Wimshurst played locally for South ...

taking over at right-half. Following the signing of Ian White in the summer of 1962, Clifton only made four further appearances before he was sold to

for £8,000 in October 1962. At Grimsby, he joined fellow new signings, centre-forward George McLean (signed from

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

) and inside-forward Ron Foster (from

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

), as Grimsby tried to establish themselves in the Second Division. Now playing regularly at

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Clifton became the team captain but he was unable to prevent the "Mariners" being relegated in 1964. He remained with Grimsby until the summer of 1966, before dropping down to

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

. He then joined

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

of the

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

, helping them to become champions in 1967, before spells with

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Later career

Following his retirement from football, Clifton remained in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, where he worked as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

for a frozen food company in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

until his retirement. He then settled in the nearby village of

Holton-le-Clay Holton-le-Clay is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, around south of Grimsby. The village is twinned with Sargé-lès-le-Mans, Sarthe, France. History Ditched enclosures and bou ...

Death

On 12 January 2020, he died at the age of 85, with both Southampton and Grimsby Town paying tribute to their former player.

Honours

Southampton *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

champions: 1959–60 Boston United *

champions: 1966–67

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Brian 1934 births 2020 deaths People from Whitchurch, Hampshire English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Andover F.C. players Whitchurch United F.C. players Portals Athletic F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Boston Town F.C. players Footballers from Hampshire