Brian William Joy (born 26 February 1951 in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

) is an English former professional football

right-back 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 ...

Career

Joy began his career as an apprentice with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

. He was taken on after a six-week trial at the same time they famously rejected Kevin Keegan. He played in the 1967–68 FA Youth Cup Final against Burnley, in which Coventry lost 3–2 on aggregate in the two home and away ties. He turned professional in August 1968 joining

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. He failed to break into the first team at Ewood Park and left to join

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in August 1969, making his league debut early the following season in a 5–1 win against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

. He played 26 times for Allan Brown's side before moving to

in June 1970. He played the first 21 games of the following season, but then suffered a bad leg injury in a car accident, losing part of his right knee cap. This injury kept him out of football for 18 months before

Maurice Setters Maurice Edgar Setters (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, ...

, an old friend from his Coventry days and the then manager of

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

, gave him the chance to join the club in July 1972. He joined Rovers as a right-back, but in his one season with them, he played in eight different positions, playing 34 games before joining

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in July 1973.https://popularstandfanzine.com/2013/06/16/seasons-in-retrospect-1973-74/ , website=Doncaster Popular Stand Fanzine After 90 games for the Grecians, scoring twice, he moved to the NASL to spend the 1976 season with the

San Diego Jaws The San Diego Jaws were a professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, playing their home games at the Aztec Bowl on the campus of San Diego State University. Founded in 1976, the team was a member of the North American Soccer Leag ...

. In September 1976 he returned to the UK, joining

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

, playing 18 times before spending the 1977 NASL season with the

Las Vegas Quicksilvers The Las Vegas Quicksilvers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) during the 1977 season. The team was based in Las Vegas, Nevada and played their home games at Las Vegas Stadium. After the 19 ...

. On his return to the UK, he joined

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

, then spent one final season in the NASL with the renamed

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

in 1978. He then suffered another injury setback after five games of the 1978 season with San Diego, hurting his right knee again. That injury resulted in the remaining part of the right knee cap being removed by top San Diego surgeon Ed Kruesser. He then returned to playing in 1980, captaining the

Cleveland Cobras The Cleveland Stars were an American soccer club based in Cleveland, Ohio and a member of the American Soccer League in 1972–73. Before the 1974 season, the name was changed to the Cleveland Cobras. Overview The Stars' colors were blue and ...

of the American Soccer League (ASL) and then joining the

San Francisco Fog Fog is a common weather phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as along the entire coastline of California extending south to the northwest coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The frequency of fog and low-lying stratus clouds is ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for the 1980–81 indoor season. He scored 9 goals and added 15 assists before retiring from professional football at the end of that season.

Personal life

Joy is the father of former footballer and sportscaster

Ian Joy Ian Paul Joy (born July 14, 1981) is an American born Scottish sports broadcaster and former professional footballer. Early and personal life Born in San Diego, California, Joy is the son of English former professional player Brian Joy. His moth ...

External links

Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, Brian 1951 births Living people Footballers from Salford English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players San Diego Jaws players Las Vegas Quicksilvers players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players York City F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Cleveland Cobras players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players San Francisco Fog (MISL) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football defenders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States