Brian Kidd (born 29 May 1949) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player, who was most recently assistant coach of

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, alongside manager

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of club Manchester City. He is considered one of the greatest managers of all time and holds the re ...

. Kidd was also assistant to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

manager

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

from 1991 to 1998. In this role he was pivotal in the development of a group of young footballers known as

Fergie's Fledglings Fergie's Fledglings were a group of football players recruited by Manchester United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson (often nicknamed "Fergie") and trained by assistant coaches Brian Kidd and Eric Harrison, before eventually progress ...

. Kidd's first spell as assistant manager of Manchester City came under manager

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Samp ...

, who moved Kidd from the youth setup to become his sole assistant manager. After one year, Kidd became a co-assistant, initially alongside Attilio Lombardo and latterly alongside

David Platt David Andrew Platt (born 10 June 1966) is an English former professional football coach and player, who played as a midfielder. Born in Chadderton, Lancashire, Platt began his career as an apprentice at Manchester United before moving to Crewe ...

. Following the departure of Mancini, Kidd had a brief spell as caretaker manager of Manchester City for two games at the close of the 2012–13 season, as well as the USA tour. Under the subsequent helm of

Manuel Pellegrini Manuel Lúis Pellegrini Ripamonti (; ; born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed teams in Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China and Ecuador. ...

of Manchester City, Kidd was the co-assistant manager, alongside

Rubén Cousillas Rubén Cousillas Fuse (born 9 May 1957 in Roque Pérez) is an Argentinian football assistant manager and former player, who is assistant manager at Betis to Manuel Pellegrini. Playing career Cousillas started his career at San Lorenzo de Al ...

. Kidd, who featured as a striker, played for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Everton,

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

and the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/St. Paul metropoli ...

in his footballing career.

Playing career

Kidd was born in

Collyhurst Collyhurst is an inner city area of Manchester, England, northeast of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Rochdale Road (A664) and A62 road, Oldham Road (A62), bounded by Smedley, Manchester, Smedley, Harpurhey and Monsall tram stop, Mons ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and started playing for

as a youngster whose

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

he joined in August 1964. Two years later, he went on to become a professional player with the club. Kidd had the distinction of scoring on his 19th birthday for Manchester United in their 4–1 victory over Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final. All in all, he scored 52 times in 203 league appearances for Manchester United. Following United's relegation to the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

in 1974, Kidd was transferred to Arsenal for £110,000. Kidd scored on his debut for Arsenal against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...

. He then scored a brace at home against

. He was by far Arsenal's top goalscorer during the 1974–75 season, scoring 19 goals in 40 appearances. In the following season Kidd, on 20 March 1976, scored a hat-trick against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in a 6–1 win at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

. Altogether Kidd scored 34 times for Arsenal from 90 appearances. In July 1976, he was sold to Manchester City for a fee of £100,000. With Manchester City, Kidd scored three times against rivals Manchester United, in a 3–1 win at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...

and a 2–2 draw at Old Trafford during the 1977–78 season. He would play 98 times for Manchester City, netting 44 goals. He then moved to Everton in March 1979 for £150,000. With the Toffees, Kidd netted 12 times in 44 appearances and was sent off in an FA Cup semi final against

. Kidd then joined

in May 1980 for £110,000. Kidd found the back of the net a total of 13 times for Bolton where he made a total of 43 appearances at and away from

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of English football club Bolton Wanderers who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup Final replay, it was the scene in 1946 of one of the greatest disasters in English footba ...

. He was then loaned out to NASL team Atlanta Chiefs in 1981. He played 29 times for the chiefs, scoring on 23 occasions. In January 1982, Kidd moved on from Bolton to return to the NASL. He then signed with the

and two years afterward with the

. He was prolific with both teams when it came to goalscoring, but in 1984 he retired from the game.

International career

Kidd was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

twice for the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

with both of those appearances coming in 1970.

Management and coaching career

1984–2008

In 1984, Kidd began his coaching career at Barrow. He briefly managed

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

for several games in 1986. Kidd then became involved in coaching young players before being brought back to Manchester United as a youth team coach by

in 1988. Over the next three years Kidd helped to bring through a host of talented players like

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his List of one-club men in association football, entir ...

and

Darren Ferguson Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Championship club Peterborough United. In between his stints with Peterborough, he also managed Preston N ...

. When Ferguson's assistant Archie Knox moved to a similar capacity at

Glasgow Rangers Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

in the summer of 1991, Kidd was promoted to the role of assistant manager. He helped Ferguson guide United to a

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

win in 1992, the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

title in 1993, the double in 1994 and again in 1996, as well as another Premier League title in 1997. Kidd left United to take charge at

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. T ...

in December 1998, replacing

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to th ...

who had been sacked after Blackburn's poor start to the season left them in the relegation zone. Despite Kidd having a promising start with Rovers, which saw him voted

Premier League Manager of the Month The Premier League Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League manager each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to ...

and having also spent nearly £20 million on new players in his first four months in charge he was unable to save them from being relegated from the Premier League (just four years after being champions) and Kidd was dismissed on 3 November 1999 with Rovers standing 19th in

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

. In 1999, a rift developed between Kidd and Alex Ferguson after Kidd was strongly criticised in Ferguson's autobiography ''Managing My Life''. Ferguson was angered that when Kidd was his assistant manager he had questioned United's 1998 summer signing of striker

Dwight Yorke Dwight Eversley Yorke CM (born 3 November 1971) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian former professional footballer and current manager of Australian A-League club Macarthur FC. Throughout his club career, he played for Aston Villa, Manchester Unit ...

. Ferguson criticised Kidd's footballing judgement and wrote in his book: "I saw Brian Kidd as a complex person, often quite insecure, particularly about his health." Kidd was upset at Ferguson's attack on him and responded by saying: "I believe Walt Disney is trying to buy the film rights to his book as a sequel to Fantasia." Kidd moved to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

in May 2000 as youth coach but was promoted to act as Head Coach in March 2001 under

David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United, subsequently managing Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai. The majority of his 20-yea ...

then

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

. He left Leeds in May 2003 after

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

was appointed manager. Meanwhile, Kidd was named as assistant to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

in January 2003. He was forced to end this role in May 2004, just weeks before

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

, due to undergoing surgery for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

. Kidd had recovered by February 2006. In August 2006, former United player

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

was appointed manager of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and there were reports that Keane wanted Kidd to become his assistant manager at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...

. However, Kidd instead accepted an offer to work as assistant to

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

a few months after their promotion to the Premier League. After the Blades were relegated and Warnock resigned, Kidd remained at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

under new manager

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

(another former Manchester United player) but left the club after Robson departed in February 2008.

2009–present

On 11 February 2009, Kidd was appointed as the assistant to caretaker manager

Paul Hart Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English association football, football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the English Football League, Football League as a Defender (association football), def ...

side

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He stayed until August 2009, when he rejected a new contract offer. Kidd became Technical Development Manager at

in September 2009, before becoming assistant manager to new boss

on 19 December 2009, following the sacking of manager

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, and a ...

. In February 2011, Kidd said that he was willing to give Alex Ferguson "the benefit of the doubt" in the dispute that the two men had in the late 1990s. Kidd revealed that although there was no phone call from Ferguson when he was fighting prostate cancer in 2004, he was now speaking to Ferguson after matches again. In the

2011 FA Cup Final The 2011 FA Cup Final was the 130th FA Cup Final, final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic Association football, football cup competition. The final took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 88,643 spectators an ...

, Manchester City won their first major trophy for 35 years after beating

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

1–0. In the following 2011–12 season, City were crowned league champions for the first time since 1968. In an extraordinary finale to the season, City scored twice in stoppage time to beat

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

3–2 in dramatic style to win the

on goal difference from Manchester United. Together with Mancini and City's first team coach

, Kidd raced on to the pitch to celebrate

Sergio Agüero Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest play ...

's title-winning goal for City. Kidd served as caretaker manager for the final two games of the 2012–13 season, following the departure of Mancini. Kidd returned to his assistant role following the appointment of

and worked with both him and his successor

, before leaving after the 2020–21 season.

Honours

Player

Manchester United *

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

: 1967–68 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Manager

Individual *

: December 1998

Career statistics

Manager

References

External links

* *
Football Association – Brian Kidd profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Brian 1949 births Living people People from Collyhurst Footballers from Manchester English footballers England international footballers England under-23 international footballers Manchester United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Atlanta Chiefs players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Minnesota Strikers (NASL) players English football managers Barrow A.F.C. managers Preston North End F.C. managers Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Manchester City F.C. non-playing staff Premier League managers Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers Manchester City F.C. managers Portsmouth F.C. non-playing staff Association football forwards English Football League representative players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers UEFA Champions League winning players