Brian Kilcline (born 7 May 1962) is an English former professional

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 ...

. He played as a

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 ...

for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

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 ...

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

, Newcastle United,

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

and

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

, and was famous for his long hair and moustache.

Career

Kilcline captained Coventry City in the

1987 FA Cup Final The 1987 FA Cup Final between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur on 16 May 1987 at Wembley Stadium, London, England was the 106th Final of the FA Cup, English football's primary cup competition. It was the third final for Tottenham Hotspur in s ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. At the time it was thought that Kilcline was responsible for scoring an own goal to give Spurs a 2–1 lead in the 40th minute, but this goal was eventually credited to Gary Mabbutt. Kilcline and Mabbutt were to clash again in the second half when Kilcline brought down Mabbutt with a tackle. Kilcline was not cautioned by referee Neil Midgley but had to be replaced by substitute Graham Rodger just a minute before the end of normal time due to the injury he himself sustained in the clash. After Coventry's extra time winner (the match finished 3-2) Kilcline limped slowly up the Wembley steps to receive the trophy for the only time in Coventry's history. In 1991, Kilcline joined newly promoted Oldham Athletic but his stay at the club was not to be a long one. When Kevin Keegan became manager of Newcastle United in 1992, "Killer" Kilcline was his first signing, and was immediately installed as club captain. He became known for his hard tackling and aerial ability - he often would prefer a diving header to a volley, even for balls only half a metre off the ground. Keegan later remarked that Kilcline was "the most important signing" he had ever made for the club. This was echoed by fans, who considered him partially responsible for saving the club from relegation and possible bankruptcy. During the 1993–94 season, he briefly played for Swindon Town in the Premier League.

Personal life

Kilcline has been married to Lynn since 1994. As of 2017, the couple split their time between homes in Portugal and

Holmfirth Holmfirth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, on the A635 and A6024 in the Holme Valley, at the confluence of the River Holme and Ribble, south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley. It mostly cons ...

, where they own a number of rental properties.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilcline, Brian 1962 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham English men's footballers England men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Notts County F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players