Brian Statham (born 21 May 1969) is an English retired 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 le ...

who made over 160 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

as a

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 ...

. He also played league football for

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

, Gillingham,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

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 ...

and was capped by England at U21 level.

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

, Statham began his career in the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

at First Division club

and turned professional in 1987. He broke through into the first team during the 1987–88 season and made 19 appearances. Statham managed eight further appearances during the 1988–89 season, before dropping out of the squad. He spent time away on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

during the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons and departed

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

in February 1992. Statham was awarded a benefit match by the club in July 2000.

Brentford (loan and permanent transfer)

In January 1992, Statham joined high-flying Third Division club

on a one-month loan, with a view to a permanent transfer. He made just one appearance during his spell and rejected the contract offered, before reconsidering and joining the club on a permanent deal for a £70,000 fee on 28 February. Statham was a regular in the team during the last three months of the 1991–92 season, making 18 appearances and he won the first

silverware Silverware may refer to: * Household silver including **Tableware **Cutlery **Candlesticks *The work of a silversmith * Silverware is also a slang term for a collection of trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achieveme ...

of his career when Brentford secured the Third Division title on the final day. Statham's 58 appearances during the 1992–93 season in the reclassified First Division was a career-high, but the season ended on a disappointing note, with relegation straight back to the third-tier. Back in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

for the 1993–94 season, Statham made 36 appearances and scored what would be the only goal of his professional career in a 3–3 draw with

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

on 26 March 1993. Despite appearing regularly during the first half of the 1994–95 season, he was transfer listed in December 1994. Statham made 44 appearances during a season in which the Bees were denied promotion after defeat to Huddersfield Town in the playoff semi-finals. During the 1995 off-season, Statham rejected a new contract in favour of a week-to-week deal. He made 24 appearances before suffering a double fracture of his right leg during a 1–0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

second round victory over

on 2 December 1995. Though he was still on the weekly contract, the club would honour the terms of its initial contract offer until the end of the 1995–96 season. Statham returned to training November 1996 and made his first appearance in nearly 13 months as a 79th-minute substitute for

Carl Asaba Carl Edward Asaba (born 28 January 1973) is an English former footballer who played as a forward in the Football League. He began his career with non-league Dulwich Hamlet, his goalscoring prowess earning him a move to Brentford in 1994. He p ...

in a 4–1 victory over

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

on 26 December 1996. Featuring mostly as a substitute, Statham finished with the 1996–97 season with 25 appearances, but his Brentford career would end in ignominy, after he was sent off after being shown a second

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

late in the 1997 Second Division playoff Final, which was lost 1–0 to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

. Statham departed Brentford in August 1997, having made 201 appearances and scored one goal during five-and-a-half years at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

Gillingham

On 22 August 1997, Statham joined Second Division club Gillingham for a £10,000 fee, with two further £10,000 fees to be paid based on appearances. He made just 24 appearances before departing Priestfield in October 1999.

Non-League spells

After loan spells with

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

and

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...

while a Gillingham player, Statham dropped back into

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 ...

upon his release from Gillingham. Between 2000 and 2005 he played for Chesham United,

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

, East Thurrock United, Erith & Belvedere and

Heybridge Swifts Heybridge Swifts Football Club is a football club based in Heybridge, near Maldon, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Scraley Road. History The club was established in 1880 as Heybridge Football Club. After joining t ...

International career

Statham won three caps for the England U21 team in 1988.

Managerial career

Heybridge Swifts

Statham was appointed as manager of

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

Premier Division club Heybridge Swifts in January 2005. He guided the club to a runners-up finish in the 2005–06 season, but the Swifts were denied promotion after falling to Hampton & Richmond Borough in the playoff semi-finals. After two mid-table finishes, Statham resigned on 28 August 2008.

Billericay Town

On 23 April 2009, Statham was announced as manager of Isthmian League Premier Division club

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

. With relegation at the end of the 2009–10 season looking a possibility, Statham was sacked on 29 March 2010.

Personal life

Statham was born in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

(now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

) and later lived in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, before his parents moved to

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The namesake of a former

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

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, he represented Essex in school cricket. Statham's son Maxwell is also a footballer and plays in non-League football. After retiring from football, Statham became a businessman, with interests in media, insurance and investments. He is also a football agent.

Career statistics

References

External links

Brian Statham
at Soccerbase {{DEFAULTSORT:Statham, Brian 1969 births Living people English footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football defenders Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Reading F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Brentford F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Woking F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Chesham United F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Welling United F.C. players East Thurrock United F.C. players Erith & Belvedere F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Heybridge Swifts F.C. managers Billericay Town F.C. managers Isthmian League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League managers Heybridge Swifts F.C. players Sportspeople from Harare