Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former

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 ...

player and manager. He 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 ...

six times for the England national team. Talbot played in

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

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 ...

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

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 ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

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

non-league 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 ...

club Sudbury Town, and for the

Toronto Metros Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He then went into management with West Bromwich Albion, Aldershot,

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...

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 ...

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

, and two Maltese clubs, Hibernians and

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...

. Between 1984 and 1988, Talbot was chairman of the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

Club career

midfielder 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 ...

, Talbot began his football apprenticeship with

in 1968, during which he spent two seasons on loan with Canadian club

of the

, turning professional in 1972. He made 227 appearances for Ipswich, and won the

1977–78 FA Cup The 1977–78 FA Cup was the 97th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. The final saw Ipswich Town beat Arsenal 1–0, with a goal from Roger Osborne. First round proper ...

with the club. In the semi-final against

, Talbot scored the first goal after seven minutes, but was injured in the act of scoring when he collided head-to-head with Albion's skipper,

John Wile John David Wile (born 9 March 1947) is an English former footballer and manager. Wile played as a central defender for Sunderland, although he did not play a Football League match for them. In 1967–68 he signed for Peterborough United, ha ...

. Wile played with a bandaged head for the remainder of the contest while Talbot needed three stitches in a cut above the eye and was unable to continue. In 2013, Talbot was inducted into the

Ipswich Town F.C. Hall of Fame Ipswich Town Football Club is an English association football club founded in 1878. In 2007, the club created a hall of fame into which a number of personnel associated with the club are inducted every year. The inaugural members, Ray Crawford, M ...

. In January 1979, Talbot moved to

for a fee of £450,000. He went straight into the first team and played for the Gunners in that year's FA Cup final, scoring in a 3–2 victory over

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 ...

, the first player for more than 100 years to win the FA Cup with two different teams in consecutive seasons. The following year he set a club record, as an ever-present in Arsenal's marathon 70-match 1979–80 season; the club reached the finals of both the

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 ...

and the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

, but lost them both. Because of his stamina and fitness, Talbot missed "at most, a handful" of Arsenal's first-team matches. In all, he played 327 first-team matches for the Gunners, scoring 49 goals, and was voted in at number 23 in a 2016 poll of Arsenal's greatest 50 players. He left Arsenal in June 1985, spending a season and a half at

before joining his old Ipswich Town teammate

Mick Mills Michael Dennis Mills MBE (born 4 January 1949) is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Southampton and Stoke City. He managed Stoke City, Colchester United and Birmingham City. During his career he achieved Ipswich Town's ...

in October 1986, where he helped the Potters climb the table only to fall six points short of a play-off place. During the 1987–88 he made 27 appearances before he left in January 1988 for West Bromwich. Talbot played three years for

the Baggies West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

, mostly as

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

, ending his Football League career with brief spells at

in March 1991, then with

, and finally with Sudbury Town of the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

International career

Talbot played as an over-age player in England's first match at under-21 level, a goalless friendly with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in December 1976. He made his senior debut on 28 May 1977, as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 win against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in the 1976–77 British Home Championship, and his first start on 4 June in the same competition against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at Wembley. He started England's next three matches, on a South American tour later in June. Between 1978 and 1980, he played eight matches for England B, scoring three goals, and made his sixth and final senior appearancethe only one he made as an Arsenal playerin May 1980 against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in Sydney.

Managerial career

Talbot's managerial debut came with West Bromwich Albion, where he served as player-manager from February 1989 to January 1991. His tenure started well, with the side challenging for promotion. But a collapse during the final weeks of the 1988–89 season meant they failed even to qualify for the playoffs. The following season saw the team only narrowly survive in the Second Division, and the struggle continued into the 1990–91 season. Talbot was dismissed by Albion after a 4–2 FA Cup defeat at the hands of non-league

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 ...

; the team ended the season with relegation to the Third Division for the first time ever. After leaving Albion, he joined Fulham and played five times in the Third Division, scoring once, before being appointed player-manager of Fourth Division strugglers Aldershot, who were deep in debt. After a dismal start to the 1991–92 season, Talbot left the Shots in November 1991 and was succeeded by Ian McDonald; four months later the club went bust and were forced out of the Football League. Talbot then led

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta (colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Associa ...

club Hibernians to the league title in 1993 and 1994. He returned to English club football as part of the coaching staff of Rushden and Diamonds, then in the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

, in 1997. After a spell as head coach he was appointed club manager before the start of the 1999–2000 season. At the end of the 2000–01 season Rushden secured promotion to the Football League under his management. The team reached the

Division Three 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 ...

playoffs in 2002 but lost in the final. In their second season in the League they secured the 2002–03 Division Three title, but were relegated the following season, Talbot having left the club in March 2004 after seven years to take over at

. Talbot succeeded in keeping Oldham in Division Two in 2004, then the following season he took them into the third round of the FA Cup, in which the Latics produced a shock result to beat local Premier League team

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 ...

1–0 thanks to a goal from

Scott Vernon Scott Malcolm Vernon (born 13 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Vernon played in the Football League and the Scottish Premiership for 16 years, notably with lengthy spells with Oldham Athlet ...

. But results in the League were not the same: following a defeat to

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 ...

, the team went on a seven-match losing streak which led to Talbot's departure by mutual consent on 24 February 2005 following a 5–1 defeat at

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. He signed a two-year contract as manager of

before the final game of the 2004–05 season. After an unsuccessful stint in charge, Talbot was sacked in mid-March 2006 with the team 22nd in

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

, having not won since 2 January and destined to lose their League status at the end of the season. Talbot made a quick return to management in Malta with

, and guided them to the domestic league title and a place in the

UEFA Champions League 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 ...

. Following a disappointing start to the

2008–09 Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League 2008–09 was the 94th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier Association Football competition in Malta. It began on 23 August 2008 with a scoreless draw between Floriana and Hamrun Spartans; and ended on 24 ...

season, Marsaxlokk appointed former Msida Saint-Joseph manager Patrick Curmi as the club's new head coach on 17 December 2008. Talbot remained with the club until early 2011 in the role of technical director. In February 2011, he joined English Premier League club

as European scout. He was promoted to chief scout and assistant director of football operations in February 2017.

Personal life

Talbot has a son, Daniel Talbot, who is also a footballer.

Career statistics

As a player

Source: :A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the

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 ...

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

and

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

International

Source:

As a manager

Honours

As a player

Ipswich Town *

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Arsenal * FA Cup:

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

* FA Cup runner-up:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

runner-up:

Individual *Football League First Division PFA Team of the Year: 1976–77 *

: 2013

As a manager

Hibernians *

: 1993–94, 1994–95 Rushden & Diamonds *

: 2000–01 *

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 ...

: 2002–03 Marsaxlokk * Maltese Premier League: 2006–07 Individual *

Manager of the Month: November 2002, March 2003

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Brian 1953 births Living people Sportspeople from Ipswich English footballers English expatriate footballers England B international footballers England under-21 international footballers England international footballers Association football midfielders Ipswich Town F.C. players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Arsenal F.C. players Watford F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Sudbury Town F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players English Football League players English football managers English expatriate football managers West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Aldershot F.C. managers Rushden & Diamonds F.C. managers Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers Oxford United F.C. managers Marsaxlokk F.C. managers English Football League managers Expatriate soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Malta Fulham F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players Association football scouts