Bryan Hughes (born 19 June 1976) is an English football manager and 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

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 ...

from 1994 to 2015, notably

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 Fo ...

for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

as well as featuring in the Football League for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...

and

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

, in the Conference for

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

, and for Icelandic club ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar. He finished his career at

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 d ...

club

Scarborough Athletic Scarborough Athletic Football Club is an association football club based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. The club was formed on 25 June 2007 as a phoenix club following the winding up of Scarborough Football Club. After spending the ...

. Hughes went into coaching, first as player-coach and joint manager of Scarborough Athletic, then at a

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

-based academy, and most recently as manager of Wrexham.

Playing career

Wrexham

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

, Hughes initially made his name at

, guiding them to 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 ...

quarter finals in 1996–97 with the goals he scored on that cup run. It was his performances in the FA Cup for Wrexham that caught the attention of

. Hughes scored against

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

, Scunthorpe United,

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 ...

and Birmingham before the Welsh outfit bowed out to

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. In March 1997,

Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player foll ...

paid £1,000,000 to take him to St Andrew's.

Birmingham City

Hughes made a total of 293 appearances for the Blues, scoring 42 goals, and was an essential part of Steve Bruce's side's

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

-winning season in 2002, and their first and second seasons in the

, before his switch to south-east London. While at Birmingham he played in the

2001 Football League Cup Final The 2001 Football League Cup Final was a football match played between Birmingham City and Liverpool on 25 February 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2000–01 Football League Cup, the 41st season of the Foot ...

as a substitute; although he scored his

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

, Birmingham lost the

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

5–4. Having rejected a new deal with Birmingham, in July 2004 he moved to

, signing a three-year contract.

Charlton Athletic

Hughes made his debut for Charlton against Bolton Wanderers on 14 August 2004, when he came on as a substitute for Matt Holland who was injured after twelve minutes. He bagged a brace in a 4–1 FA Cup win over

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

at The Valley in January 2005his first goals for the cluband scored for the Addicks in a victory over

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

in the fourth round. Hughes made 22 appearances for Charlton during the season, and scored his fourth and final goal of the season in the last game against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. In 2005–06, he became the man who caused José Mourinho to lose his first match at Stamford Bridge as

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

manager. Included in the side for the third round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, Hughes scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout. He made 40 appearances in total for Charlton, and scored five goals. On 30 December 2006, Hughes scored a last-minute winning goal against Aston Villa, providing new Charlton manager Alan Pardew with his first win for the club. However, he played less often for Charlton during the 2006–07 season, making 27 appearances and only scoring once as they were relegated from the Premier League.

Hull City

Hughes joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic on a three-year deal on 29 June 2007, He made his Hull debut in a 3–2 defeat against Plymouth Argyle on 11 August, and scored his first league goal for the Tigers in a 5–0 win against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 15 March 2008. He made 39 appearances that season, including all three playoff matches, as Hull were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history. He did not play as often in the next season in the Premier League, making only eight appearances. Hughes signed for

on a month's loan on 22 October 2009, and made three appearances before returning to Hull. His contract with Hull was mutually terminated before the close of the January 2010 transfer window.

Burton Albion

After trials with Championship club Cardiff City,

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

, and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

, Hughes signed a one-month deal with

Football 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 ...

club

on 14 December 2010. He made his debut on 1 January 2011 in a 1–1 home draw with

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

in which he was substituted in the 56th minute by

Aaron Webster Aaron Webster (June 1959 - November 17, 2001) was a gay man living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who was beaten by a group of men close to a gay cruising area in a wooded part of Stanley Park near Second Beach on November 17, 2001."'He ...

. That was his only appearance for the club, and he left when his contract expired.

Grimsby Town

After a trial with Conference National team

, in which he played in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Lincoln City, Hughes signed for the club on 31 January 2011 until the end of the season. He made his debut the next day in a 2–2 away draw with

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

. He only played three times for the club, and was among a number of players released at the end of the season by the club's new managerial duo Rob Scott and

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar

In 2011, Hughes joined Icelandic club ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar, who were playing in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

that season.

Accrington Stanley

On 27 October 2011, Hughes joined League Two club

on non-contract terms. Assigned

squad number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

27, he made his Stanley debut in a 2–1 win over

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

on 5 November. On 10 December, Hughes set up

Pádraig Amond Pádraig Amond (born 15 April 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League club Woking. He began his career in his native Ireland with Shamrock Rovers, progressing through the club's youth academy be ...

's opening goal as Stanley beat AFC Wimbledon 2–0. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over

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 ...

on 17 Decemberhis first goal in English football since 2008and scored the winner against Morecambe on Boxing Day. His contribution to the club's 10 points from a possible 12 in December earned him the League Two Player of the Month award. He made 22 appearances for Accrington, scoring three times, and left the club at the end of the season after contract negotiations broke down.

Scarborough Athletic

In March 2013, Hughes joined

of the

Northern Counties East League Premier Division The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History T ...

until the end of the season. He started his first game on 9 March against

Pickering Town Pickering Town Football Club is an English football club based in Pickering, North Yorkshire. The club was founded in 1888 and are currently members of the . History Pickering Town Football Club were first established in 1888, for many yea ...

, and scored his first goal a week later in a 4–2 victory at Parkgate. In April 2014 he was appointed as one of manager Rudy Funk's joint assistant managers. Following Funk's resignation in November 2014, he was appointed joint manager alongside Paul Foot. In October 2015, alongside his role with Scarborough, Hughes took up the post of head of coaching at the i2i International Soccer Academy, a facility associated with

York St John University , mottoeng = They may have life and have it more abundantly , established = , type = Public , administrative_staff = 618 , chancellor = Reeta Chakrabarti , vice_chancellor = Professor Karen Bryan , student ...

. Two months later, Hughes and Foot left Scarborough by mutual consent after a series of poor results.

Managerial career

On 6 February 2019, Hughes was appointed as manager of

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club Wrexham on a three-and-a-half-year deal. His team finished the season in fourth place but lost in the play-off quarter-final. After the team went eight games without a win and dropped into the relegation places, Hughes was sacked on 25 September 2019.

International career

He made one appearance for a Football League under-21 representative team in a friendly against an Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

under-21 team.

Personal life

In 2014, Hughes was appointed as head of the UK

footgolf Footgolf is a sport in which players kick a football into a cup in as few shots as possible. The name is a portmanteau of association football and golf, and the game combines the two sports, being more closely related to golf. Rules The game ...

academy scheme. He now works as the head of football coaching at York St. John University.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 1996–97 Second Division

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Bryan 1976 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English footballers Association football midfielders Wrexham A.F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja players Scarborough Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players National League (English football) players English football managers Wrexham A.F.C. managers