Brian Tinnion (born 11 June 1948) is an English retired Association football forward who played eleven seasons in the lower English divisions, four in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, three in the American Soccer League and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also coached professionally in the American Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League as well as at the collegiate level with

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

. He was the 1982 ASL league leading scorer and most valuable player (MVP).

Player

Tinnion began his career in 1965 with

Workington A.F.C. Workington Association Football Club is an English football club based in Workington, Cumbria, England. The club competes in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football. The club plays its home matches at ...

which then played in the Third Division. However, the team dropped to the Fourth Division in 1967. In 1968, he transferred to fellow fourth division club

Wrexham A.F.C. Wrexham Association Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. The club compe ...

During the 1971–1972 season, he played three games on loan to Chester F.C., but otherwise was a regular first team player with Wrexham during his eight seasons in Wales. In 1976, he left Wrexham for the United States where he signed for the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

, playing alongside Pele. He played one season in New York before being selected by Team Hawaii in the expansion draft. Hawaii lasted only one season before folding and the Colorado Caribous picked him up in the dispersal draft. He played twenty-four games with Colorado, scoring four goals in 1978 before being traded to the Detroit Express. The Express left the NASL following the 1980 season and moved to the second division American Soccer League. In 1982, the Express won the league title as Tinnion led the league in scoring and was named the league MVP. That season, Tinnion coached the team as well as played midfielder. However, he was not listed as head coach as the league prohibited player-coaches. The league changed the rules in 1983 and Tinnion was named the official head coach for 1983 and 1984. Tinnion also spent 1980–1981 Major Indoor Soccer League with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

Coach

After retiring from playing, Tinnion remained in Detroit where he continued to coach. In 1990, he was hired by the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan, as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports ...

which played in the National Professional Soccer League. He was named the 1990–1991 Coach of the Year. The next season, he led the team to the league title. In December 1994, he resigned from the Rockers to become the head coach at

until the university dropped men's soccer in 1999. In December 2001, Tinnion returned as the head coach of the Rockers, but the team folded at the end of the season. His son, Paul Tinnion, was head coach of the Eastern Michigan University women's soccer team and is now Director of Coaching of the Michigan Jaguars soccer club based in Novi, Michigan. His other son, Joseph Tinnion is the current men's coach of Rochester University.

Current

Tinnion now lives in the suburbs of Detroit with his wife Mary and his two sons, Joey and Kyle. He previously coached for the Michigan Revolution, Workington and the Grosse Pointe Mustangs.

References

External links

NASL/MISL Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinnion, Brian 1948 births Living people American soccer coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Team Hawaii players Chester City F.C. players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English men's footballers Detroit Express players Detroit Express (1981–1983) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players Caribous of Colorado players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Workington A.F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Footballers from Workington Men's association football forwards English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players