Brian Statham (footballer)

Brian Statham (born 21 May 1969) is an English retired professional footballer who made over 160 appearances in the Football League for Brentford as a right back. He also played league football for Tottenham Hotspur, Gillingham, Reading, Bournemouth and was capped by England at U21 level.

Brian Statham
Personal information
Full name Brian Statham[1]
Date of birth (1969-05-21) 21 May 1969
Place of birth Harare, Rhodesia
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Right back, midfielder
Youth career
0000–1987 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1992 Tottenham Hotspur 24 (0)
1991 → Reading 8 (0)
1991 → Bournemouth (loan) 2 (0)
1992 → Brentford (loan) 1 (0)
1992–1997 Brentford 161 (1)
1997–1999 Gillingham 20 (0)
1998 → Woking (loan)
1999 → Stevenage Borough (loan) 3 (0)
2000–2001 Chesham United
2001–2003 Chelmsford City 66 (0)
2003–2004 Welling United 25 (0)
2004 East Thurrock United
2004–2005 Erith & Belvedere
2005 Heybridge Swifts 1 (0)
National team
1988 England U21 3 (0)
Teams managed
2005–2008 Heybridge Swifts
2009–2010 Billericay Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

A right back, Statham began his career in the youth system at First Division club Tottenham Hotspur and turned professional in 1987.[3] He broke through into the first team during the 1987–88 season and made 19 appearances.[2] Statham managed eight further appearances during the 1988–89 season, before dropping out of the squad.[2] He spent time away on loan during the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons and departed White Hart Lane in February 1992.[4] Statham was awarded a benefit match by the club in July 2000.[5]

Brentford (loan and permanent transfer)

In January 1992, Statham joined high-flying Third Division club Brentford on a one-month loan, with a view to a permanent transfer.[6] 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.[6][4] Statham was a regular in the team during the last three months of the 1991–92 season,[7] making 18 appearances and he won the first silverware of his career when Brentford secured the Third Division title on the final day.[8] Statham's 58 appearances during the 1992–93 season in the reclassified First Division was a career-high,[7] but the season ended on a disappointing note, with relegation straight back to the third-tier.[8]

Back in the Second Division 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 on 26 March 1993.[7][9] Despite appearing regularly during the first half of the 1994–95 season,[10] he was transfer listed in December 1994.[11] Statham made 44 appearances during a season in which the Bees were denied promotion after defeat to Huddersfield Town in the playoff semi-finals.[7][8] During the 1995 off-season, Statham rejected a new contract in favour of a week-to-week deal.[12] He made 24 appearances before suffering a double fracture of his right leg during a 1–0 FA Cup second round victory over Bournemouth on 2 December 1995.[13] 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.[13]

Statham returned to training November 1996 and made his first appearance in nearly 13 months as a 79th-minute substitute for Carl Asaba in a 4–1 victory over Plymouth Argyle on 26 December 1996.[14][15] Featuring mostly as a substitute,[16] Statham finished with the 1996–97 season with 25 appearances,[15] but his Brentford career would end in ignominy, after he was sent off after being shown a second yellow card late in the 1997 Second Division playoff Final, which was lost 1–0 to Crewe Alexandra.[17] Statham departed Brentford in August 1997, having made 201 appearances and scored one goal during five-and-a-half years at Griffin Park.[4]

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.[18] He made just 24 appearances before departing Priestfield in October 1999.[4]

Non-league spells

After loan spells with Woking and Stevenage Borough while a Gillingham player, Statham dropped back into non-League football upon his release from Gillingham.[4] Between 2000 and 2005 he played for Chesham United, Chelmsford City, Welling United, East Thurrock United, Erith & Belvedere and Heybridge Swifts.[19]

International career

Statham won three caps for the England U21 team in 1988.[2]

Managerial career

Heybridge Swifts

Statham was appointed as manager of Isthmian League Premier Division club Heybridge Swifts in January 2005.[20] 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.[21] After two mid-table finishes, Statham resigned on 28 August 2008.[21][22]

Billericay Town

On 23 April 2009, Statham was announced as manager of Isthmian League Premier Division club Billericay Town.[23] With relegation at the end of the 2009–10 season looking a possibility, Statham was sacked on 29 March 2010.[24]

Personal life

Statham was born in Harare, Rhodesia and later lived in Saudi Arabia, before his parents moved to Essex.[3] The namesake of a former England international cricketer, he represented Essex in school cricket.[3] Statham's son Maxwell is also a footballer and currently plays for Watford U23.[25] After retiring from football, Statham became a businessman, with interests in media, insurance and investments.[26][27] He is also a football agent.[28]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Tottenham Hotspur 1987–88[2] First Division 18 0 1 0 0 0 — 19 0
1988–89[2] 6 0 0 0 2 0 — 8 0
Total 24 0 1 0 2 0 — 27 0
Reading (loan) 1990–91[4] Third Division 8 0 — — — 8 0
Bournemouth (loan) 1991–92[4] Third Division 2 0 0 0 — 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 3 0
Brentford 1991–92[7] Third Division 18 0 — — — 18 0
1992–93[7] First Division 45 0 1 0 4 0 8[lower-alpha 2] 0 58 0
1993–94[7] Second Division 31 1 1 0 2 0 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 36 1
1994–95[7] 36 0 2 0 2 0 4[lower-alpha 3] 0 44 0
1995–96[7] 17 0 1 0 4 0 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 24 0
1996–97[15] 19 0 1 0 0 0 5[lower-alpha 4] 0 25 0
Total 166 1 6 0 8 0 21 0 201 1
Gillingham 1997–98[29] Second Division 20 0 2 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 23 0
1998–99[30] 0 0 — 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 1 0
Total 20 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 24 0
Stevenage Borough (loan) 1998–99[31] Conference 3 0 — — — 3 0
Chesham United 2001–02[32] Isthmian League Premier Division 8 1 0 0 — 0 0 8 1
Chelmsford City 2001–02[32] Southern League Premier Division 27 0 — — 0 0 27 0
2002–03[33] 39 0 0 0 — 0 0 39 0
Total 66 0 0 0 — 0 0 66 0
Welling United 2003–04[34] Southern League Premier Division 25 0 0 0 — 0 0 25 0
Erith & Belvedere 2004–05[35] Southern League First Division East 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
Heybridge Swifts 2004–05[35] Isthmian League Premier Division 1 0 — — — 1 0
Career total 324 2 9 0 10 0 24 0 367 2
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup
  3. 2 appearances in Second Division play-offs, 2 appearances in Football League Trophy
  4. 3 appearances in Second Division play-offs, 2 appearances in Football League Trophy

References
  1. "Brian Statham". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. "Brian Statham". 11v11.com. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  3. Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. 306–307. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
  4. Brian Statham at Soccerbase
  5. "Brian Statham benefit 29 July 2000 – News". www.tottenhamhotspur.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 86.
  7. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 476–481. ISBN 9781906796723.
  8. Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  9. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 139.
  10. Griffin Gazette versus AFC Bournemouth. Quay Design of Poole. 29 April 1995. pp. 34–35.
  11. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 174.
  12. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 200.
  13. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 202.
  14. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 231.
  15. "Games played by Brian Statham in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  16. Brentford's Official Matchday Magazine versus Peterborough United. 3 May 1997. pp. 30–31.
  17. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 229.
  18. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 259-260.
  19. "Player Profile". NonLeagueDaily.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  20. Wigmore, Simon (1 February 2005). "Statham off to swift start with win for Heybridge". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  21. Heybridge Swifts F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  22. "Shock as Statham quits Heybridge Swifts". Essex Chronicle. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  23. "Statham named Billericay manager". 23 April 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  24. "Billericay cut ties with Statham". 29 March 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  25. "Official: Statham Joins Hornets". www.watfordfc.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  26. "Brian Statham – Lead Delivery". leaddelivery.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  27. "Where Are They Now? Gillingham's Division Two play-off winners 1999-00". The League Paper. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  28. "Player First". www.playerfirst.co.uk (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  29. "Games played by Brian Statham in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  30. "Games played by Brian Statham in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  31. "Stevenage Players | Brian Statham". BoroGuide. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  32. "SoccerFacts UK Player Details". soccerfactsuk.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  33. "SoccerFacts UK Player Details". soccerfactsuk.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  34. "SoccerFacts UK Player Details". soccerfactsuk.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  35. "SoccerFacts UK Player Details". soccerfactsuk.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
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