Brian Edward Sparrow (24 June 1962 – 6 December 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Edward Sparrow[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1962[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Bethnal Green,[1] England | ||
| Date of death | 6 December 2019 (aged 57)[1] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Full back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1977–1982 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1984 | Arsenal | 2 | (0) |
| 1982 | → Wimbledon (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 1983 | → Millwall (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 1984 | → Gillingham (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1984–1987 | Crystal Palace | 63 | (2) |
| 19??–1990 | Enfield | ||
| 1990–1992 | Crawley Town | ||
| Total | 92 | (6) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1991–1992 | Crawley Town (player-manager) | ||
| 1996 | Crawley Town (caretaker) | ||
| 2012 | Shenzhen Main Sports | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editBorn in Bethnal Green, Sparrow began his career at Arsenal,[3] from where he spent loan spells at Wimbledon, Millwall and Gillingham.[4] After spending three seasons with Crystal Palace,[4] Sparrow dropped down to non-league football with Enfield and then Crawley Town, where he was player-manager from 1991 to 1992,[5]
After retiring as a player, Sparrow worked as reserve-team manager of Wimbledon, made a brief return to Crawley as caretaker manager,[5] and coached at Brentford and Crystal Palace.[6] On 26 February 2012, Sparrow was appointed as the manager of China League Two side Shenzhen Main Sports, the same day the club was founded.[7][8] He left China after club boss Sammy Yu resigned in July 2012.[9]
He died on 6 December 2019, at the age of 57.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Brian Sparrow". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ "Profile". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Brian Sparrow". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Brian Sparrow". Crawley Town F.C. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Sparrow's an Eagle". BBC Sport. 25 July 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "余怀英组新军征战中乙 前阿森纳球员深圳执教鞭". Sohu Sports.
- ^ Tang Zhe. "Shenzhen out to recapture former glory". China Daily. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ 深圳中乙队主席被迫退出 自称因生命安全被威胁 (in Chinese)
- ^ "Brian Sparrow (24.6.1962 - 6.12.2019)". Crystal Palace F.C. 7 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.