Bryan Small

Bryan Small (born 15 November 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.[1]

Bryan Small
Small in 2007
Personal information
Full name Bryan Small[1]
Date of birth (1971-11-15) 15 November 1971[1]
Place of birth Birmingham, England[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1996 Aston Villa 35 (0)
1994Birmingham City (loan) 3 (0)
1996–1998 Bolton Wanderers 17 (0)
1997Luton Town (loan) 16 (0)
1997–1998Bradford City (loan) 5 (0)
1998Bury (loan) 8 (0)
1998Bury (loan) 10 (1)
1998–2001 Stoke City 45 (0)
2001 Walsall 0 (0)
2001Forest Green Rovers (loan) 5 (0)
2001–2002 Kettering Town 7 (0)
2002–2003 Hednesford Town 20 (0)
Total 171 (1)
International career
1993 England U21 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He started out as a trainee at his hometown club Aston Villa and played for a total of 11 clubs in a series of free transfers and loan deals. Small played for Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town, Bradford City, Bury, Stoke City and Walsall. At international level he was capped 12 times for the England under-21 team.[2]

Playing career

Small was born in Birmingham and began his career as a trainee at Aston Villa making his debut away at Everton in 1991–92. He played in 13 matches that season and made 15 appearances in 1992–93.

In 1993–94 Small played 12 times for Villa including two against Deportivo de La Coruña in the UEFA Cup. In the 1994–95 season he played five matches for Villa and had a loan spell at second city rivals Birmingham City where he played three times.

He left Villa in March 1996 for Bolton Wanderers where he made 16 appearances helping the club win the First Division in 1996–97. Small was unable to force his way into the team in the Premier League and spent time out on loan at Luton Town, Bradford City and Bury. At Bury he scored his only goal of his career against Sunderland.

In the summer 1998 Small moved to Stoke City where he made 43 appearances in 1998–99 as Stoke failed to claim a play-off place.[1] In 1999–2000 he nine appearances before being released in the summer of 2000.[1] Following his release from Stoke Small had unsuccessful trials at Carlisle United and Brentford.[1]

Another free transfer followed to Walsall but he failed to make the first team. After a loan spell at Forest Green Rovers he moved to Kettering Town before he finished his career at Hednesford Town.

Later career

Small began his coaching career with Stourport Swifts and in July 2008 turned out for old club Bolton in the Masters Tournament.[3]

Personal life

Small's nephew, Thierry Small, became Everton's youngest first-team debutant when he made a brief appearance in the FA Cup as a 16-year-old in early 2021,[4] and turned professional later that year with Southampton.[5]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 1991–92 First Division 80300020130
1992–93 Premier League 140001000150
1993–94 Premier League 90001020120
1994–95 Premier League 5000000050
Total 360302040450
Birmingham City (loan) 1994–95 Second Division 3000000030
Bolton Wanderers 1995–96 Premier League 1000000010
1996–97 First Division 110301000150
Total 120301000160
Luton Town (loan) 1997–98 Second Division 150000000150
Bradford City (loan) 1997–98 First Division 5000000050
Bury 1997–98 First Division 181000000181
Stoke City 1998–99 Second Division 370202020430
1999–2000 Second Division 8000100090
Total 450203020520
Walsall 2000–01 Second Division 0000002020
Forest Green Rovers (loan) 2001–02 Football Conference 5000000050
Kettering Town 2002–03 Football Conference 7000000070
Career total 14618060801681

Honours

Bolton Wanderers

References

  1. Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era – A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  2. "Bryan Small". The Football Association. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  3. "Masters 2008". Masters Football. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  4. McNamara, Paul (25 January 2021). "Record-breaker Small explains 'sacrifice' after debut". Everton F.C. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  5. House, Alfie (24 August 2021). "Southampton FC sign young Everton left-back Thierry Small". Daily Echo. Southampton. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  6. Bryan Small at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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