Noel Brotherston (18 November 1956 – 6 May 1995) was an international footballer for Northern Ireland.[3]

Noel Brotherston
Personal information
Full name Noel Brotherston[1]
Date of birth (1956-11-18)18 November 1956[1]
Place of birth Dundonald,[1] Northern Ireland
Date of death 6 May 1995(1995-05-06) (aged 38)[1]
Place of death Blackburn,[1] England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1977 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (0)
1977–1987 Blackburn Rovers 317 (40)
1987–1989 Bury 38 (4)
1988Scarborough (loan) 5 (0)
1989 Motala AIF
International career
1978 Northern Ireland U21 1 (0)
1980–1985 Northern Ireland 27 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

A winger, Brotherston played in the Football League for Tottenham,[citation needed] Blackburn Rovers,[citation needed] Bury,[citation needed] and Scarborough.[citation needed]

Noel was well remembered for his characteristic hairstyle that seemed to emphasise his jinking runs down the wing. He was a fans' favourite at Blackburn.[4]

International career edit

Brotherston made his debut for Northern Ireland in a May 1980 friendly match against Scotland and won 27 international caps, scoring three goals. He represented his country in three FIFA World Cup qualification matches[5] and played at the 1982 World Cup.

Brotherston played in a famous 1–0 win for Northern Ireland over Israel[citation needed] that helped the team to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 24 years. He also scored the winning goal against Wales in 1980[citation needed] to give Northern Ireland the Home Internationals Championship trophy in the Irish Football Association's centenary year.[citation needed]

Personal life edit

Brotherston grew up in the town of Dundonald,[citation needed] in the east of Belfast. He lived in Bright Street, East Belfast when he was a small boy.

He became a painter and decorator in Blackburn[4] when he retired as a player. He died of a heart attack aged just 38.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Noel Brotherston". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ Jackman, Mike (1994). Blackburn Rovers: the official encyclopaedia. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 36. ISBN 1-873626-70-3 – via Archive.org.
  3. ^ Bob Goodwin (2017). "Brotherston, Noel". The Spurs Alphabet. Robwin Publishing House. pp. 57–58.
  4. ^ a b c Where are they now? BBC Sport, 13 April 2007
  5. ^ Noel BrotherstonFIFA competition record (archived)

External links edit