Brian Edward Sparrow (24 June 1962 – 6 December 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back.

Brian Sparrow
Personal information
Full name Brian Edward Sparrow[1]
Date of birth (1962-06-24)24 June 1962[1]
Place of birth Bethnal Green,[1] England
Date of death 6 December 2019(2019-12-06) (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)
1982Wimbledon (loan) 17 (1)
1983Millwall (loan) 5 (2)
1984Gillingham (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

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Born 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

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  1. ^ a b c d "Brian Sparrow". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ^ "Profile". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Brian Sparrow". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Brian Sparrow". Crawley Town F.C. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Sparrow's an Eagle". BBC Sport. 25 July 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  7. ^ "余怀英组新军征战中乙 前阿森纳球员深圳执教鞭". Sohu Sports.
  8. ^ Tang Zhe. "Shenzhen out to recapture former glory". China Daily. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  9. ^ 深圳中乙队主席被迫退出 自称因生命安全被威胁 (in Chinese)
  10. ^ "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.