Phil Brignull

An England schools international on 8 occasions who started his professional career at West Ham United in September 1978. He made just the one League appearance there, and in August 1981 moved on to Bournemouth where in 4 seasons he featured in the first team 129 times in the League, with 11 goals, after which injury struck, and he found himself out of the side. He made 5 appearances at Wrexham, scoring once, in a loan transfer, before City negociated a similar arrangement with him. He was a rugged centre half who was primarily brought in to shore up a defence that was shipping far too many goals, and eventually City raised £9,000 to bring him in on a permanent basis, half being raised by a local oil company and the rest by public subscription. After a dour 1986-87 season, he was given a free transfer by Frank Burrows and he moved on to Newport County, where he played only 3 League games in their final League season, his season severely curtailed due to an injured knee. He was forced into a premature football retirement at the end of the 1987-88 season, and took up employment in the insurance business, becoming highly successful while working for Allied Dunbar in Oxford.