Dean Brill

Summary

Dean Michael Brill (born 2 December 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and is now a coach at the academy of Tottenham Hotspur.[2]

Dean Brill
Brill training with Oldham Athletic in 2009
Personal information
Full name Dean Michael Brill[1]
Date of birth (1985-12-02) 2 December 1985 (age 38)[1]
Place of birth Luton, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1995–2003 Luton Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2009 Luton Town 81 (0)
2006–2007Gillingham (loan) 8 (0)
2009–2011 Oldham Athletic 58 (0)
2011–2012 Barnet 36 (0)
2012–2013 Luton Town 7 (0)
2013Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan) 12 (0)
2013–2016 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 49 (0)
2016–2017 Motherwell 0 (0)
2017 Colchester United 0 (0)
2017–2020 Leyton Orient 89 (0)
Total 340 (0)
Managerial career
2017 Leyton Orient (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career edit

Luton Town edit

Born in Luton, Bedfordshire,[1] Brill joined Luton at the age of nine, progressing through the Centre of Excellence and representing Luton Schools and Bedfordshire County Schools at various age groups. His abilities alerted the attention of bigger clubs, including Liverpool, but Luton fought off the competition to secure his signature.[3]

Beginning 2003–04 as understudy to Rob Beckwith, Brill made his league debut as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Oldham Athletic, after Beckwith had been sent off.[4] His full league debut came three weeks later in a 3–1 win at home to Wycombe Wanderers and retained his place for the following two matches, a 1–0 win away to Stevenage Borough in the Football League Trophy and a 4–2 defeat away to Brentford.[4]

With regular goalkeeper Marlon Beresford unavailable, Brill began 2005–06 as the number one goalkeeper, impressing against newly relegated Crystal Palace during a 2–1 victory at Selhurst Park on the opening day of the season.[5]

Brill made his first appearance of 2006–07 as a substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Preston North End.[6] His first starting appearance of the season came in a 3–2 defeat at home to Queens Park Rangers, where he deputised for the suspended Beresford.[6] However, following the loan signing of Dean Kiely from Portsmouth,[7] Brill was pushed down to third-choice goalkeeper and in December 2006, he was loaned to League One club Gillingham. He made eight appearances during a month-long stay.[6] Having made 12 first-team appearances for Luton,[6] Brill was named Young Player of the Season at Luton's end of season awards.[8]

At the beginning of the 2007–08, Brill found himself out of favour after the loan signings of David Forde and Ben Alnwick.[9][10] However, after Luton went into administration in November 2007, manager Kevin Blackwell was unable to sign a new goalkeeper on loan, and Brill was recalled to the first-team. He finished the season with 47 appearances,[11] culminating in relegation to League Two.[12]

Brill started the first four matches of 2008–09,[13] with Luton facing an almost impossible task to overcome a 30-point deduction.[14] Brill finished the season with 25 appearances and started in Luton's 2009 Football League Trophy Final victory over Scunthorpe United at Wembley Stadium.[13][15] The points deduction proved too much to overcome and Luton were relegated for the third successive season, dropping into the Conference Premier.[16] Brill was released by the club on 27 May 2009 following the expiration of his contract.[17]

Oldham Athletic edit

On 1 July 2009, Brill signed a two-year contract with League One club Oldham Athletic.[18] He was released by the club in May 2011.[19]

Barnet edit

After trials at Yeovil Town and Barnet, Brill signed for the latter on a one-year contract.[20] He kept a clean sheet on his debut in a 1–0 win away to Morecambe.[21] Brill made a crucial save in the dying seconds of Barnet's 2–1 win away to Burton Albion on the final day of 2011–12, a result which kept the club in Football League at the expense of Hereford United.[22] He was released by the club in May 2012.[23]

Return to Luton Town edit

After spending three weeks on trial during pre-season with former club Luton Town, who were in the Conference Premier, Brill signed a two-year contract with them on 31 July 2012.[24] He made 12 appearances in 2012–13,[25] but was transfer-listed by the club in April 2013.[26]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle edit

In July 2013, Brill signed on loan for Inverness Caledonian Thistle until January 2014.[27] He debuted on the opening day of 2013–14 in a 3–0 win at home to St Mirren, keeping his first of three consecutive clean sheets.[28] After a successful spell on loan, Brill signed a permanent deal with Inverness in November 2013, after Luton agreed to release him from the remainder of his contract.[29]

Between May and September 2014, Brill did not let a single goal in, enabling Inverness to achieve a club record of 616 minutes without conceding a goal.[30] Later in the season, Brill suffered an injury which kept him out for a few matches. Worse was to follow, as he sustained a dislocated knee only minutes into his comeback game.[31] This prevented him making any first-team appearances in 2015–16 and he was released by the club in May 2016.[32]

Motherwell edit

Brill signed for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell on 27 June 2016 on a one-year contract.[33] He left the club on 27 January 2017, having failed to make an appearance.[34]

Colchester United edit

On 31 January 2017, Brill signed for Colchester United on a contract until the end of 2016–17.[35] He left the club at the end of his contract after failing to make a first-team appearance.[36]

Leyton Orient edit

Brill joined newly relegated National League club Leyton Orient as a goalkeeping coach on 3 August 2017.[37] Following Steve Davis' sacking as head coach on 14 November, Brill was named interim head coach alongside Ross Embleton.[38] After Justin Edinburgh was appointed head coach later that month,[39] Brill became a member of the playing staff, making his debut for the club on 2 December in a 1–0 away defeat to Solihull Moors.[40] He signed a two-year contract extension in February 2018 after he kept five clean sheets in 14 appearances up to that point in 2017–18.[41] He finished the season with 29 appearances for Leyton Orient and was replaced as goalkeeping coach in July, allowing him to focus on his playing career.[42] The following season, Brill was ever-present in league competition and kept 24 clean sheets in all competitions, equalling the club record, as Leyton Orient won the National League title and promotion to League Two.[43] Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Brill signed a one-year contract extension with the club.[44] After making 20 appearances in the first half of the season, with 19 of those appearances coming in the league, he sustained an injury in late December 2019 and announced his retirement from playing on 24 January 2020 to rejoin the club's coaching staff.[43] In 2021 Brill moved to the staff of Tottenham Hotspur's academy.[45]

Career statistics edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Luton Town 2003–04[4] Second Division 5 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 7 0
2004–05[46] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005–06[47] Championship 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 0
2006–07[6] Championship 11 0 1 0 0 0 12 0
2007–08[11] League One 37 0 5 0 3 0 2[a] 0 47 0
2008–09[13] League Two 23 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 25 0
Total 81 0 6 0 5 0 5 0 97 0
Gillingham (loan) 2006–07[6] League One 8 0 8 0
Oldham Athletic 2009–10[48] League One 28 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 30 0
2010–11[49] League One 30 0 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 33 0
Total 58 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 63 0
Barnet 2011–12[21] League Two 36 0 2 0 2 0 5[a] 0 45 0
Luton Town 2012–13[25] Conference Premier 7 0 1 0 4[b] 0 12 0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2013–14[28] Scottish Premiership 37 0 4 0 4 0 45 0
2014–15[50] Scottish Premiership 24 0 2 0 1 0 27 0
2015–16[51] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 61 0 6 0 5 0 72 0
Motherwell 2016–17[52] Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colchester United 2016–17[52] League Two 0 0 0 0
Leyton Orient 2017–18[25] National League 24 0 0 0 5[b] 0 29 0
2018–19[25] National League 46 0 1 0 7[b] 0 54 0
2019–20[53] League Two 19 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 20 0
Total 89 0 1 0 1 0 12 0 103 0
Career total 340 0 17 0 15 0 28 0 400 0
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in FA Trophy

Honours edit

Luton Town

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Leyton Orient

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ "Dean Brill to join Spurs U23/18 Coaching Staff". Leyton Orient F.C. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^ Buckingham, Mark (1 September 2004). "Reds fail in keeper request". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Games played by Dean Brill in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Match report: Crystal Palace 1–2 Luton". Luton Town F.C. 6 August 2005. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Games played by Dean Brill in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Kiely secures loan move to Luton". BBC Sport. 23 November 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Barnett and Bell are Luton award winners". Luton Today. 30 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Cardiff's Forde loaned to Luton". BBC Sport. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Alnwick makes Luton move". Sky Sports. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Games played by Dean Brill in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Luton 1–2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  13. ^ a b c "Games played by Dean Brill in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Luton to face 30-point deduction". BBC Sport. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  15. ^ Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Luton 0–0 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Relegated Luton release quintet". BBC Sport. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Latics secure Brill signing". Sky Sports. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Seven players released in Oldham Athletic clear-out". BBC Sport. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Barnet sign Dean Brill and offer Price & Watts one-month deals". BBC Sport. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  21. ^ a b "Games played by Dean Brill in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Burton Albion 1–2 Barnet". BBC Sport. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  23. ^ "McLeod, Brill lead Bees exodus". Sky Sports. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  24. ^ "Hatters confirm Brill signing". Luton Today. 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  25. ^ a b c d e f "D. Brill: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  26. ^ "FA Cup goalscoring hero Rendell among transfer-listed Town quartet". Luton Today. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Inverness take Luton Town goalkeeper Dean Brill on loan". BBC Sport. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  28. ^ a b "Games played by Dean Brill in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  29. ^ "Inverness CT: Goalkeeper Dean Brill makes permanent switch". BBC Sport. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  30. ^ "Dean Brill ready to see Caley Thistle clean sheet record go". 9 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Inverness 1–1 Celtic: Caley Thistle goalkeeper Brill dislocates knee". BBC Sport. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  32. ^ "David Raven: Defender signs new deal at Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  33. ^ McGarry, Graeme (27 June 2016). "Dean Brill aiming to get back to his best after signing on at Motherwell". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  34. ^ Coyle, Andy (27 January 2017). "Motherwell sign Griffiths on loan as Brill leaves Fir Park". STV Sport. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  35. ^ "Colchester United: Dean Brill and Sean Murray join on deadline day". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  36. ^ Marston, Carl (5 July 2017). "Colchester United's squad looks in good shape". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  37. ^ "News: Brill appointed goalkeeper coach". Leyton Orient F.C. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  38. ^ "Steve Davis: Leyton Orient sack head coach with club 19th in National League". BBC Sport. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  39. ^ "Justin Edinburgh: Leyton Orient appoint new head coach". BBC Sport. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  40. ^ Gray, Harry (2 December 2017). "Leyton Orient: National League bottom side Solihull Moors extend winless run". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  41. ^ Hayden, Bradley (19 February 2018). "Leyton Orient duo Dean Brill and Jobi McAnuff have both signed new contracts at Brisbane Road". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  42. ^ Hayden, Bradley (9 July 2018). "Leyton Orient appoint Reece Ottley as new goalkeeper coach". East London and West Essex Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  43. ^ a b "Dean Brill retires and joins first team coaching staff". Leyton Orient F.C. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  44. ^ "Dean Brill signs one-year contract extension with Leyton Orient". East London and West Essex Guardian. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  45. ^ "Academy coaching update". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  46. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  47. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  48. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  49. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  50. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  51. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  52. ^ a b "Games played by Dean Brill in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  53. ^ "Games played by Dean Brill in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  54. ^ Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  55. ^ "National League: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
    "Leyton Orient FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  56. ^ Stevens, Rob (19 May 2019). "AFC Fylde 1–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  57. ^ Sam Elliott (10 May 2019). "Vanarama National League Team of the Season Confirmed". Vanarama National League. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

External links edit

  • Dean Brill profile at the Leyton Orient F.C. website
  • Dean Brill at Soccerbase