imported>EchetusXe: /* References */

2025-06-30T21:45:46Z

References

New page

{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Brian Bithell
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = Brian Bithell<ref name="kent"/>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|10|05|df=y}}<ref name="kent"/>
| birth_place = [[Watford]], England<ref name="kent"/>
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rollin |first1=Jack |last2=Dunk |first2=Peter |title=Rothmans football yearbook. 1976-77 |date=1976 |publisher=London : Queen Anne Press |isbn=978-0-362-00259-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball0000unse_x5p |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref>
| position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 1976–1977| clubs1 = [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] | caps1 = 17| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1977 | clubs2 = → [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] (loan) | caps2 = 2| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 1977–1978| clubs3 = [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] | caps3 = 6| goals3 = 0
| years4 = 1978–1979| clubs4 = [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]]| caps4 = 14| goals4 = 2
| years5 = | clubs5 = [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]] | caps5 = | goals5 =
| years6 = | clubs6 = [[Congleton Town F.C.|Congleton Town]] | caps6 = | goals6 =
| years7 = | clubs7 = [[Rhyl F.C.|Rhyl]] | caps7 = | goals7 =
| totalcaps = | totalgoals =
}}

'''Brian Bithell''' (born 5 October 1956) is an English former [[Association football|footballer]] who played as a [[Defender (association football)|defender]] for [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]], [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]], [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]], [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]], [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]], [[Congleton Town F.C.|Congleton Town]] and [[Rhyl F.C.|Rhyl]].

==Career==
Bithell started his career with [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]].<ref name="kent">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=31|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}}</ref> He started 16 [[Football League First Division|First Division]] games in the [[1976–77 Stoke City F.C. season|1976–77]] season, as both [[Tony Waddington]] and [[George Eastham]] proved unable to lead the "Potters" away from the [[promotion and relegation|relegation]] zone.<ref name="kent"/> He never featured in the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]], and instead crossed the [[Potteries derby|Potteries divide]] in September 1977 to spend time on [[Loan (sports)|loan]] with [[Roy Sproson]]'s [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] in the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]].<ref name="kent"/> He only played two games at [[Vale Park]], before returning to the [[Victoria Ground]] the following month.<ref name="kent"/> He joined [[Dario Gradi]]'s [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] in December 1977, featuring in six [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] games towards the end of the [[1977–78 Wimbledon F.C. season|1977–78]] season. After leaving [[Plough Lane (1912–98)|Plough Lane]] he left the [[English Football League|Football League]], and later played for [[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]] ([[Northern Premier League]]), [[Stafford Rangers F.C.|Stafford Rangers]] (Northern Premier League), [[Congleton Town F.C.|Congleton Town]] and [[Rhyl F.C.|Rhyl]].<ref name="kent"/> After retiring, he worked as a [[Manager (association football)|manager]] at a [[Tesco]] in [[Middlewich]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Brian Bithell|url=http://www.historicaldons.com/player.php?od=4&id=67|website=historicaldons.com|access-date=27 March 2015}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
Source:<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Stats|url=http://www.silkmenarchives.org.uk/season_stats/npl/1978_79.html|website=silkmenarchives.org.uk|access-date=12 July 2016}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|League Cup
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|[[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]]
|[[1976–77 Stoke City F.C. season|1976–77]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|17||0||1||0||0||0||18||0
|-
|[[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] (loan)
|[[1977–78 Port Vale F.C. season|1977–78]]
|[[Football League Third Division|Third Division]]
|2||0||0||0||0||0||2||0
|-
|[[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]
|[[1977–78 Wimbledon F.C. season|1977–78]]
|[[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]]
|6||0||0||0||0||0||6||0
|-
|[[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]]
|[[1978–79 Northern Premier League|1978–79]]
|[[Northern Premier League]]
|14||2||0||0||2||0||16||2
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!39!!2!!1!!0!!2!!0!!42!!2
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bithell, Brian}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Watford]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Stoke City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Port Vale F.C. players]]
[[Category:Wimbledon F.C. players]]
[[Category:Macclesfield Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Stafford Rangers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Congleton Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Rhyl F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Northern Premier League players]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]

Brian Bithell - Revision history

imported>EchetusXe: /* References */