| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Flynn | ||
| Date of birth | (1955-10-12)12 October 1955 (age 70) | ||
| Place of birth | Port Talbot,Glamorgan, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1977 | Burnley | 120 | (8) |
| 1977–1982 | Leeds United | 154 | (11) |
| 1982 | →Burnley (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1982–1984 | Burnley | 80 | (11) |
| 1984–1985 | Cardiff City | 32 | (0) |
| 1985–1986 | Doncaster Rovers | 27 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Bury | 19 | (0) |
| 1987 | Limerick City | 10 | (1) |
| 1987–1988 | Doncaster Rovers | 24 | (1) |
| 1988–1993 | Wrexham | 100 | (5) |
| Total | 568 | (37) | |
| International career | |||
| 1974–1984 | Wales | 66 | (7) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1989–2001 | Wrexham | ||
| 2002–2004 | Swansea City | ||
| 2004–2012 | Wales U21 | ||
| 2010 | Wales (caretaker) | ||
| 2013 | Doncaster Rovers | ||
| 2019 | Wrexham (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Brian Flynn (born 12 October 1955) is a Welsh formerfootballer andmanager. As a player, he was aWelsh international, who played as amidfielder.
Flynn managed theWales national under-21 football team until May 2012, coming close to taking Wales to their first major championship in 57 years. On 13 September 2010, Flynn was confirmed caretaker manager of theWales national football team afterJohn Toshack stepped down, prior to the appointment ofGary Speed.
Flynn started his career withBurnley, and made his league debut for the club in the1973–74 season, when it was in the oldFirst Division. After 120 league appearances he transferred toLeeds United in November 1977. He moved back to Burnley in November 1982 (after an earlier brief loan spell) and, after 80 more league games, Flynn moved toCardiff City in November 1984.[2]
Later playing forDoncaster Rovers,Bury,Limerick City andWrexham,[3] Flynn made his final Football League appearances in the1992–93 season with Wrexham, with his final game coming on 3 November 1992 againstScunthorpe United.[4]
He earned 66 fullWelsh caps between 1975 and 1984, scoring 7 goals.[3]
He became manager ofWrexham in 1989, and remained in charge until 2001.[5] During his twelve years in charge Wrexham won theWelsh Cup three times gaining entry to theCup Winners Cup. They achieved notableFA Cupgiant-killing victories over reigning league championsArsenal andPremier LeagueWest Ham United.[6][7] Flynn also led Wrexham to promotion intothe second division.[7] At the time of his departure from Wrexham he was theleague's third longest serving manager behindAlex Ferguson andDario Gradi.[6]
He was appointed asSwansea City manager in September 2002, replacingNick Cusack.[8]
Cusack's last game in charge on 18 September 2002 had seen Swansea lose 1–0 away toBoston United and move to last place in theFootball League for the first time in their history. Flynn's first game on 21 September 2002 was no better for Swansea with them losing 1–0 at home toTorquay United.[9] He set about trying to rebuild the side giving debuts to 21 players in his first season[9] Their Football League status was only maintained on the last day of the season with them winning 4–2 at home toHull City.[9][10] Thefollowing season started well for Swansea and they made theFA Cup 5th round but after a loss of form, Flynn was replaced byKenny Jackett.[9][11]
Flynn joined the Welsh national set-up in 2004 as under-21 coach. His management of the Welsh under-21 side has seen some of the best results in its history. Flynn came agonisingly close to taking the Welsh team to the2009 UEFA under-21 Championships, guiding the side to the top of a group containingFrance andRomania, including a superb away win against the latter. Unfortunately, competition rules stipulated that even group winners had to go through a two-legged play-off round in order to qualify, and Wales were knocked out 5–4 on aggregate against their neighbours,England.
Following the departure ofJohn Toshack as Wales manager in September 2010, Flynn was appointed as Wales caretaker manager.[12] He took charge of two games, both defeats. On 8 October 2010 Wales were beaten 1–0 in Cardiff byBulgaria and on 12 October 2010 they lost 4–1 toSwitzerland atSt. Jakob-Park inBasel.[13][14]
Flynn vacated his position with Wales Under 21s in May 2012 at the end of his contract. He was credited with an important role in the development ofGareth Bale,Aaron Ramsey,Joe Allen andWayne Hennessey.[15][16]
Having already been working forDoncaster Rovers as a scout, he was appointed as caretaker manager of the club on 7 January followingDean Saunders move toWolverhampton Wanderers. At that point he was assisted by playerRob Jones who had been briefly installed as caretaker earlier that morning.[17] On 17 January Flynn was confirmed as permanent manager with a contract till the end of the season.[18] His first game in permanent charge of Doncaster on 19 January 2013 saw his side win 2–0 againstLeyton Orient.[19]
On 27 April 2013, Flynn secured promotion with Doncaster, and theLeague One title, with a 1–0 win againstBrentford atGriffin Park. Victory for Brentford would have seen them promoted at Doncaster's expense, and they were awarded a penalty-kick in injury-time, but missed and Doncaster scored from the resulting counterattack to earn the victory.[20]
At the end of the season, Flynn expressed a desire to step down as manager and return to a role of developing and recruiting players. Doncaster offered him a senior role in this as well as helping to choose the new manager.[21] For the2013–14 season he was named asDirector of Football[22] including overseeing the newly formeddevelopment squad[23] which would be playing competitive games.
On 21 February 2019, Flynn returned to Wrexham as assistant manager to recently appointed managerBryan Hughes, who started his playing career at Wrexham under Flynn.[24]
On 1 December 2016 Flynn returned to Swansea City as ascout.[25] After Swansea's relegation to the Championship at the end of the2017–18 season,[26] Flynn and the rest of the scouting team were relieved of their duties.[27]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Wrexham | 24 November 1989 | 24 September 2001 | 622 | 223 | 173 | 226 | 035.9 |
| Swansea City | 19 September 2002 | 18 March 2004 | 82 | 28 | 22 | 32 | 034.1 |
| Wales U21 | 18 March 2004 | 31 May 2012 | 37 | 19 | 5 | 13 | 051.4 |
| Wales | 19 September 2010 | 14 December 2010 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.0 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 17 January 2013 | 3 May 2013 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 050.0 |
| Wrexham(Caretaker) | 25 September 2019 | 6 October 2019 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 033.3 |
| Total | 766 | 281 | 205 | 280 | 036.7 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
