| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1957-10-19)19 October 1957 (age 68) | ||
| Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Edgware Town | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1988 | Luton Town | 388 | (127) |
| 1988–1990 | Caen | 41 | (11) |
| 1990–1991 | Annecy | 14 | (3) |
| 1991–1992 | Luton Town | 39 | (3) |
| 1992–1993 | Barnet | 40 | (8) |
| 1994–1995 | St Albans City | 42 | (32) |
| Total | 564 | (184) | |
| International career | |||
| 1983–1984 | England U21 | 3 | (3) |
| 1984 | England | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007 | Luton Town (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Brian Stein (born 19 October 1957) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
Stein played in theFootball League forLuton Town andBarnet as well as spells in France withCaen andAnnecy, before finishing his career in non-league withSt Albans City. Born in South Africa, he played forEngland, being capped once at senior level for the country in 1984.
Following retirement, Stein returned to Luton and was reserve team manager and briefly took over as caretaker manager in 2007, before later becoming assistant toMike Newell. He followed Newell toGrimsby Town where he initially worked as chief scout before stepping up to assistant manager during the 2009–10 season.
Stein started his career withEdgware Town before signing forLuton Town in 1977 under managerHarry Haslam, having been scouted by then-reserve team coach and Haslam's successor as Luton boss David Pleat.[2] This was the first of two spells with the club, where he made 427 appearances and scored 130 goals.
Initially a winger, he soon moved into a central striking role where he formed successive prolific partnerships withBob Hatton and then Steve White as Luton won the Second Division Championship in 1981–82. The following season his striking partner in the top flight was a youngster,Paul Walsh, and Luton produced a flurry of attacking displays in the early weeks of the season, including 5–0 and 5–3 home victories over Brighton and Notts County, and a 4–4 draw away to Stoke City. To cap it all Luton then went to Anfield and surprised the Liverpool fans with Stein scoring twice past Liverpool keeperBruce Grobbelaar, the game eventually finishing 3–3. Stein missed a substantial part of the season after breaking his foot in December, and by the last game of the season Luton needed to win away at Manchester City to stay in the top division and condemn City themselves to relegation. Stein returned for the game despite lacking match fitness, and played his part with a cross four minutes from time which fell toRaddy Antic to score the winner. The game is primarily remembered for an excited Luton manager,David Pleat, gambolling across the pitch at the final whistle to hug his players.[3]
Strike partner Walsh moved to Liverpool at the end of the 1983–4 season, and Stein then formed an equally strong partnership withMick Harford. His finest hour came on 24 April 1988 when he scored two goals, including the late winner, in Luton's 3–2League Cup Final victory againstArsenal.
Stein was released at the end of the1987–88 season, joining French teamCaen. In 1990, he signed for another French team,Annecy. He rejoined Luton for the1991–92 season, but Luton were relegated at the end of the season, ending a run of ten successive seasons of top flight football. He was a regular player for Luton in the 1991–92 season, but scored just three league goals.
He signed forBarnet in 1992, retiring as a professional player at the end of the1992–93 season when Barnet were promoted from Division Three despite almost going out of business during the season.
On 29 February 1984, Stein played forEngland in 2–0 defeat againstFrance in Paris, a game in which he partnered club teammatePaul Walsh. This was to be his only international cap.[4] That same year he helped England win the1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.[5] He was the first African-born black player to win a senior England cap and also the first African-born player to win a cap for the England under-21 side.[2]
Stein returned to Luton in 2000 to work as reserve-team coach. WithMick Harford leaving forNottingham Forest in 2004, Brian was promoted to assistant manager by then Luton managerMike Newell. On 15 March 2007, after the sacking of Newell, Luton appointed Stein caretaker manager. He only managed Luton for one match, a 2–0 home defeat toIpswich Town on 17 March, before being replaced byKevin Blackwell. Blackwell brought in his own backroom staff, and Stein left Luton at the end of the 2006–07 season.
On 17 November 2008, Stein was appointed chief scout and first team coach atGrimsby Town, reuniting him with Mike Newell.[6] He was promoted to the position of assistant manager on 12 May 2009 after it was decided not to renew the contract of current assistant managerStuart Watkiss.[7]
Newell was sacked in October 2009, however Stein remained in his position as assistant at least for the next five weeks, despite early speculation that he would leave. He was overlooked for the job of caretaker manager, which instead went to youth team managerNeil Woods. When Woods received the job on a permanent basis, Stein was relieved of his duties on 30 November, and was replaced byChris Casper.
He is the older brother of formerLuton Town,Chelsea andStoke City strikerMark Stein; another brother,Ed Stein, played for Barnet.[8] The Stein brothers were born in South Africa, and arrived in the United Kingdom in 1968 when their father Isaiah Stein, an activist with theAfrican National Congress and former boxer, fled the country to escape police persecution and torture for his political activities. Isaiah continued his activism in Britain, serving as a member of theSouth African Non-Racial Olympic Committee.[2][9] Anti-apartheid activistSam Ramsamy, a friend of Isaiah Stein and future president of the post-apartheid South African National Olympic Committee, has credited Brian Stein with encouraging other black footballers in Britain to become involved with the anti-apartheid movement, includingChris Hughton,Garth Crooks andJohn Fashanu.[2]
Luton Town