| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig James Brown Brewster | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-12-13)13 December 1966 (age 58) | ||
| Place of birth | Dundee, Scotland | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Horsham (sporting director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dundee United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1991 | Forfar Athletic | 191 | (37) |
| 1991–1993 | Raith Rovers | 86 | (34) |
| 1993–1996 | Dundee United | 90 | (40) |
| 1996–2001 | Ionikos | 155 | (45) |
| 2001–2002 | Hibernian | 25 | (3) |
| 2002–2004 | Dunfermline Athletic | 99 | (20) |
| 2004–2006 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 31 | (10) |
| 2006 | Dundee United | 4 | (0) |
| 2007 | Aberdeen | 7 | (3) |
| 2007 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Ross County | 10 | (3) |
| Total | 700 | (196) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2004–2006 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | ||
| 2006 | Dundee United | ||
| 2007–2009 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | ||
| 2012 | Crawley Town (caretaker) | ||
| 2012 | Crawley Town (caretaker) | ||
| 2015–2018 | Plymouth Argyle (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Craig James Brown Brewster (born 13 December 1966) is a Scottish former professionalfootballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as astriker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularlyForfar Athletic,Raith Rovers,Dundee United andDunfermline Athletic. He also had a successful spell withIonikos in Greece.
Brewster started his managerial career withInverness Caledonian Thistle in theScottish Premier League, before a short unsuccessful spell as manager of Dundee United forced a resumption of his playing career in 2007 withAberdeen. He was reappointed manager of Inverness CT for a second time in August 2007, but Brewster was sacked by Inverness in January 2009. Brewster then worked as assistant manager toDerek Adams atRoss County, but left the club in December 2010.
He was appointed coach atCrawley Town in May 2011 and twice became caretaker manager of the club in 2012. After leaving Crawley, he has worked in various coaching roles forWhitehawk,Brighton & Hove Albion andPlymouth Argyle.
Brewster was born inStobswell,Dundee and grew up aDundee United supporter. He signed for the club as a schoolboy, but was not offered professional terms by then managerJim McLean. Unable to find a senior club, Brewster dropped intojunior football with Dundee side Stobswell for a while, before signing forForfar Athletic in 1985. At this time, his regular playing position was inmidfield. His form at Forfar prompted the attention ofRaith Rovers, who signed him in 1991. At this time he converted to striker, and formed a prolific partnership withGordon Dalziel that helped Raith to theFirst Division title in1993.
In 1993, Brewster returned to Dundee United, signing for theTannadice club for a fee of £250,000. After a slow start in which he struggled to adapt toPremier Division football, Brewster's first season at Tannadice culminated in his greatest moment as a player, scoring the winner for United in the1994 Scottish Cup Final againstRangers. However, the club was relegated a year later. Brewster helped them towards promotion back to the top flight in1995–96, scoring four goals in one match againstDumbarton, but when his contract expired at the end of the season he decided to further his career elsewhere. With theBosman ruling having just come into force, Brewster was entitled to move abroad on a free transfer, and he decided to take advantage of an offer from Greek clubIonikos FC.
While other Scottish players who moved to Europe at this time mainly returned home soon afterwards, Brewster remained atIonikos FC for five seasons. His time in Greece included another national cup final appearance, butIonikos FC lost the 2000Greek Cup toAEK Athens. In July 2001, Brewster went on trial atHibernian,[1] securing a return to Scotland in time for the2001–02 season.[2] In his first season back in Scotland, Brewster formed a productive partnership with a youngGarry O'Connor but due to budget cuts by Hibs, Brewster joinedDunfermline Athletic in 2002.[3] He enjoyed some of the most consistent form of his career playing alongsideStevie Crawford, who had a been a youngster at Raith during Brewster's time there. Despite some clamour from fans and the media for Brewster to be called up to theScotland squad, this never materialised.
Brewster left Dunfermline in November 2004 to become player/manager ofInverness.[4] After 18 months with Inverness, he then joinedDundee United as player/manager. This move meant he became the most expensive 39-year-old footballer ever, costing the Terrors a reported £340,000.[5] A run of poor results meant that Brewster left United in October 2006.[6] He joinedAberdeen as a player in December 2006, signing a contract until the end of the2006–07 season.[7] He linked up again withJimmy Calderwood, who had been his manager atDunfermline. Brewster made his debut for Aberdeen as a substitute in a goalless draw withHibernian on 2 January 2007,[8] and he scored his first goal for Aberdeen with a header in aScottish Cup tie against the same opponents eight days later.[9] Brewster then suffered a dislocated shoulder in a draw againstInverness.[10] Doubts were cast over his playing future, but Brewster returned in early March and he signed a six-month extension to his Aberdeen contract in May 2007.[11]
His contract with Aberdeen was cut short, however, when he returned to management with Inverness in August 2007.[12] He only played in two league games for Inverness in his second spell with that club, scoring the winning goal in aSPL match againstHearts.[13] After being sacked as Inverness manager in early 2009, Brewster signed a contract withHighland derby rivalsRoss County until the end of the 2008–09 season.[14]
In November 2004, Brewster accepted the job of player–manager withInverness Caledonian Thistle.[4] He helped to establish the club in theScottish Premier League afterJohn Robertson had left to take the position atHearts.
Brewster was appointed player–manager of Dundee United in January 2006. His return to United yielded little success, however, as despite going unbeaten in his first three games, the remainder of the2005–06 season brought just one win (againstLivingston). Brewster had to wait four league games into the2006–07 season for his second league win, and oversaw only two league wins in his nine months at Tannadice.
On 29 October 2006, after a 5–1 defeat toFalkirk, Brewster and assistant Malky Thomson left by "mutual agreement".[6] After leaving Dundee United he was linked with several managerial vacancies, including those at former clubs Dunfermline, Raith and Ionikos,[15] but he returned to playing withAberdeen instead.[7]
Brewster returned to management withInverness in August 2007, after previous managerCharlie Christie had resigned.[12] Inheriting a team that was bottom of the league with no points, the team went on a good run of form culminating in December 2007 with a remarkable 3–2 win over Celtic, despite having been 0–2 down and having a player sent off. Pressure began to mount on Brewster in early 2008, however, when the team went on a run of seven consecutive defeats. Brewster stuck to a tough but unpopular stance regarding player discipline and contracts. Results eventually improved with the teamfinishing ninth in the league. This improvement was not maintained during the 2008–09 season, however. Brewster was sacked on 19 January 2009 following a run of seven consecutive league defeats, that left the team bottom of the league.[16]
Brewster was appointed assistant manager ofRoss County, working with managerDerek Adams. Ross County reached the2010 Scottish Cup Final under their management. Brewster left the club in December 2010, soon afterWillie McStay had replaced Adams as manager.[17]
After six months out of work, Brewster was appointed first team coach ofCrawley Town by managerSteve Evans in June 2011.[18] Brewster was appointed caretaker manager on 9 April 2012, after the departure of Evans, until the end of the season.[19] Brewster guided the club to promotion toFootball League One with three wins from their last six games.[20] He was retained as a coach whenSean O'Driscoll was appointed manager in May 2012.[21] Brewster was again placed in caretaker charge, along withSteve Coppell, after O'Driscoll left in July 2012.[22]
In November 2013, Brewster joinedWhitehawk asassistant manager. He worked forDarren Freeman, but Freeman was sacked as manager in January 2014. Brewster subsequently moved to a coaching position with the youth academy atBrighton & Hove Albion.[23]
In June 2015,Derek Adams appointed Brewster to the position of assistant manager atPlymouth Argyle.[24][25]
Brewster left Argyle at the end of the2017-18 season, after a hip operation he had undergone in January 2018[26] had seen him not feature on the sidelines for Argyle for the back-end of the season. He was replaced as assistant byPaul Wotton, withKevin Nancekivell stepping up to the first team coaching team.[27] Brewster later expressed his sadness and surprise at being released by the club.[28]
On 25 November 2019, Brewster was appointed sporting director ofHorsham.[29]
On 1 July 2021, Brewster was appointed Head of Youth Development atHorsham.[30]
