 Brooking at a book signing in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Trevor David Brooking | ||
| Date of birth | (1948-10-02)2 October 1948 (age 77) | ||
| Place of birth | Barking, Essex, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1965–1966 | West Ham United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1984 | West Ham United | 528 | (88) |
| 1984 | Manurewa | 1 | (0) |
| 1985 | Newcastle Blue Star | 1 | (0) |
| 1985 | Kelmscott | 6 | (0) |
| 1985 | Cork City | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 538 | (88) | |
| International career | |||
| 1964 | England Schoolboys | 1 | (0) |
| 1967 | England Youth | 6 | (2) |
| 1971 | England U23 | 1 | (1) |
| 1974 | The Football League XI | 1 | (1) |
| 1974–1982 | England | 47 | (5) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003 | West Ham United (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sir Trevor David Brooking (born 2 October 1948) is a formerEngland internationalfootballer, manager,pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England.
Brooking spent almost his entire career atWest Ham United, making 647 appearances for the club. He won the1975 FA Cup and the1980 FA Cup in which he scored the only goal. He was also the club'splayer of the season on four occasions and caretaker manager on two occasions in 2003. Brooking played 47 times forEngland, scoring five times. He was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1981, elevated toCommander of same order (CBE) in 1999, andknighted in 2004. In 2009, a stand atUpton Park was named after him. Since retiring from playing, he has taken up a number of positions in broadcasting as an on-air analyst and in football and sports administration.
Trevor David Brooking was born on 2 October 1948 inBarking, Essex,[2] to mother Margaret and father Henry Charles (known as Harry), who was a police officer in theMetropolitan Police.[3] Brooking attended Ripple Infants School and leftIlford County High School with 11O-levels and 2A-levels.[4] His father took him to see his firstWest Ham United game atUpton Park, a 1–1 draw againstLiverpool on 19 April 1958, when he was nine years old.[4][5] Aged fifteen he trained at bothTottenham andChelsea.[6] However, West Ham managerRon Greenwood watched him with scoutWally St Pier, and Brooking was offered apprenticeships by all three clubs, with only West Ham allowing him to stay on at school to finish his studies.[6] Despite his parents being offered £500 and a car by managerTommy Docherty to gain his signature for Chelsea he remained at school signing an apprenticeship deal with West Ham on 24 July 1965, his parents receiving no fee.[4]
In June 1967, Brooking made his senior debut in a friendly for West Ham againstGrasshopper Zürich in Switzerland.[7] His league debut came in place of wide-rightBrian Dear on 29 August 1967 in a 3–3 draw withBurnley atTurf Moor.[8] His first goal came on 26 December 1967 in a 4–2 away win atLeicester City.[9] His first season saw him play 28 games, scoring nine goals. His second season saw 37 appearances and eight goals. His onlyhat-trick came on 6 April 1968 in a 5–0 home defeat ofNewcastle.[9]
In December 1969, during his third season, Brooking chipped a bone in his ankle in a game againstNottingham Forest.[10] The club signedPeter Eustace for £90,000 to take his place; his recovery took longer than expected, and he considered giving up the game.[10] However, he returned to playing and with the departure ofMartin Peters to Tottenham in March 1970, Brooking became a regular in midfield. His place in the side came under threat in the 1971–72 season with the purchase of midfielderTommy Taylor, and Brooking was transfer-listed at his request.[11] However, the failure of the defensive partnership betweenBobby Moore andAlan Stephenson saw Stephenson dropped and Taylor being moved into defence; Brooking remained an ever-present for the rest of the season and was votedHammer of the Year.[12]
During the 1972–73 season he came to the attention ofDerby County managerBrian Clough, who offered West Ham £400,000 for Brooking and Moore. However, Greenwood refused to let the pair leave.[13] Again, in 1974 Tottenham managerBill Nicholson offered £425,000 for the signature of Brooking. According to Brooking in his autobiography, this move was not pursued as he felt Nicholson, a manager he admired, was coming to the end of his Tottenham career and was unsure which manager would follow him.[4]
He won theFA Cup twice, in1975[14] with Brooking scoring a vital goal in a 2–1 win in a fourth round replay away atSwindon Town[15] and1980; in the latter, he scored another vital goal in a 2–1 win in a third round replay againstWest Bromwich Albion[16] and the only goal in a 1–0 win overArsenal in the final with a header.[17] Brooking scored what was considered goal of the year in the Golden Goals Competition onITV, according to the panel (Dave Sexton,Pat Jennings, Vic Railton andBernard Joy) for the1976 British League season.[18]
Brooking was a member of the West Ham team which won theSecond Division in 1981. He also appeared in the1975 FA Charity Shield, the1976 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, the1980 FA Charity Shield and the1981 Football League Cup Final. His last game for West Ham came on 18 May 1984 in 1–0 home defeat byEverton.[9] In total he made 647 appearances and scoring 102 times, wearing the number 10 jersey, his total appearances for West Ham beaten only byBilly Bonds,Bobby Moore andFrank Lampard Sr. He had atestimonial match against an England XI in October 1977.[19]
During the1984 New Zealand National Soccer League season, Brooking made a single appearance forManurewa, playing in a 2–2 draw againstAuckland University.[20]
Brooking accepted an invitation to play forBlue Star in aWearside League game againstCoundon on 28 April 1985. Blue Star had paid for him to fly to Newcastle as their guest and reportedly paid him an appearance fee of £500.[21]
In 1985, Brooking played six times forWestern Australian clubKelmscott, also helping to coach the club's youth sides.[22]
Later that year, Brooking played briefly forCork City, making two appearances.[23][24]
Brooking made hisEngland debut on 3 April 1974 in a 0–0 draw againstPortugal.[25] He played 47 times, scoring five goals but only appeared twice in major tournaments. AtEuro 1980 in Italy he played in England's opening game againstBelgium which was a 1–1 draw, but was dropped for the second game, againstItaly which England lost 1–0.[26][27] Re-instated to the starting eleven againstSpain he scored England's first goal in a 2–1 win.[28] Due to injuryWorld Cup 1982 was to see him limited to playing as asubstitute against Spain on 5 July 1982. Playing for only the last half-hour of the game, Brooking forced one excellent save from the Spanish goalkeeper,Luis Arconada, but with England needing to win to qualify for the semi-final a 0–0 draw saw them eliminated. This was to be his final international appearance.[29]
Brooking was primarily right-footed, but was comfortable on his left foot, due to repeated practice. He played as an attacking midfield player, known for his controlled passing and midfield authority.[30] Early in his career he was vulnerable to being out-muscled by opposition players (leading his teammates to nickname him 'Cyril' afterCyril Lord the carpet salesman, asRon Greenwood told him "you're always on the floor").[31] He lacked pace, leading to another nickname, Boog, after a slowbaseball player calledBoog Powell the team had witnessed during a tour of the US.[32] He was rarely booked or sent off during his West Ham career and due to his gentlemanly approach to the game where he rarely contested a referee's decision he picked up another nickname,Hadleigh, after a televisionupper class and urbane detective played byGerald Harper.[9][33]
In April 2003, after West Ham managerGlenn Roeder collapsed due to abrain tumour, Brooking, having long been on the board at West Ham, briefly took over as caretaker manager. The club were fighting relegation from thePremier League. Brooking took charge of three games. His first game resulted in a 1–0 win atManchester City with a goal fromFrédéric Kanouté.[34] His second saw West Ham beatChelsea 1–0, with a goal fromPaolo Di Canio.[35] The final game of the season saw West Ham draw 2–2 atBirmingham City resulting in relegation,[36] albeit with 42 points, a record number for a relegated team in a 38-game season.[37]
After the first three games of the2003–04 season with West Ham now in theFirst Division, Roeder was sacked after West Ham suffered an away defeat toRotherham United[38] and Brooking was again installed as caretaker manager. He managed for eleven games, losing only once, toGillingham, a 2–0 away defeat in whichJermain Defoe was sent off.[39] In October 2003 he was replaced byAlan Pardew, who was appointed on his recommendation.[40]
In 1984, Brooking joined theBBC as a pundit, and has featured on radio and television commentary since, including the BBC'sMatch of the Day and coverage ofWorld Cups andEuropean Championships. He was also the co-commentator in thePro Evolution Soccer video game series, alongsidePeter Brackley untilPro Evolution Soccer 6.
Brooking was chair of the Eastern Region Council for Sport and Recreation from 1987 until 1997, and between 1999 and 2002 he was chairman ofSport England.[41] In January 2004, he joinedthe Football Association as Director of Football Development, a role which gave him control of coaching and development in English football, as well as a role in appointing futureEngland managers.[42]
He was a key part of the selection process for the successor ofSven-Göran Eriksson, revealed in May 2006 to beSteve McClaren. In 2004, he wasknighted for his services to sport.[43]
Brooking says he has an "aversion toalcohol," having "discovered in early life that it wasn't for me."[44]
In June 1970, he married Hilkka, aFinnishau pair.[45] The couple had two children: Collette and Warren.[46] Hilkka, Lady Brooking died in June 2025.[47][48]
In 1970, along with schoolfriend Colin McGowan, Brooking started abook binding company, Colbrook Plastics Limited in Stratford, East London. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from theUniversity of Essex in 2001.[49] In October 2014, his autobiography,Trevor Brooking, My Life in Football, was published.[50]
In 2009 West Ham United announced that from 8 August, the start of the2009–10 season, 'The Centenary Stand' atBoleyn Ground would be named 'The Sir Trevor Brooking Stand' in his honour.[51] The stand was used by away supporters and had been the scene for crowd disturbances. In 2009 in amatch between West Ham and Millwall seats were torn out by Millwall fans and hurled towards West Ham fans.[52] In subsequent seasons, Millwall fans were segregated to the upper tier of the stand and kept at least 30 yards from West Ham fans to prevent crowd disturbances.[53]
A stand at theLondon Stadium is also named after Brooking and used by West Ham after their move from the Boleyn Ground from the start of the2016–17 season.[54]
It is obviously a terrific honour (to have the stand named after me), which I am very grateful for because this is my club. It will be my club forever. The great thing was being able to spend my whole career with West Ham, having a stint as caretaker manager and as a director.I still try and get to most of the home games. On my travels, if I am in a cab or something then everyone talks to me about West Ham because they know I am associated with the club. It is something I am only too pleased about whenever it happens. We have a very passionate and loyal support
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| West Ham United | 1967–68 | First Division | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 9 |
| 1968–69 | First Division | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 8 | |
| 1969–70 | First Division | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 | |
| 1970–71 | First Division | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 1971–72 | First Division | 40 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 7 | |
| 1972–73 | First Division | 40 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 11 | |
| 1973–74 | First Division | 38 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 6 | |
| 1974–75 | First Division | 36 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 5 | |
| 1975–76 | First Division | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 49 | 9 | |
| 1976–77 | First Division | 42 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 4 | |
| 1977–78 | First Division | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | |
| 1978–79 | Second Division | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 1979–80 | Second Division | 37 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 6 | |
| 1980–81 | Second Division | 36 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 52 | 10 | |
| 1981–82 | First Division | 34 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 9 | |
| 1982–83 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1983–84 | First Division | 35 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 6 | |
| Total | 528 | 88 | 40 | 3 | 55 | 8 | 24 | 3 | 647 | 102 | ||
| Newcastle Blue Star | 1984–85 | Wearside League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cork City | 1985–86 | League of Ireland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 531 | 88 | 40 | 3 | 55 | 8 | 24 | 3 | 650 | 102 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1974 | 7 | 0 |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1977 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1979 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1980 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1981 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1982 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | 5 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 November 1977 | Wembley, London, England |  Italy | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 24 May 1980 | Hampden Park,Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1980 British Home Championship |
| 3 | 18 June 1980 | Stadio San Paolo,Naples, Italy |  Spain | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1980 |
| 4 | 6 June 1981 | Nepstadion,Budapest, Hungary |  Hungary | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 2–1 |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| West Ham United (caretaker) | 24 April 2003 | 12 May 2003 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 066.7 |
| West Ham United (caretaker) | 24 August 2003 | 20 October 2003 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 063.6 |
| Total[57] | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 064.3 | ||
West Ham United
Brooking was appointed asMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1981, elevated toCommander of same Order (CBE) in 1999, andknighted in 2004.[9][58]
In November 2015, Brooking was awarded 'Global Football Ambassador' at the 4th annualFootball Business Awards.[59]
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