Adrian Lee Bird (born 8 July 1969) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played 27 games in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. He played as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Bird was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. When he left school in 1985 he joined

as an apprentice, turning professional two years later. He made his debut for the club as a 17-year-old apprentice, on 29 December 1986 in a 1–1 draw at home to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

in the Second Division. By the 1988–89 season Bird was beginning to establish himself as a first-team player when he suffered a knee injury which effectively ended his career.Matthews, p. 224. He spent a year at the Football Injuries Treatment Centre at Lilleshall, and attempted a comeback with Moor Green, but was forced to retire from the game in 1991 at the age of only 21.

References

1969 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Birmingham City F.C. players Moor Green F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Bristol {{England-footy-defender-1960s-stub