Brian Clifton (15 March 1934 – 12 January 2020) was an English

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 at either

inside-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

or half-back for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Football career

Clifton was born in

Whitchurch, Hampshire Whitchurch is a town in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, south of Newbury, Berkshire, north of Winchester, east of Andover, Hampshire, Andover and west of Basingstoke. Much of the town is ...

and played football for Hampshire Schools as well as for various local clubs in the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides o ...

, while serving his apprenticeship at the Portals papermill at

Laverstoke Laverstoke ( ) is a village in north west Hampshire, England. The On the other side of the River Test there is the settlement at Freefolk which is included in the Laverstock census return. In the early 18th century, Laverstoke Mill was purchased ...

. While playing for Whitchurch United he was spotted by

Stan Woodhouse Stanley Woodhouse (10 February 1899 – 18 March 1977) was an English footballer who played initially as an inside forward and later as a half back with Bury and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Playing career Woodhouse was born in Warring ...

, who had played for

in the 1920s and 1930s. He joined Southampton in 1952, making his debut in the reserves on 3 January 1953. He signed for Southampton in February 1953, shortly before his 19th birthday and continued to make occasional appearances for the reserves over the next four years. His football career was interrupted by his

National service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, which he spent with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, and it was not until 28 September 1957 that he made his first-team debut when he took the place of

Derek Reeves Derek Reeves (27 August 1934 – 22 May 1995) was an English association football, footballer, born in Poole, Dorset, who played as a Forward (association football), centre forward for Southampton F.C., Southampton and Bournemouth & Boscombe At ...

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for a

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

match against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. Clifton scored twice with a lob and a header as the "Saints" won 5–0. Clifton retained his place at centre-forward for the next six matches, with Reeves returning at

inside-left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, and scored another

brace Brace (formerly known as ''Brace For War'') was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Brace was founded in 2005 by Kya Pate. In an interview with MMA Kanvas Kya Pate detailed what it is like to be the promoter of Australian MMA. Si ...

in a 7–0 rout of

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on 5 October. In November, he lost his place to Reeves, with

Don Roper Donald George Beaumont Roper (14 December 1922 – 8 June 2001) was an English footballer who played for Southampton and Arsenal, winning two league titles with the latter in the 1947–48 and 1952–53 seasons. Playing as a Midfielder#Winger ...

returning at inside-right, after which he only made five further appearances in 1957–58, this time at inside-right. Over the next three seasons, Clifton was in and out of the side, playing in various positions in the forward line or as a

wing-half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, although he did score eight goals from his eight appearances at

in 1959–60. It was not until 1961–62 (with Southampton now in the Second Division) that he became a settled member of the side, playing the entire season at

right-half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

until April when he was switched back to the forward line, with

Ken Wimshurst Kenneth Pinkney Wimshurst (23 March 1938 – 6 July 2017) was an English footballer who played as a right half. He made over 300 Football League appearances in the years after the Second World War. Career Ken Wimshurst played locally for South ...

taking over at right-half. Following the signing of Ian White in the summer of 1962, Clifton only made four further appearances before he was sold to

for £8,000 in October 1962. At Grimsby, he joined fellow new signings, centre-forward George McLean (signed from

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

) and inside-forward Ron Foster (from

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

), as Grimsby tried to establish themselves in the Second Division. Now playing regularly at

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, Clifton became the team captain but he was unable to prevent the "Mariners" being relegated in 1964. He remained with Grimsby until the summer of 1966, before dropping down to

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

. He then joined

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

of the

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

, helping them to become champions in 1967, before spells with

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Later career

Following his retirement from football, Clifton remained in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, where he worked as a draughtsman for a frozen food company in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

until his retirement. He then settled in the nearby village of

Holton-le-Clay Holton-le-Clay is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, around south of Grimsby. History Ditched enclosures and boundaries of possible prehistoric or Roman origin have been found, and earthworks of ...

Death

On 12 January 2020, he died at the age of 85, with both Southampton and Grimsby Town paying tribute to their former player.

Honours

Southampton *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

champions: 1959–60 Boston United *

champions: 1966–67

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Brian 1934 births 2020 deaths People from Whitchurch, Hampshire English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Andover F.C. players Whitchurch United F.C. players Portals Athletic F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Boston Town F.C. players Footballers from Hampshire