Brian Francis O'Donnell (8 August 1957 – 5 November 2020) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a midfielder in England and Australia, before becoming a manager and coach.
O'Donnell was one of five children born to Maurice and Elizabeth O'Donnell. Born in Port Glasgow, he spent the majority of his youth in the town of Yeovil, Somerset.
Playing career
O'Donnell began his football career as an apprentice with AFC Bournemouth - moving to the town in 1975.[1] He turned professional with Bristol Rovers in May 1976.
Western Suburbs & APIA Leichhardt
Frustrated by a lack of playing time, O'Donnell moved to Sydney, Australia. He was one a number of signings made by Western Suburbs SC (NSW) including fellow British signing, John Vernon - who had moved from Stockport County. On 5 March 1978, O'Donnell made his debut in a 1-0 win over Sydney Olympic FC playing left midfield.[2]
He scored his first goal for the club in the last minute of a 2-2 draw away to Canberra City FC in May 1978.[3] O'Donnell made 26 appearances for Western Suburbs until the club were taken over by APIA Leichhardt at the end of the 1978 season.
O'Donnell made 30 appearances over two seasons for APIA and scored his only goal for the club in a 5-1 defeat to Footscray JUST in September 1979.
Blacktown City
1980
O'Donnell started the 1980 season amid rumours that he would be one of several players sold owing to financial uncertainty at APIA. After 6 league appearances for APIA, newly promoted Blacktown City FC signed O'Donnell for AUD$8,000. O'Donnell scored on his debut in a 3–1 win against Brisbane City on 10 May 1980 and was a central figure to the side staying clear of relegation, despite the club's limited resources.[4]
In one of the stand-out matches of the 1980 season, O'Donnell scored two in a 5-1 win over Marconi - a club rumoured to be signing O'Donnell before he moved to Blacktown.
1981
The 1981 season started well for O'Donnell who had established himself as one of the most important players in the squad, notching a goal in the opener against Brisbane Lions in a 2-2 draw.[5] He went on to win Player of the Season for Blacktown City FC and played every league and cup match[6] of the 1981 season.
AFC Bournemouth
O'Donnell's appearances in Australia earned him to the English Football League, he signed for AFC Bournemouth in the Fourth Division. O'Donnell made his debut for the club seven years after he first joined as an apprentice. He made 14 appearances during the 1981-1982 season that saw the club get promoted to the Third Division - in a side that included Nigel Spackman, Tony Funnell and Harry Redknapp as player/coach.[7]
Torquay United
O'Donnell moved to Torquay United in October 1982 on a free transfer, making his debut at left-back in place of Mark Smith in the 3–1 win at home to Northampton Town on 16 October[8] and made 19 league appearances that season.
The proposed move to South Melbourne fell through and instead O'Donnell signed for Footscray JUST. His debut came in a 1-0 loss to Canberra Arrows F.C. in July 1983. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 loss away to Preston makedonia in the 1983 season. He played in the 1984 NSL Cup semi-final 1-0 loss to Melbourne Croatia. O'Donnell went to make 55 appearances over three seasons[10] with a severe torn abductor injury meaning he could only manage 9 appearances in the 1985 season.
He was appointed as manager of Bournemouth Sports CMFC in 1993 winning the Dorset Combination League title and Dorset Combination Cup along with notable success in the FA Cup.[13]
In 1999, O'Donnell joined Salisbury F.C. as Reserve team manager before taking over as manager of Bournemouth Poppies in February 2000.
Bournemouth Poppies managed to avoid relegation following O'Donnell's arrival, despite a points deduction placed on the club. In June 2001 amid a mass resignation of the Poppies executive committee,[14] and after steering the club to a comfortable mid-table finish, O'Donnell left and in January the following year took over as manager of Poole Town[15] finishing 5th in the Hampshire Premier League.[16]
In February 2009 he joined the coaching staff at Dorchester Town as caretaker manager.[18]
Despite an impressive start that drew four points from four games, including a 0–0 draw away to league-topping Basingstoke and with only having nine players signed, O'Donnell was not offered the job full-time and instead the position was given to Roy O'Brien by chairman Eddie Mitchell. O'Brien had been due to walk away from the club prior to being convinced to stay on when O'Donnell took over. O'Brien was subsequently sacked later that year due to a string of poor performances[19]
In 2007, it was revealed in the Bournemouth Echo that O'Donnell was acting as a broker for an unnamed businessman in an unsuccessful takeover bid of the AFC Bournemouth.[24] Following a rival takeover, the club went into administration for the second time in their history the following year.[25]
His father, Maurice O'Donnell was a former footballer and coach - with an association with Yeovil Football Club that lasted over 50 years.[26]
Legacy
Since O'Donnell's death in November 2020, a number of fundraising initiatives have been started in his honour - including an annual celebrity golf day - raising over £30,000 for Melanoma charities.
