Ian Brightwell
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ian Robert Brightwell | ||
| Date of birth | 9 April 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Lutterworth, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1986 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1998 | Manchester City | 321 | (18) |
| 1998–2000 | Coventry City | 0 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Walsall (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Walsall | 71 | (0) |
| 2002 | Stoke City | 4 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Port Vale | 37 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Macclesfield Town | 21 | (0) |
| Total | 464 | (18) | |
| National team | |||
| 1988–1989 | England under-21 | 4 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2004 | Port Vale (caretaker) | ||
| 2006 | Macclesfield Town (caretaker) | ||
| 2007–2008 | Macclesfield Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ian Robert Brightwell (born 9 April 1968) is an English former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a defender from 1986 to 2006 and who played 468 league games in a 20-year career the Football League and Premier League.
He started his professional career at Manchester City in 1986, having won the FA Youth Cup with the club, and remained at Maine Road for the next 12 years, helping City to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1988–89. He joined Coventry City in 1998, before moving on to Walsall two years later. He helped the "Saddlers" to win the Second Division play-offs in 2001, before he joined Stoke City in March 2002. After playing for the "Potters" in their Second Division play-off success in 2002, he moved on to Port Vale. He was appointed as a coach at Vale Park in June 2003, before joining Macclesfield Town as a player-coach a year later. He served the club as caretaker-manager in October 2006, before being given the job permanently in June 2007. He left Moss Rose in February 2008 after a poor start to the 2007–08 season.
Brightwell began his career at Manchester City, where he signed schoolboy forms at the age of 14. He was part of the 1986 FA Youth Cup winning team that also included the likes of Paul Lake and David White. Brightwell made his City debut under Billy McNeill on 23 August 1986 against Wimbledon, and therefore came into the first team picture just as City were being relegated out of the First Division in 1986–87 under McNeill and assistant turned replacement manager Jimmy Frizzell. Brightwell became known as a versatile player who played at every single outfield position during his career at the club; however he was most commonly used either as a right-back or as on the right side of midfield. City then finished ninth in the Second Division in 1987–88, before Mel Machin led them to promotion in 1988–89 with a second-place finish; they ended 17 points behind champions Chelsea and one point ahead of third-place Crystal Palace. Brightwell was also capped four times by England under-21s, scoring twice, in 1988 and 1989. He did not score many goals, but did memorably shoot into the top corner from 25 yards on 3 February 1990, to earn City a draw with rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. They ended the 1989–90 season in 14th place under short-term boss Howard Kendall, behind United only on goal difference.
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