Brian Owen on Colchester United, Wolves, Watford and England

In part one of our in-depth interview with the popular former U's favourite, he talks about his playing career, coaching in the United States and scouting Ruud Gullit and Gary Lineker.

BRIAN Owen has an entertaining story to tell about pretty much every aspect of his long and successful career in football.

It’s hardly surprising, given that it spanned six decades, and the former Colchester United favourite became the only man to have been a player, coach, scout and physiotherapist in all four divisions of the English Football League.

“I’ve had a great time in football,” says Brian, as he looks back on his varied and unique time in the game.

Brian’s football journey was inspired by the great Stanley Matthews, who he watched play for Blackpool as a young boy.

“The first game I saw was the 1953 FA Cup Final,” he says, as he relaxes at his home in Great Bentley.

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“I was at a grammar school in Hillingdon and if they played in London, I’d go and watch them.”

Taking inspiration from his hero, Brian played as a winger growing up in Middlesex and after impressing in a trial, joined Watford as an apprentice at the age of 17.

It was while playing for the Hornets in a game against Bournemouth on Boxing Day, 1961 that he suffered an injury that was to influence the rest of his playing career.

“A guy has come across my ankle and it opened two bones but because it was Boxing Day, I didn’t go for an X-ray and from then on, I had an unstable ankle,” he said.

Owen spent nine years at Watford, helping them win promotion to the second tier in 1969 and playing for them in their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, the following year.

“The week after the semi-final, they said ‘we’re going to have to let you go’, because I’d been out injured a lot but they offered me a job as assistant physio,” said Brian.

“I think one of the reasons was that just after I’d joined the club, my Dad died and Pat Molloy, who was the physio, took me under his wing and I became interested in physiotherapy.

“So, I studied physiotherapy and also did my coaching badge and was coaching in schools, doing five coaching sessions a week.

“I really wanted to keep playing, so I came to Colchester.”

Dick Graham brought Brian to Colchester in 1970 but another injury struck; after coming off the bench to set up Brian Garvey’s goal in an FA Cup second-round match against Cambridge United at Layer Road, he fractured his kneecap in a collision with a defender and was ruled out for the season.

The U’s went on to record a famous victory over Leeds United: “We stayed in Holland and I drove Dick back in the car, on the day of the Leeds game - he was absolutely cra**ing himself but he was a bit different afterwards!

“It was a great day and what an atmosphere.”

Brian returned from injury the following season, helping Colchester lift the Watney Cup.

He then received a surprise phone call from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“They asked if I’d fancy going up there to be player coach,” he recalls.

“I was hardly playing and I asked Dick (Graham) if he’d release me and he said yes, so the next day, I signed for Wolves.

“At the time, I’d been selected as the England youth-team physio and we won four out of five European Championships.

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“I played in the reserve team at Wolves first – their team included Steve Daley, the first million pound footballer, Alan Sunderland, who scored in the cup final and Peter Withe – it was a hell of a team.

“I played about half a dozen first-team games, and we got to the UEFA Cup Final, where we lost to Tottenham and then we won the League Cup, the following year.

“We then got relegated – we played Bob Paisley’s Liverpool on the final day of the season at Molineux, and they won 3-1; I was in their dressing room afterwards and it was a fantastic atmosphere.

“Bill McGarry got sacked after we got relegated and I got promoted to the first team, having worked my way up to reserve-team coach.

“The first year, we won the division two title.

“We’d already won the division and we’re playing Bolton, who had to win to go up.

“We won which meant Brian Clough won promotion with Nottingham Forest and he went on to spend a fortune on three players, but had we not won that game, who knows?

“The first time I met Clough was when we had a Central League game at Derby.

“It was typical Derby – wet and muddy.

“We had a really young team whereas they had a really experienced team.

“We’d kicked them off the park in the first half.

“As we were coming down the tunnel, there was this figure with a woman’s headscarf coming past the players, tutting – it was Cloughie!

“I don’t think Clough was a coach, but he was a good motivator.”

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After his playing career ended in 1973, Brian focused his efforts on coaching at the likes of Wolves, Peterborough United and Ipswich Town, along with in the United States.

“I ended up going to a coaching clinic near San Francisco; I used to go over there every year,” he said.

“One day when I was out there, I had a phone call, and it was Bobby Robson.

“I’d done a tour with Bob in the Far East and Australia where I’d been physio-coach after Don Howe had dropped out and I got on really well with him.

“He offered me a job at Ipswich as youth-team coach, so I came back.

“When I was at Ipswich, we had great years, the UEFA Cup Final.”

Brian recalls recommending players to Robson’s successor as Ipswich boss, Bobby Ferguson.

“I went over to Holland with him – I went to Rotterdam, and he went to another club, with the agent.

“I went to watch a goalkeeper and when I got back to the hotel, I said ‘forget about the keeper, I’ve seen a player out there who could play anywhere on the field and not look out of place.

“They’d just paid 200 grand to a little club for him, and I said ‘see if you can offer them 400 grand and get him’ - it was Ruud Gullit. He didn’t bother.

“Another one was Gary Lineker when he was at Leicester.

“I said ‘Bob, you’ve got to take this lad’ but he didn’t.

“Bob had a lot to say in producing players and was an excellent coach but not as a manager.”

In part two of our interview with Brian Owen, the former U's favourite talks about Roy McDonough, Phil Parkinson and securing a historic promotion with Colchester.