Brian Graham (footballer)

Brian Graham (born 23 November 1987) is a Scottish football striker and coach, who plays for Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle,[3] and is also the manager of Partick Thistle W.F.C. in the Scottish Women's Premier League.

Brian Graham
Graham playing for Greenock Morton
Personal information
Full name Brian Graham[1]
Date of birth (1987-11-23) 23 November 1987[2]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Partick Thistle
Number 9
Youth career
Hillington F.C.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2011 Greenock Morton 65 (10)
2008–2009 → East Stirlingshire (loan) 33 (15)
2011–2013 Raith Rovers 58 (29)
2013–2015 Dundee United 31 (6)
2014–2015 → St Johnstone (loan) 24 (9)
2015–2016 Ross County 24 (6)
2016–2017 Hibernian 28 (4)
2017–2018 Cheltenham Town 27 (5)
2018–2020 Ross County 48 (12)
2020– Partick Thistle 98 (45)
Managerial career
2020– Partick Thistle W.F.C.
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 28 October 2023 (UTC)

A striker, Graham spent five years at Greenock Morton after joining the club from Hillington. Whilst at Morton he spent a season on loan at East Stirlingshire in the Third Division. He then played for Raith Rovers, moving from there to Dundee United in 2013. After spending most of the 2014–15 season on loan to St Johnstone, he joined Ross County in June 2015. Graham was released from Ross County and signed for Hibernian in August 2016. He helped Hibernian win the 2016–17 Scottish Championship, then moved to English club Cheltenham Town in August 2017. Graham returned to Ross County in August 2018.

Playing career

Greenock Morton

Born in Glasgow, Graham made his senior début for Greenock Morton on 29 April 2006, at Station Park, Forfar against Forfar Athletic. He replaced that season, in order to come into contention for the first team, Allan Moore ordered him and Kevin Kelbie to lose weight (despite being one of the thinnest at the club).[4]

Raith Rovers

After leaving Morton at the end of the 2010–11 season, he signed for Raith Rovers in May 2011.[5] He scored 11 goals in his first season at Stark's Park, two behind top scorer John Baird. Graham went on to 28 times in his second season at the club as they finished 6th in the First Division.

Dundee United

Graham was unveiled as a Dundee United player before the SPL club's last game of the 2012–13 season against Celtic at Tannadice, signing a two-year deal as Jon Daly made an exit.[6] Graham was mainly used as a substitute in his first season, with 23 of his 36 appearances coming from the bench. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 win over Partick Thistle,[7] and went on to finish the season with seven goals in total.

St Johnstone (loan)

In August 2014, Graham was loaned to St Johnstone for the rest of the 2014–15 season.[8] He scored the winning goal on his St Johnstone debut on 30 August 2014 in a 1–0 win away to Motherwell, in the 86th minute, having come on as a substitute.[9] On 20 December 2014, Graham scored from the penalty spot to give St Johnstone a 1–0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle, with the penalty being awarded after he appeared to be fouled by Inverness goalkeeper Dean Brill;[10] however, in the days following the match, he was offered a two-match suspension by the Scottish Football Association's compliance officer after it had been alleged he had dived to win the penalty. St Johnstone accepted the two-match suspension.[11]

Ross County (first spell)

In April 2015, Dundee United announced Graham would be released when his contract expires at the end of the season.[12] It was announced by Ross County in May 2015 that Graham would be joining the club on a two-year contract.[13] He scored 11 goals in his first season at the club and started the 2016 Scottish League Cup Final victory over Hibernian, which gave County their first ever piece of silverware.[14]

Graham began the 2016–17 season in fine form, scoring in all four of Ross County's group stage matches in the reformatted League Cup. He scored the winner in a 1–0 win against Montrose, followed by a 75th-minute penalty against his former club, Raith Rovers to rescue a 1–1 draw the following week. He also netted in a 3–2 to Alloa, and despite scoring a hat-trick as County thrashed Cove Rangers 7–0 on 30 July, it proved to be not enough as the club finished third in their group and thus failed to qualify for the knockout round. A 3–1 defeat to Dundee on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season proved to be Graham's last match for Ross County as he was released by the club on 19 August 2016, despite having a year left on his contract.[15]

Hibernian

He signed for Hibernian the next day on a free transfer, although County later received a fee as Hibs gained promotion to the Premiership.[16][17]

Cheltenham Town

Graham signed for EFL League Two club Cheltenham Town in August 2017.[18][19]

Ross County return

Graham rejoined Ross County on 2 August 2018 after leaving Cheltenham at the end of the 2017–18 season.[20]

Partick Thistle

Graham signed for Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle on a 2 and a half year deal, knocking back offers from Premiership sides, Motherwell, Kilmarnock and St. Johnstone. [3] Graham scored on his debut in a 2–1 defeat away to Arbroath.[21] Scottish football was stopped in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at which time Partick were in last place in the Championship (two points behind 9th place Queen of the South, although Partick had a game in hand).[22][23] A vote was subsequently taken to curtail the Championship, League One and League Two seasons, which meant that Partick were relegated to League One.

Graham remained at the club, ahead of the 2020–21 season in League One. After winning League One with Thistle and finishing as the club’s top scorer with 11 goals, Graham signed a new contract adding an extra year to his deal, extending it until 2023.[24]

Graham scored his first hat-trick for Thistle in a 3-3 draw away to Inverness on the 9th of February 2022.[25]

After finishing the 2021–22 season with 18 goals, Graham signed a further one year extension to his contract in summer 2022, with his deal extended to the end of the 2023–2024 season[26]

The striker continued his brilliant form into the 2022/23 season, where he became the first Thistle striker to hit 20 goals in all competitions since Mark Roberts. This earned Graham a contract until the end of 2025.

Managerial career

In September 2020 Graham was appointed manager of Partick Thistle W.F.C. in the second tier of the Scottish Women's Premier League, heading a coaching team comprising three players from the club's men's team.[27] At the end of their first season Thistle were promoted to the Premier Division, and finished their first stint in the SWPL in the Top 6.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 4 June 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Greenock Morton 2005–06[28] Scottish Second Division 1000000010
2006–07[29] 1000000010
2007–08[30] Scottish First Division 13110103[lower-alpha 1]2183
2008–09[31] 0000000000
2009–10[32] 22210201[lower-alpha 1]0262
2010–11[33] 287320000319
Total 65105230427714
East Stirling (loan) 2008–09[31] Scottish Third Division 331521113[lower-alpha 2]13918
Raith Rovers 2011–12[34] Scottish First Division 241100201[lower-alpha 1]02711
2012–13[35] 341822342[lower-alpha 1]34127
Total 58292254336838
Dundee United 2013–14[36] Scottish Premiership 3063130–367
2014–15[37] 100000–10
Total 316313000377
St Johnstone (loan) 2014–15[37] Scottish Premiership 2492021–2810
Ross County 2015–16[38] Scottish Premiership 2364441–3111
2016–17[39] 100046–56
Total 2464487003617
Hibernian 2016–17[39] Scottish Championship 28440001[lower-alpha 1]1335
2017–18[40] Scottish Premiership 000021–21
Total 284402111356
Cheltenham Town 2017–18[40] League Two 27510102[lower-alpha 3]1316
Ross County 2018–19[41] Scottish Championship 30832104[lower-alpha 1]43814
2019–20[42] Scottish Premiership 1841042–236
Total 48124252446120
Partick Thistle 2019–20[42] Scottish Championship 63—1[lower-alpha 1]073
2020–21[43] Scottish League One 19112030—2411
2021–22[44] Scottish Championship 321321442[lower-alpha 4]04018
2022–23[45] Scottish Championship 31142162654522
Total 8841621369511654
Career total 426137331443222615528190
  1. Appearance(s) in Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. One appearance in Scottish Challenge Cup, two appearances in Scottish Second Division play-offs
  3. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  4. appearances in Premiership play-offs

Honours

Club

Ross County

Hibernian

Partick Thistle

Individual

References
  1. "EFL Released and Retained List 2017-18" (PDF). English Football League. p. 73. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. "Brian Graham". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  3. "Signing News: Brian Graham joins the club". Partick Thistle FC.
  4. "Ton boss issues hefty threat to strikers". Evening Times. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  5. "Brian Graham joins Raith". SPFL. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  6. "Dundee United: Brian Graham signs as Jon Daly exits". BBC Sport. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  7. Crawford, Kenny (23 November 2013). "Dundee United 4-1 Partick Thistle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  8. Brian Graham: St Johnstone sign Dundee United striker on loan, BBC Sport
  9. Barnes, John (30 August 2014). "Motherwell 0-1 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  10. Wilson, Richard (20 December 2014). "St Johnstone 1-0 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  11. "St Johnstone accept two-match ban offered to Brian Graham for diving". STV Sport. STV. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  12. "Dundee United to release trio at the end of the season". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  13. "Ross County: New signing Brian Graham impressed by Jim McIntyre". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  14. Wilson, Richard. "Scottish League Cup final: Hibernian 1-2 Ross County". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  15. Hislop, John (20 August 2016). "Brian Graham poised to join Hibs after leaving Ross County". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  16. Dowden, Martin (20 August 2016). "Brian Graham: Hibs sign striker after Ross County exit". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  17. McLauchlin, Brian (15 April 2017). "Hibernian 3–0 Queen of the South". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  18. "GRAHAM JOINS CHELTENHAM TOWN". Hibernian FC. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  19. "Brian Graham: Cheltenham Town sign Hibernian striker on two-year deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  20. "Ross County: Brian Graham returns for second spell". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  21. "Arbroath 2-1 Partick Thistle: Visitors slip to bottom spot - BBC Sport". Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  22. "Partick Thistle: Championship side 'will not accept' relegation". Bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  23. "Dundee Utd, Raith & Cove win titles and reconstruction talks start after Dundee vote". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  24. "Brian Graham signs one-year contract extension". Partick Thistle FC.
  25. "Inverness & Partick share six goals". BBC Sport.
  26. "Brian Graham signs contract extension until 2024".
  27. "Thistle striker named women's boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  28. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  29. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  30. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  31. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  32. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  33. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  34. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  35. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  36. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  37. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  38. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  39. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  40. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  41. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  42. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  43. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  44. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  45. "Games played by Brian Graham in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  46. "Ross County Secure title and promotion". BBC. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  47. "Ross County lifted the Challenge Cup for a third time". BBC Sport. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  48. "Partick Thistle seal League 1 title". BBC Sport.
  49. "APRIL AWARDS FOR ROSS COUNTY". Scottish Professional Football League. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.