The Bedlington Terrier was a product of the famed Burnley Gawthorpe training fields in the 60s. A small midfield player, he nevertheless made up for his lack of stature with fearless performances, terrific tackling, the ability to go past players, a powerful shot and an impishness in his play that made him a darling of the Burnley crowd. He did just the same at Southampton when he was sold. His performances were truly heroic yet he was quite likely to turn up without his football boots and play in a borrowed pair, sometimes a couple of sizes too big. His battles with Leeds Uniteds Billy Bremner and Manchester Uniteds Nobby Stiles were legendary. For relaxation at Burnley he had an allotment and raised pigs so that he was quite likely to arrive for training in a pair of wellies. The story goes that at Southampton he drove in one day on a tractor. In Brians day pitches were frequently mudbaths and what really endeared him to the crowds at both clubs was the way he relished the mud and dived into sliding tackles and always came off the field covered from head to toe. Nobody ever came off a football field muddier than the wonderful, tenacious, Brian O Neil. How he never played for England remains a mystery.
