899 Bryan Hughes

Biography

An experienced midfielder with top flight seasons under his belt, Bryan Hughes was the first signing made by new Chairman Paul Duffen when he was acquired in June 2007.  Hughes was immediately introduced into manager Phil Brown’s first team but it wasn’t until March 1998 against Southampton that he scored his first goal for the Tigers. He played an increasingly important role towards the end of the season as Brown’s side piled up the victories and won their place in the May 2008 Championship play-off final against Bristol City – Hughes was on the pitch to witness Dean Windass’s volley that secured for the Tigers top flight football for the first time.

Back in the Premier League after a one season absence, Hughes was a support player in Phil Brown’s revamped squad that briefly shone bright and approached the summit of the Premier League table before falling away and only narrowly avoiding relegation – Hughes started just one league match in November 2008, a barnstorming 3-4 defeat at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium. He was completely absent from the Tigers first team during the 2009/10 season and in October 2009 he joined Championship side Derby County on a month’s loan, making 3 appearances. He left Hull City in May 2010.

Bryan Hughes was born in Liverpool but came through the youth team ranks at Wrexham, joining the North Wales side as an apprentice professional in the summer of 1992. He made his way through the Reserves as a goalscoring midfielder during the early months of the 1993/94 season, in January 1994 he was handed his senior debut in a League Division 2 match against Cambridge United before remaining on the fringes of manager Brian Flynn’s side for the rest of the season. He was handed his first professional contract in May 1994, then re-emerged in the Wrexham first team in September 1994, scoring his first senior goal in October 1994 against Hull City and ended the season as a first team regular with ten goals to his name – in May 1995 he played in the Welsh Cup final at Cardiff Arms Park, winning the first title of his senior career and helping Wrexham qualify for the 1995/96 European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Hughes was not selected for Wrexham’s two European ties against Petrolul Ploiesti that ended in early elimination, but he was part of the first team until the end of October 1995 when he drifted out of the first eleven. He won back his first team shirt in September 1996 and scored six FA Cup goals as the Red Dragons reached the Sixth Round, eliminating Premier League side West Ham United in the Third Round. Drawn against League Division 2 rivals Chesterfield, Hughes’ side had a chance to reach the Cup semi-finals but lost to the Spireites. Immediately after that March 1997 defeat Wrexham accepted a £1 million offer from League Division 1 side Birmingham City for Hughes’ services – he scored 20 goals for Wrexham in 119 appearances.

Bryan’s March 1997 debut for the Blues was against Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion and he retained an attacking midfielder role for the rest of the season and the subsequent 1997/98 season – he scored his first Blues goal in September 1997 against Tranmere Rovers. He missed a two month chunk of the 1998/99 season but was back to fitness in the closing weeks as Birmingham earned a place in the end of season play-offs, only to lose the semi-final to Watford after a penalty shootout. For the next three seasons Hughes remained a first team regular as the Blues continued to reach the play-off semi-finals, losing to Barnsley in May 2000 and Preston North End in May 2001. Birmingham City reached the League Cup final in February 2001, losing on penalties to Liverpool – Hughes played in every round bar the Fourth Round and started the Final played at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, scoring his penalty in the shootout. In the 2001/02 season Hughes and Birmingham City struck lucky in their fourth consecutive play-offs attempt, knocking out Millwall in the semi-finals and defeating Norwich City in the final on penalties on their return to the Millennium Stadium.

Hughes made his Premier League debut against Arsenal in August 2002 but was a peripheral figure during much of the 2002/03 season as the Blues finished in mid-table. A similar pattern emerged in the 2003/04 season and when Bryan made his final appearance for Birmingham City in May 2004 he had scored 42 goals in 291 appearances.

Bryan joined Premier League rivals Charlton Athletic on a free transfer in July 2004 and spent three seasons at The Valley as a first team squad player but rarely holding down a regular start for the Addicks. At the end of the 2006/07 season the expiry of Hughes’ contract coincided with relegation from the Premier League and he moved on having scored ten goals in 89 appearances. He moved to Hull City in May 2007.

After a summer off, Hughes joined League Two side Burton Albion in December 2010 on a one month contract, making just 1 appearance on New Years Day 2011. At the end of January 2011 he joined National League side Grimsby Town but made only 3 appearances for the Mariners. Bryan spent the summer months playing for Icelandic side IBV Vestmannaeyjar, playing in two Europa League qualifying ties. With temperatures plummeting in Iceland Bryan returned to England in October 2011 and joined League Two side Accrington Stanley, scoring three goals in 22 appearances during the 2011/12 season and winning the League Two Player of the Month award in December 2011.

Hughes left Accrington in the 2012 close season and had a year off before joining North East Counties League side Scarborough Athletic, a phoenix club formed after the demise of Scarborough FC. Signed initially as a player, Bryan was appointed player-assistant manager in April 2014. In November 2014 Bryan and Paul Foot were appointed joint first team managers at Scarborough Athletic, a role they shared until they left in December 2015 after a run of poor results.

He subsequently did punditry work for broadcasters covering Hull City, then in February 2019 he was appointed first team manager at National League side Wrexham, the club where his playing career started 27 years earlier – he was dismissed by Wrexham in September 2019. In January 2020 he became Head of Coaching at the i2i International Soccer Academy based at York St John University.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 19 June 1976, Liverpool
Hull City First Game: 11 August 2007, Plymouth Argyle H (Championship), 31 years, 53 days old
Hull City Final Game: 17 March 2009, Arsenal A (FA Cup Sixth Round), 32 years, 271 days old

Clubs

Wrexham (1992-1997), Birmingham City (1997-2004), Charlton Athletic (2004-2007), Hull City (2007-2010), Derby County (2009, loan), Burton Albion (2010-2011), Grimsby Town (2011), IBV Vestmannaeyjar (2011), Accrington Stanley (2011-2012), Scarborough Athletic (2013-2015)

Hull City Record

Career: 47 apps, 1 goals