Brian Atkinson is an English former footballer who played as a left winger or central midfielder.

Atkinson began his career with Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 and played in the 1992 FA Cup Final

1992 FA Cup Final

The 1992 FA Cup Final was contested by Liverpool and Sunderland at Wembley. Liverpool won 2–0, with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush....

. After 141 appearances he lost his first team place in 1996 and was loaned to Carlisle United

Carlisle United F.C.

Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

. Later in the year he joined Darlington

Darlington F.C.

Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

, where he remained until his retirement from professional football in 2002.

His 13-year playing career brought almost 400 league and cup appearances and 6 England caps

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 at under-21 level. He made his debut coming on as a substitute for Mark Blake in a friendly against Wales on 5th December 1991 at Prenton Park

Prenton Park

Prenton Park is an association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C. The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report...

.
He was also part of the England under-21 team that won the 1991 Toulon Tournament

Toulon Tournament

The Toulon Tournament is a football tournament which traditionally features invited national teams composed of under-21 players, although the first tournament in 1967 featured club teams...

 beating the hosts France 1-0 in the final.

Atkinson had a brief spell working for Darlington’s Centre of Excellence before joining Northern League Division 1 side Newton Aycliffe

Newton Aycliffe F.C.

Newton Aycliffe F.C. is an English football club based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.The club's ground is the Moore Lane Sports Club Ground. Newton Aycliffe were elected into the Northern League for the 2009–10 season, after finishing 1st in their previous season in the Wearside Football League...

 as coach.

Honours

Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

• Second Division
  Football League Second Division
  From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
  
   Play-Off Final
  Final (competition)
  The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided.In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between the winners of two semi-finals...
  
  winner: 1989–90
  1989-90 in English football
  -European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...
  
  
• FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
  runner-up: 1992
  1992 FA Cup Final
  The 1992 FA Cup Final was contested by Liverpool and Sunderland at Wembley. Liverpool won 2–0, with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush....
  
  
• Nationwide Division Two Title winner: 1995–96
  1995-96 in English football
  - Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
  
  

Darlington

Darlington F.C.

Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

• Nationwide Division Three Play-Off Final
  Final (competition)
  The final of a competition is the match or round in which the winner of the entire event is decided.In sports competitions following a knockout system, where only two individuals or teams compete in each match, the final is usually played between the winners of two semi-finals...
  
  runner-up: 1999–00

England under-21

• 1991 Toulon Tournament
  Toulon Tournament
  The Toulon Tournament is a football tournament which traditionally features invited national teams composed of under-21 players, although the first tournament in 1967 featured club teams...
  
  - winner

External links