Brian Kidd, born Manchester, England, May 29, 1949. Brian Kidd started out as an apprentice at Manchester United in August 1964, and signed his first professional contract with the side in July 1966. He later played for several clubs both home and abroad, including Arsenal, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and Minnesota Strikers in a goal scoring career that spanned two decades.
Brian Kidd was handed his Manchester United debut by Matt Busby in a high scoring 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in the FA Charity Shield on the 12th of August 1967, and made his first Football League appearance for the club in a 3-1 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park a week later. The talented teenager first came into the limelight, however, when he helped The Reds beat Portuguese giants Benfica 4-1 in the European Cup Final at Wembley on the 29th of May 1968. After Bobby Charlton had handed United the lead in the 53rd minute, Jaime Graca equalised with just ten minutes left. Then, in extra time, goals from George Best and Brian Kidd made it 3-1 before Charlton completed his brace to give Busby´s men a 4-1 victory. Blessed with an eye for goal, Kidd emerged as something of a hometown hero and the striker proceeded to make 266 first team appearances for Manchester United, contributing 70 goals during the process. At the end of the 1973–74 season, United found themselves relegated to the Second Division, and Kidd was subsequently transferred to old rivals Arsenal for a bargain fee of £110,000 in the summer of 1974.
A man for all seasons, Brian Kidd scored a debut winner for The Gunners in a 1-0 triumph against Jimmy Bloomfield´s Leicester City at Filbert Street on the opening day of the 1974-75 campaign, and went on to amass 19 goals in 40 Football League outings for the North London outfit in his first year at Highbury. Following two seasons under Arsenal boss Bertie Mee, the Manchester born marksman decided to make a surprise move to Manchester City where he would team up with household names such as Peter Barnes, Colin Bell, Asa Hartford, Joe Royle, and Dennis Tueart, and as destiny would have its way, he was given his Football League debut for The Sky Blues in a 2-2 draw with Leicester City at Filbert Street on the first Saturday of the 1976-77 season. Rising to the occasion, he netted a double for Manchester City in a 3-1 First Division win against Manchester United at Maine Road on the 10th of September 1977 when he gave Tony Book´s team the lead with a free-kick on fourteen minutes, and hit a second goal three minutes after the interval, before former Southampton ace Mike Channon added a third for the hosts with twelve minutes remaining of the game.
While at Manchester City, Brian Kidd scored 44 goals in 98 First Division appearances for the Maine Road team and was at the peak of his goal scoring powers. At the back end of the 1978-79 campaign, Kidd agreed to join fellow Division One side Everton where he clocked up twelve goals in 40 First Division matches for The Toffeemen before he joined forces with Second Division Bolton Wanderers for whom he registered 14 goals in 43 Division Two outings between 1980 and 1982. While a Burnden Park player, the evergreen performer was shipped out on loan to ambitious North American Soccer League outfit Atlanta Chiefs where he contributed 22 goals in 27 appearances during the 1981 season. He then had comparatively short stints with their fellow North American Soccer League clubs Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Minnesota Strikers before announcing his retirement from active playing in 1984, at the age of 35. After management posts at Alliance Premier League Barrow and Division Four Preston North End, he was brought back to Manchester United as youth team coach by Alex Ferguson in May 1988, and later enjoyed a successful seven-year spell as assistant manager to the Glaswegian before the pair fell out in December 1998. After taking over relegation threatened Blackburn Rovers in the middle of the 1998-99 term, he splashed out almost £20 million on new players, but failed to keep the Lancashire club in the top flight, and following a disastrous start to the 1999-2000 season, he was sacked in November 1999. Then, after working as assistant manager at Leeds United, Sheffield United, and Portsmouth, he became Technical Development Manager at Manchester City in September 2009, and just three months later, he was appointed assistant manager to recently hired head coach Roberto Mancini who had replaced Mark Hughes in the hot seat at the City of Manchester Stadium. Brian Kidd Playing Career: Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Atlanta Chiefs, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Minnesota Strikers. Playing Honours: English FA Charity Shield 1967, UEFA European Cup 1968.