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Note: There has been more than one player with the same name to have played for Celtic. So please check the other namesakes if need be.
Personal
Fullname: Brian McLaughlin
Born: 14 May 1974
Birthplace: Bellshill, Scotland
Height: 5ft, 4in (1.63m)
Signed: 7 July 1992
Left: 1 April 1999
Position: Midfielder, Winger
Debut: Celtic 3-0 Partick Thistle, League, 6 Nov 1993
Internationals : None with senior, Scotland U-21
International Caps: 0 / 8
Trivia
- Nicknamed in humour by the wits in the support as “Eddie Munster” (from “The Munsters” sitcom) due to his hairstyle look and short height.
Biog
(Relatively) Diminutive winger Brian McLaughlin was a home grown talent who came through the Parkhead ranks to make his Celtic debut on November 6th 1993 as a substitute in a 3-0 home league win against Partick Thistle. When he first stepped onto the pitch, everyone thought he was the ball boy, that’s how small he was. On the annual Hogmanay ‘Only an Excuse‘ show they joked that his shirt only needed one hoop because he was so short.
Anyhow, with skill in abundance Bellshill-born McLaughlin was a traditional old-fashioned winger who loved to have the ball at his feet, running at the opposition. At his best he was an exciting talent but too often there was not enough end product to his game, but he was young and developing. His crossing ability was at times poor and a lack of penetration and directness in his play meant that for all his dribbling skills he was too often an ineffective player, which was a shame as the coaches persevered with him in hope that he could build on his undoubted talent.
The problem was also with Celtic as the club was going through the difficult transition following the Celtic Takeover, the environment of which was no easy place for any developing youngsters. It hindered not himself but many of his peers. Add in the desperation to stop Rangers overtake Celtic’s nine-in-a-row record, and it was an impossible environment.
His greatest moment as a Celt came in 1995 when he was part of the team that defeated Airdrie 1-0 to lift the Scottish Cup, Celtic’s first major senior trophy since 1989 which got the albatross off from around the management’s neck. He never got to play for the first team under Wim Jansen so missed out on a part with Celtic’s first team to secure the league in 1997-98 to stop Rangers march to ten-in-a-row. The following season he was not fancied by Venglos either, so was restricted to a handful of appearances in U21 games as an overage player, and effectively his time was over at Celtic.
His relatively small stature was not compensated for by bulk, and consequently Brian McLaughlin was too frequently easily knocked off the ball by opponents which nullified any positives he was able to bring to the team. He was sent out on a loan to Airdrie to help win him gametime.
Despite early promise his Celtic career proved to be fleeting and he left Glasgow for Dundee United in April 1999 on a free transfer after 75 league appearances and five goals. Celtic were actually going through havoc through his entire time at Celtic, and he was managed at Celtic under too many managers. No easy time.
We wished him the best, and were sorry that it didn’t work out. A talented player who couldn’t make the whole way through but still played his part and importantly helped Celtic to seal the club’s first major title in the new post-Takeover era, the Scottish Cup, which helped to reset the club back on to the road to respectability, albeit still with many setbacks to come along the way.
Post-Celtic
After a brief loan period with Airdrie (he fell and dislocated his shoulder in his first training session), he left Celtic to join Dundee United on a free transfer on 31 March 1999.
Since then he played on both sides of the border with stints at Wigan Athletic, Ayr United, Queen of the South, St. Johnstone, and, finally Stenhousemuir where he finished his career.
He later moved into coaching and became the Scotland national youth coach, and was later appointed as the SFA’s performance school manager.
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League |
Scottish Cup |
Lge cup |
Other |
||||
| Stenh’semuir | 01-Aug-06 | 31-May-08 | Signed | 30 (15) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| Queen of Sth | 01-Jul-04 | 01-Aug-06 | Free | 35 (10) | 3 | 0 (3) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 |
| St Johnstone | 31-May-03 | 01-Jul-04 | Free | 23 (6) | 3 | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 |
| Queen of Sth | 05-Jul-02 | 31-May-03 | Signed | 20 (12) | 1 | 2 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (4) | 0 |
| Ayr | 17-Aug-01 | 05-Jul-02 | Free | 8 (11) | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| Wigan | 23-Jun-99 | 17-Aug-01 | Free | 13 (5) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 1 |
| Dundee Utd | 01-Apr-99 | 23-Jun-99 | Free | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 |
| Airdrie (old) | 31-Mar-98 | Loan | – | ||||||||
| Celtic | 07-Jul-92 | 01-Apr-99 | Signed | 48 (27) | 5 | 2 (4) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 |
| Giffnock North AFC | 01-Aug-91 | 07-Jul-92 | – | ||||||||
| Totals | 0 | 178 (86) | 14 | 6 (11) | 0 | 13 (7) | 1 | 7 (7) | 2 | ||
| goals / game | 0.05 |
0 |
0.05 |
0.14 |
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| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Cup