The term ‘wonderkid’ is being used more and more in football. Any up-and-coming player seen to have “talent” is labelled as a wonderkid, often putting unnecessary pressure on their young shoulders.
In the past, only those who had the ability to become superstars were given the label. Some achieved this status, some fell short. One player who fell short was Kieron Brady. If you had been lucky enough to see him play in one of the just 44 first-team appearances he made, chances are you would have been in awe of his talent and to this day wonder what might have been.
Kieron Brady, The Wonderkid You May Have Been Fortunate Enough to See Play
Frightening Ability
In Denis Smith’s Autobiography ‘Just One Of Seven’, Smith, Brady’s manager at Sunderland had this to say. “Far too many people have never heard of Kieron Brady. He had the talent of a Gascoigne or a Best, and a wayward nature to match. He was that good – and bad. That lad had more talent than anybody I ever managed”. Smith went on to add “Kieron had frightening ability but he’d got no responsibility. Someone of that unbelievable talent should have gone on to be somebody you talked about as one of the greats”.
Capable of the Unexpected
An early sign of his talent was during a youth game at York City. Sunderland kicked off and Brady was the player to receive the ball from the players on the centre spot. The ball came back to Brady, who was inside his own half. He flicked it up and volleyed it at pace over the head of the opposition’s goalkeeper, who was off his line, hardly expecting to concede a goal in the first few seconds to a piece of pure genius. Brady was on a different wavelength to other players, especially at that age and produced magic that George Best amongst other greats would have been proud of.
Brady’s youth team coach Malcolm Crosby who would go on to take the first team to an FA Cup Final in 1992 said the following in the book Tales from the Red and White Volume 3: “He was such a wonderful talent. He could have been one of the best players in the country. He really could, he had that much ability.”
Sunderland Debut
Brady made his debut at Roker Park as an 18-year-old in November 1989. It was a man-of-the-match performance in that same season that fans still talk about to this day. The visitors to the famous but now long-gone Roker Park that day were West Ham United. It was a top-of-the-table clash, both teams fighting for promotion back to the top flight of English football.
To some, the occasion may have gotten the better of them but not Brady. He was there to make a difference in the game and he did just that and more.
The day in question was a Saturday afternoon on March 24th 1990. It saw Brady tear the West Ham defence apart with a stunning display. He scored, set up two goals for his teammates and scored an overhead kick as Sunderland beat the Hammers 4-3 in a classic game. Whenever Brady got the ball he tortured the West Ham defence with a master class in skill and trickery. A new star was born.
Brady scored the winner in his next game away at Bradford City. He made twelve appearances that season scoring twice, helping Sunderland to promotion.
Post Match Praise
The Journal, in their post-match report, sang the praises of Brady: “The game was tailor-made for someone of Brady’s precocious talent. He scored a dramatic equaliser, made the next two Roker goals, and never missed an opportunity to run at the defence, weaving his way past players almost at will.
“It was exciting stuff… Brady’s 24th-minute equaliser was stunning in its execution. Gabbiadini headed on Kay’s cross, and the youngster produced a magnificent overhead kick from 15 yards into the far corner.
On winning the Black Cats a penalty shortly after West Ham took the lead: “Brady’s reply was quick and dramatic. Picking up the ball with his back to goal in midfield, he turned one defender, accelerated past two others on a mazy dribble and, just as he saw the whites of Miklosko’s eyes, the fourth, Slater, flattened him in the box.”
Injuries and Reputation
The next season Brady only made a further 16 appearances, missing much of the season either through injury or by the then Sunderland manager Denis Smith trying to protect his star teenager. His reputation off the field was beginning to overshadow his on-field performances and his manager, while trying to protect him, may have been harsher with his young star than with others.
Kieron has admitted he was maybe too eager to get on the field when a teenager and enjoyed the nightlife way more than he should have. Denis Smith, a tough tackling defender during his playing days and a no-nonsense manager could have adopted a slightly different approach to his man management which was a more old-school approach. However, it was this approach that got Sunderland out of the old Division Three at the first time of asking and promotion to the top flight two seasons later. Stats that make fans look back on his time as manager with great fondness.
Would a different approach got better results is up for debate. If Brady had been starting his career now? The support he would have got would have been a lot different to that in the late 1980s and early 90s. A case of who knows.
Devastating Rare Condition Ends a Career That Promised So Much
An extremely rare vascular condition, Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome was the cause of his eventual retirement from the game in 1993 at the age of just 22.
A court case would soon proceed when Brady took Sunderland to court. He believed that the club had failed to properly diagnose and treat his career-ending condition. It took five years before Sunderland were cleared of any blame for Brady’s condition. However, the following year Brady won a settlement with two doctors who worked at Sunderland Hospital.
Kieron Brady only made a total of 40 appearances for Sunderland, scoring seven goals. He also played four times for Doncaster Rovers, scoring three goals.
Kieron is currently an Alcoholism Consultant, public speaker and broadcaster. You can check out his LinkedIn page here.
Count Yourself Lucky
If you were fortunate enough to witness Kieron Brady play, count yourself lucky that you witnessed a player with such talent but also be sad that you didn’t see him play time and time again.
Ex-Sunderland player and now TV and radio pundit Michael Gray has said that Brady was “the most talented footballer he ever saw”.
