John Brownlie

[Tom Hart RIP]

Good article in the Scotsman

He is now scouting for Hibs. Worked with Terry at Raith Rovers and they hit it off.

At his peak he was the best right back in Europe. Capped at 19 when that was a big deal. Aiden Smith hints at possible full time coaching job.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/john-onion-brownlie-on-injury-nicknames-hibs-1-3281456

[roryg]

Yeh, I remember onion was one of the best full backs I ever seen. He was always an attacking full back A fabulous and exiting player to watch. It's great to have him onboard. Very, happy memories.

[Col2]

Great read. Born in 1970 so too young to witness this era but love the stories and detail.

[inglisavhibs]

Great read. Born in 1970 so too young to witness this era but love the stories and detail.
But for his leg break and Edward's suspension in 1973 there is a good chance we would have won the league. His job at Hibs is watching our next opponents and reporting back to the manager, same as he did a Inverness.

[lapsedhibee]

Tibula?

[AlbertK86]

Great Article about a great player.

Only saw him a few times due to age but him Edwards and Paddy were an absolute joy to watch.

Just saw him ping a great cross for Paddy to score on the Sky Sports news preview of tomorrow's victory over the 'Tic

[poolman]

Dinny care what anybody says

Onion was the tops and better than Mcgrain and Jardine :agree:

[hibsfan7]

THE BEST RIGHT BACK THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN AT HIBS



:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees

[Kojock]

Agree best full back I have ever seen for Hibs. Remember the 1972 League Cup semi final at Hampden against Rangers when Onion scored a spectacular goal to win 1-0. We went on to beat Celtic 2-1 in the final. Great memories. Brownlie used to take penalties too.

[eastterrace]

But for his leg break and Edward's suspension in 1973 there is a good chance we would have won the league. His job at Hibs is watching our next opponents and reporting back to the manager, same as he did a Inverness.

no not a good chance , we would have definitely won the league imo . he would have been one of the greatest players we had produced but for the leg break. mind him ripping tommy gemmell apart at easter road when he first came into the side.

[Broken Gnome]

How did the scoring go in that Airdrie game? If thats the one on the Turnbull DVD, did we score all six in one half?

[Tom Hart RIP]

After the 7-0 game Tom Hart was quoted in the paper saying he believed we would win league and Cup Winners Cup. We were in quarter finals at the time against Hajduk Split.
Johns injury and Mickeys suspension (56 days) for throwing the ball away put paid to that.
18000 at Easter road to see us play East Fife

[shagpile]

THE BEST RIGHT BACK THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.



:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees


had to fix that for you......

[Ray_]

How did the scoring go in that Airdrie game? If thats the one on the Turnbull DVD, did we score all six in one half?

If I remember correctly we were down a goal twice, second half, as you say, different class.

[O'Rourke3]

Great article, great player. I particularly remember the EF game as me and my pal decided to try the stand that week rather than the normal terrace. Terrible game all over with a late winner. Their keeper was superb that day.
Welcome back to the club!

[brog]

How did the scoring go in that Airdrie game? If thats the one on the Turnbull DVD, did we score all six in one half?

2-1 down at H/T, finished 6-2. IIRC in prior round we were 2-0 down at Tannadice at H/T & won 5-2! We scored 5 goals in a half 5 times that season, the 2 above & at home vs Sporting Lisbon & Ayr. I forget the other game but think it was about New Year time!! :wink:
PS, JB was way superior to Danny McGrain, the latter only got capped after JB broke his leg despite JB being 2 years younger!!

[PatHead]

Great interview with John Brownlie in today's Scotland on Sunday.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/john-onion-brownlie-on-injury-nicknames-hibs-1-3281456

[hibbymick]

Great article from one of my top 3 hibees. I also liked the bobby Thomson interview underneath it.

[ballengeich]

Before the leg break Brownlie was better than both Jardine or McGrain, who were arguably the best full-back pair at the 1974 World Cup. He would surely have played in that.

Re the noise of the leg breaking - I can remember hearing the crack. It was horrible.

[Roxyhibee]

Having supported Hibs since mid 60's, it has been a privilege to watch real class players like Cormack, E.Stevenson, Stanton, Edwards, Blackley, Cropley, Gordon, Bremner, J Collins, Sauzee, Latapy...etc,

But, in my opinion, John Brownlie was potentially the greatest player we were ever going to witness in a green jersey. That terrible injury had a massive impact on his playing ability and although still an excellent player, he was nowhere near where he would have been.

McGrain and any other full back I have ever seen could not lace his boots - he had everything and would have been the greatest Scottish player in that position of all time. Used to literally walk all over Rangers when we played them. Different class altogether.

[Tom Hart RIP]

John was in West upper today. I think he is still scouting opponents for Terry.
I would like to see him in a coaching role. He was a decent manager with Cowdenbeath and Arbroath and won promotion with both.
I agree that he was potentially the best player I ever saw with Hibs.

[snooky]

Tibula?
Aye, spotted that too. Surprised a sports journalist got that wrong (tibia).
I remember being at the game and thinking it was a bad one.

Interesting to read Onion's account of the goal he scored against Rangers.
Quote: “There wasn’t a pass to be made – my team-mates seem to be running away from me – so I just kept going"
IIRC, JB was running towards the Huns' penalty box. On the 18yd line Colin Jackson was marking Rocky who ran towards the corner of the box taking Jacko with him and creating an opening for Onion to run through unchallenged.
Great goal btw, but the space was engineered by J O'R.

[tomf]

Dinny care what anybody says

Onion was the tops and better than Mcgrain and Jardine :agree:

I had the privilage to regularly watch the team that featured Brownlie and, even bearing in mind the reputation of Bobby Moore, I can say that there has never been a better timer of a tackle than John Browlie. He was also brilliant at overlapping runs and could pass accurately and cross. In my honest opinion, John Brownlie was a truly world class player. McGrain and Jardine couldn't lace his boots despite what the record book might suggest. McGrain was a great player but he was very limited compared to John. Jardine doesn't merit being mentioned in the same breath.

[gramskiwood]

THE BEST RIGHT BACK THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN AT HIBS



:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees

:agree::agree::agree:

[crewetollhibee]

the best right back that i will ever
see at hibs



:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees:hibees
ftfy

[Seveno]

Another great interview by Aidan Smith. John Brownlie was one of the most talented and exciting players I have ever seen. It is great to hear that he is part of TB's team and working for Hibs again.

[Wighty76]

Good read and I loved the wording when talking about the cup final bonus. "£500 per Tornado"

Good man for keeping it real and watching Airdrie instead of jumping on an Old Firm bus.