Pocket Dynamo made a name for himself

Brian O'Neil picked up lots of nicknames during his playing days at Burnley and Southampton, but maybe 'Pocket Dynamo' would be the one that described him best of all.

Every team in the 1960's needed his type - and maybe some still do! A very determined character who would get in amongst the action, stir up the opposition, break up play and make players continually look over their shoulders.

Brian certainly liked the battle in the centre of midfield and reputations didn't mean anything to the thunderbolt in the number four shirt. The bigger they came the harder they'd fall - that was his attitude. The ball was there to be won and woe betide anyone who got in the way!

But there was far more to Brian's play than just the aggressive, defensive part of the game.

"I'd like to think that I also had a footballing brain," he recalled. "I was never the greatest goal scorer, although but I did get my fair share each season.

"But I'd also like to think I often chose the right options as far as passing and positional play were concerned."

Brian joined the groundstaff at Burnley from his home in Bedlington in Northumberland - hence the nickname - with other Geordie hopefuls Billy Poynton and Colin Williamson.

Newcastle captain Jimmy Scholar was his boyhood hero and the inspiration in wanting to become a professional footballer.

But he soon found a soul mate when he first arrived at Turf Moor.

"I suppose my mentor at Burnley was George Bray who was on the coaching staff," he said.

"Sadly, he is no longer with us but he had great belief in me and encouraged me all the way.

"I remember one training session he called me over. 'Hey, Fettler. I'll show you what tackling's all about' and he dropped a medicine ball between us!

'Now let's see what you're made of. Try and get that off me'. We always had a laugh about it whenever I saw him."

Brian was a regular after making a winning debut against West Brom in 1963, playing 231 league games.

He was a real crowd favourite, never shirking a challenge or ducking out of any confrontation on the field.

He had a no nonsense approach to the game and was fully committed.

"I had a great relationship alongside Gordon Harris, where our styles just seemed to compliment each other.

"We had some real tussles with the best teams around at the time. I remember beating Man Utd 6-1 at Turf Moor over the Christmas period, but a couple of days later they got their own back at Old Trafford.

"George Best was making his debut and we came away licking our wounds after getting hammered 5-1.

"I also remember playing Spurs at home. They had an excellent side but manager Harry Potts was always very positive.

"He just told us to forget about them and go out and play your own game, so we thrashed them 7-2!"

Brian finally left for the south coast to join Southampton in 1970.

"I think it was on the cards that I was about to leave," he now recalls. "All the players knew sooner or later they'd be transferred because that was the policy of the club, but you never think its going to be you.

"I was having a few problems at the time and with other young players coming through the system, I came into training one day and the Chairman, Bob Lord, said to me 'Come with me lad'.

He took me up to Pike View and there waiting to see me was Ted Bates, the Southampton manager. The deal had already been done and within a few minutes I was a Saints player.

"I enjoyed my time at Southampton and that's where I picked up the nickname 'Spuder' because I had my hair shaved off.

"Perhaps I was a forerunner to the fashions of today's players!

"Southampton was a homely club, similar in many ways to Burnley. The capacity at the Dell was only 15,000 and the crowd were right on top of the action, which I always felt gave us a goal start.

"Most seasons we struggled to hold onto our First Division status but always survived, which was a great achievement.

"We even got into Europe one year and there were some real characters around in the dressing room - John McGrath, Jimmy Gabriel, Ron Davies and a young Mike Channon."

All the above may have been characters, but in essence every dressing room had their quota and Brian O'Neil was certainly one of them himself.

I remember him coming in for training with whippets in the back of his van one day and pigs the next.

However, the one story that still makes me chuckle surrounds the Saints 1976 FA Cup Final goalscoring hero, Bobby Stokes.

Brian recalls: "I remember playing a League game and we didn't get back until late that night.

"Bobby asked if it would be okay to sleep at my place, and after cracking open a bottle of wine he said he was hungry.

"I went into the kitchen but the only things I had was a tin of Pal, some mayonnaise and some beans.

"I stuck the lot in a pan, cooked it and served it up. It seemed to go down alright because Stokesy told me afterwards it was one of the tastiest meals he'd ever had!"

Brian, who represented England U23's against Turkey at Blackburn while he was a Burnley player and also played for the Football League side which defeated Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park, now spends most of his time gardening.

He still finds time to watch the Saints at their spanking new stadium and looks after his family, which includes grandson Luke, aged five and apparently showing early promise. Whether the future will see Luke rattling calf muscles like his grandad, however, remains to be seen!