Reading Football Club are pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Carey as Director of Recruitment.
Carey arrives in RG2 after a six-year tenure as Head of Recruitment at Tottenham Hotspur and will work closely with Head of Football Operations, Mark Bowen, first team manager Paul Ince and Academy Manager Michael Gilkes in bringing the brightest talent to Reading.
“Brian is a man who has experienced it all in football – he has been a player, captain, a coach, an assistant manager, a manager and has recently excelled during six years spent as Head of Recruitment at Spurs,” Bowen said.
“He proved the ideal candidate to help the owner, myself and the manager bring in players with ability but who also possess the right character and temperament for our club and have that hunger to succeed and the potential to improve. It is a real coup that we have managed to beat off competition to secure the services of a man with his wealth of experience and I’m delighted he has agreed to join us at Reading.”
A former Republic of Ireland international defender, Carey helped Cork City reach the FAI Cup Final in 1989 before crossing the Irish Sea to join Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
A loan spell at Wrexham saw him play in a famous FA Cup victory against reigning league champions Arsenal at the Racecourse Ground.
The centre-half spent three years at Leicester City and won at Wembley under Brian Little to earn the Foxes promotion to the Premier League after a seven-year exile from the top tier.
In 1996, Carey returned to Wrexham where he would make more than 300 appearances for the club in total, ending his playing days and beginning his coaching career in north Wales.
Spells as caretaker and permanent manager with Wrexham were followed by assistant managerial roles alongside Dean Saunders at Doncaster Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chesterfield, whilst Carey also enjoyed two years as a coach at Blackburn Rovers before moving into recruitment at Spurs.
Initially appointed as Senior Scout for the north-west of England, his net was widened to cover European football and he would soon become Head of Recruitment at the Premier League outfit.
Now he arrives in RG2! Welcome to Reading Football Club, Brian!
