My Left Foot – The Brian Tinnion Story

To commemorate Brian Tinnion’s testimonial season, The Incider is proud to present this unique opportunity for you, the loyal Bristol City supporter, to own a unique memento of Tinman’s ten years at our beloved club.

Born into a simple family of Northern mining folk, Brian was given little chance of making anything of himself, cursed as he was with one usable left foot and a right one just for standing on.

From an early age, it seemed that young Tins would be resigned to a life of misery and poverty. That is until one seminal moment when, whilst Brian was sitting in the kitchen, his mother let the family evening meal of two pounds of prime black pudding slip from her grasp and head inevitably towards the sawdust-covered floor. The Northern delicacy of cow blood and dog lips seemed destined to hit the ground and be ruined forever.

But in an instant, Brian flicked out a left foot, caught the bag of abattoir floor scrapings on the outside of his boot and flicked it back up onto the work surface, saving the family from having to eat a meal full of wood shavings (except for the bits put in by the butcher to bulk it out, obviously). In that fleeting moment it became obvious to Mrs Tinnion that her son - who had previously been written off as a south-paw freak - had a special talent, and life was never to be the same again.

Undeterred by the mocking comments of her friends and neighbours, who saw young Brian as nothing more than an oddball, Mrs Tinman headed off to the bright lights of Newcastle, with her monopod son following closely behind.

Brian’s career at Newcastle was short-lived, and whilst Tins clearly had a left foot capable of allowing him to express himself, Newcastle’s then manager Jim Smith felt, rightly or wrongly, that the Magpies should stick to a policy of only employing bipeds. The Bald Eagle’s thoughts are probably best summed up by his recollection of Tinman at the time: “Brian clearly had ability, and while I had nothing against his left leg, unfortunately, neither did he."

Not willing to be knocked back by the laughter and insular views of their hometown club, the Tinnions headed off to Bristol, where they hoped to start a new life for themselves away from the prejudging eyes of the people Brian had always thought of as friends.
This heart-warming tale tells the story of how, despite only having one foot, Brian managed to win over the hearts and minds of a Bristol public who were initially sceptical of the usefulness of a player born with no right foot to speak of.

Join Brian on his journey from Northern laughing stock to Bristol folk hero as we guide you through his ten years in the red of Bristol City. Laughter and tears are never far away, as Tinman’s story takes us through promotion, relegation. And of course, the moment he lashed in a winner against Liverpool at Anfield and got the Scottish, fouling, dirty, firebrand, Graeme Souness the sack.

The story takes us right up to the present day, reliving Brian’s agony at losing out to Cambridge in the LDV Southern Section Final and telling how he helped to avenge that defeat this year against the same opponents, ironically, over two legs.

Yours to own now on video or DVD, this is a tale that will cheer the heart and soul of City fans, young and old alike. So, hop to it and order your copy today to avoid disappointment. Otherwise others will accuse you of being a part-time fan – and you won’t have a leg to stand on.