MICHAEL BROWN
Profile of the tough-tackling midfielder’s career
MICHAEL Brown is nobody’s favourite player. Hard and often unfair, his career is littered with challenges that even the man himself regrets.
Like the vicious two-footed stamp on Ryan Giggs that left Alex Ferguson claiming Brown had tried to end the Welshman’s career.
Like the lunge on Portsmouth’s Sean Davis that prompted the erstwhile Spurs team-mates to engage in a bitter public spat.
“He tried to break my leg,” said Davis at the time. “I know he tried to, because I saw him look at me. He tried to do me and, if he’d gone a bit harder, he would have.”
Then there’s the crude scything challenge that broke the ankle of Reading skipper Jem Karacan, the season-ender on Barnsley’s Jacob Butterfield, the training ground tackle on Jamie O’Hara that prompted his Pompey team-mate to lay Brown out.
Type the former Sheffield United, Fulham and Leeds midfielder’s name into Google and the first result that appears is a video titled Michael Brown – Dirtiest Player Ever. The second is called Michael Brown – Crunchin’ Tackle. You get the picture.
So, is the 38-year-old - now at Port Vale - anything more than an old-school thug intent on doling out destruction?
In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2013, Brown was challenged on a career that has, so far, harvested eight red and 144 yellow cards.
“Some I have gone for and been a bit unlucky,” he explained. “Others I have been just plain wrong. I have looked at some and thought ‘You stupid idiot. Why did you do that?’ All I can say is I am a wholehearted player with a real desire to win. I can’t change that, and I won’t.”
Aggressive
Throughout his career, Brown has always insisted he never tackled with malice. Chris Coleman, who managed Brown at Fulham in 2005-06, agrees, arguing that the midfielder simply couldn’t control a feral instinct.
“Michael has got that streak,” he admitted. “But I’m convinced it’s not something he means. Something happens and a switch goes on.
“I wouldn’t ever like to see him not go into a tackle with everything he’s got because that’s his natural game – being aggressive, frustrating opponents and getting the ball back. He brings a lot to the party.
“But he has that switch in his head, the nastiness that we don’t want to see. Michael’s a good enough player without that. It’s something I often spoke to him about.”
Ironically, Brown’s first youthteam coach at Man City accused the young midfielder of not tackling enough. Neil McNab would pester his young charge to be more aggressive and ‘be first to the ball’.
It was a tactic he probably regretted when Brown was sent off just ten minutes into his debut against QPR in 1995. Not that it bothered his gaffer.
“Alan Ball rang me next day and said ‘Don’t worry about it,” said Brown, who’d been promoted to the first team before making a single reserve appearance. “He said ‘You’ve set an example by your enthusiasm. You’re in the side for the next game’.”
Truth is, though, the young Brown was not the ruthless enforcer we see today. First at City and then with Neil Warnock’s Sheffield United, he was an influential playmaker with an eye for goal.
In 2002-03, he scored 22 times to help the Blades, captained by current Vale boss Rob Page, reach the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals.
“Michael was my lovable rogue, someone who brightened my day whenever I saw him,” said Warnock. “He had the season of his life that year and I never understood why he didn’t play attacking midfield after that. He was a natural, a much better player than people give him credit for.”
Chris Morgan, United’s centre-back, was more succinct. “Michael was a player you wanted on the ball,” he said. “It didn’t matter who you were playing – he would make things happen.”
In 2004, Brown made a £500,000 switch to Spurs. It was viewed as his big break, but Brown was, instead, forced into a defensive role before being jettisoned completely due to an influx of exotic stars.
“The problem Michael had at Spurs was that they wanted too many big-name players,” said Warnock. “I think he was good enough, but didn’t really get the opportunities. The board went out and got names I don’t think were as good as Michael anyway. I actually told him to leave.”
Combative
So he did, spending one season at Fulham, two at Wigan under Steve Bruce and a further two at Portsmouth, where he played in the 2010 FA Cup final and won the respect of supporters for staying put as the club descended into financial chaos.
He then joined Simon Grayson at Leeds, and he paid tribute to his combative style. “All teams need players like Michael,” he said. “My playing career overlapped with his and he was always someone you didn’t fancy facing much.”
These days, the forward runs have slowed, with ageing legs and creaking joints requiring a more cerebral approach. Warnock, who took over at Elland Road in 2012, joked: “I used to tell Michael to get forward – now I’m scared he couldn’t get back.”
Yet, six goals in 34 games for Port Vale last season proved Brown remains a threat - while the red card proved that old habits die hard.
“Michael has huge desire and enthusiasm,” said Page. “He’s proving he still has that fire in his belly, that aggression he always had. Whatever age you are, if you have a hunger for the game then you can still play.”