Internal war is just part of the game, says Brown
YOU could spot them a mile away. These terminators, never more than an elbow’s radius away from their opponent, who reigned supreme in an era when shorts were of the budgie smuggler variety, boots were strictly black and shinpads were a sign of weakness.
This was a time before social media gave rise to the perpetually offended. Footballers had yet to morph into the blur of tattoos and earrings we now see.
Whether it was handbags, a square-go or a full-blooded malky, it was common for players — even team-mates — to engage in a robust exchange.
As St Johnstone’s Danny Swanson and Richard Foster tore strips off each other at Hamilton on Saturday, John Brown knew exactly how they were feeling.
The Nine-In-A-Row legend is well-versed in the dark arts of a dust-up, with one episode sticking in his mind from a match at Celtic Park in 1989.
Rangers were 2-0 up thanks to goals from Ian Ferguson and Kevin Drinkell, seemingly cruising to victory, only for disaster to strike.
‘Ray Wilkins and I were going at it at Parkhead,’ recalled Brown. ‘I passed a ball which ultimately led to Andy Walker going up the park and scoring.
‘The pair of us were at it and Ally McCoist was going to take his (Wilkins’) head off at half-time.
‘Ally was annoyed because the game was still going on. If Wilkins was wanting to have a dig at me, he should’ve waited until the end of the game.
‘I spoke to Ray at the end of the match and told him if he spoke to me like that again, I’d cut off what hair he had left.’
Brown (right) was also present inside the dressing room when Graeme Souness effectively sealed his own exit from Ibrox through an infamous bust-up with Aggie Moffat at McDiarmid Park.
‘We had tea ladies at St Johnstone getting their best china cowped all over,’ he said. ‘When you had a manager like Souness and he wasn’t happy with what he was watching, you soon knew about it. It is all about passion.
‘We also had Nigel Spackman and Andy Goram fighting at half-time once.
‘Walter Smith and Archie Knox would just stand to the side, have their cup of tea and wait until it calmed down.
‘They would let the steam get out of the situation and then deal with the team afterwards.
‘McCoist and Richard Gough were at it all the time as well. They were winners and wanted to get the best from each other.
‘They’d battle all the time, as would Mark Hateley and Steven Pressley.
‘We all had our run-ins with each other. But you shook hands at the end of it and got on with it.
‘It happens all the time. The thing with Neil Lennon and Jim Duffy was blown out of proportion.
‘They are passionate and, while they have faced up to each other, we have all done that in our time.’
Swanson and Foster have been suspended by Saints pending further investigation into the incident which saw both men sent off as Saints slumped to a 1-0 defeat.
‘The lads from St Johnstone have obviously overstepped the mark and will be punished accordingly,’ added Brown.
‘But I don’t think they should be sacked or anything like that. At least they showed passion. I would have wanted that in a lot of teams I played in.’
Brown has been interviewed for the No 3 position in Pedro Caixinha’s set-up at Ibrox, along with Barry Ferguson, Jonatan Johansson, Peter Lovenkrands and Alex Rae.
The 55-year-old admits he would relish the opportunity to work at the club again and has urged Caixinha to learn from the mistakes Frenchman Paul le Guen made during his ill-fated spell at the club.
‘Pedro has had plenty of interviews and he wants to make sure he gets it right with the appointment,’ he said.
‘If you look back to Le Guen, he didn’t have a Scotsman in his camp and, ultimately, he didn’t last very long.
‘It’s crucial that Pedro gets somebody who knows the Scottish scene and who can tell him that every game is a cup final.’