Michael Brown (English footballer)

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For other persons named Michael Brown, see Michael Brown (disambiguation).

Personal information
Michael Brown

Full name	Michael Robert Brown
Date of birth	January 25, 1977 (1977-01-25) (age 31)
Place of birth	Hartlepool, England
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic
Number	11
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995–1999 1997 1999–2000 2000–2004 2004–2006 2006–2007 2007–	Manchester City → Hartlepool United (loan) → Portsmouth (loan) Sheffield United Tottenham Hotspur Fulham Wigan Athletic	089 0(2) 006 0(1) 004 0(0) 150 (28) 050 0(2) 041 0(0) 031 0(0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:00, 19 May 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Michael Robert Brown (born January 25, 1977 in Hartlepool, England), is a professional footballer who plays in a midfield position for Wigan Athletic in the English Premiership.

1 Career
2 Controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Career

Brown's early career comprised over 252 league games mainly in a Sheffield United shirt where he scored 24 midfield goals in the 2002-03 season and won the 'Player of the Year' award. He achieved cult status with the fans there, and had his own chant of "Oh Lord Michael Brown". He played previously for Manchester City, Hartlepool United, and Portsmouth (the latter two on loan).

He was bought from United by David Pleat for Spurs and proved a highly dependable if unspectacular stalwart contributing 46 appearances and four goals up until the end of the 2004-05 season. Although well appreciated by fans for his hard work and honest contribution, the strengthening of the Spurs midfield under Martin Jol threatened Brown's position in the team. On January 31, 2006 he left Spurs to join Fulham.

His time at Fulham got off to a slow start, plagued with injury, but just before the end of 2006, he was handed the captain's armband, a move that many saw as a surprise and wrong decision, but in his debut as captain he delivered a man of the match performance, winning the Fulham fans over. This was followed by a great performance against arch-rivals Chelsea.

He began to play more and more often following his improved performances and never-say-die attitude, and retained captaincy up until the end of the 2006-2007 season. However, Lawrie Sanchez was brought in after the departure of Chris Coleman, and in the close season, he signed many new players, including Diomansy Kamara, David Healy, Chris Baird, Paul Konchesky, Aaron Hughes, and new midfielders Lee Cook and Steven Davis. His place in the side was no longer just a formality and was made surplus to requirements. After lengthy rumours and eventually negotiations, Brown signed for Wigan Athletic on a three-year deal on 31 July 2007.^[1]

[edit] Controversy

Brown was heavily featured in the Battle of Bramall Lane, a game where several Sheffield United players were sent off. He then left the field, apparently injured, in a move that raised suspicions of a deliberate attempt to get the match abandoned. This duly occurred when a second Sheffield United player left the pitch injured.

Brown was sent off after a two-footed challenge on Portsmouth midfielder, and former team mate, Sean Davis during a match between Fulham and Pompey on April 1, 2006. It was later revealed by Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp that the two players did not see "eye-to-eye" together from their time at White Hart Lane.

Manchester United fans were incensed, after an intentional two-footed foul on Ryan Giggs in their 5-1 victory over Fulham on August 20, 2006. Brown received a yellow card for this. The normally unflappable Giggs then sought retribution, bundling Brown over from behind and getting himself booked, but drawing huge applause from the crowd.

Brown was once again in controversy after he stamped on Chelsea player Ashley Cole on September 23, 2006 during Fulham's match against them. This time, however, the tackle went unpunished by the referee.

In the penultimate game of the season against Liverpool on May 5, 2007, he head-butted Xabi Alonso. The referee did not see the incident and took no action. At a Disciplinary Commission hearing on May 10, 2007, Brown received a 3 match ban relating to this incident. He denied violent conduct but the Commission found the charge to be proved.